Rome world??

[sturmde]

Nhierrofv is a legitimate Rihannsu Romulan name if you prefer, and pronounced almost exactly as Anglicized "Nero" with just a soft buzzing v sound at the end...

The scriptwriters are already on record as being fans of the book Spock's World and are very familiar with the Diane Duane interpretation...

We just all assume the Universal Translator is operating.... Thy shouldst maketh of thee assumption similar. Oops, Uhura togged it off there again.

Decius is actually a title (one of 10) in the same manner as Centurion (one of 100). Really, then the only TOS Romulan given a name is "Tal". Tal isn't Roman.

For those not familiar with the Duane-derived backstory, (which apparently are a significant number again), Romulus and Remus are Federation-applied glosses for ch'Rihan and ch'Havran.

I've always found that approach preferable to the Comics approach that had the Beings (like Apollo in Who Mourns...?) having visited the early Romulan colonies and spread Latinate speech....

Interesting thoughts in the thread though.... in some of the Memory Alpha information is backstory on a putative ENT 5th season episode which would have had T'Pol's thought-dead father turn up again alive: turning out to be (unknown to the crew of that era) a Romulan agent who had faked his death.

 

[Basill]

Nerys Myk said:
Nero wouldn't be the first Romulan with a Latin sounding name. There was Decius in "Balance of Terror".

JackBooer said:
And of course the Romulan homeworlds are named Romulus and Remus.

Quote:
Romulus (c. 771 BC[1]—c. 717 BC) and Remus (c. 771 BC—c. 753 BC) are the traditional founders of Rome, appearing in Roman mythology as the twin[2] sons of the priestess Rhea Silvia, fathered by the god of war, Mars...

So the homeworlds are named exactly after these mythological brothers. So a Romulan named Nero isn't a stretch at all.

Good points, if the Romulans themselves acknowledge that their terra firmae were specifically named after these characters. I and a number of other fans, have always supported the notion that those naming conventions are for the benefit of the Earthbound viewer.

In the Star Trek universe, I've always liked the idea that the earliest Galactic explorers from Earth just named the planets in their star charts what they chose to; even naming Vulcan after what the pointed eared hobgoblins and their harsh world reminded them of most. Even though it's not canon, I do like how many Star Trek novels give the Vulcans and Romulans different names for themselves and their planets, distinct from the Federation standard. It would be analogous to our own planet, where people of one nation have a name for another nation, different from that which the nation itself uses. Example: The predominantly English speaking nations of the UK and the USA referring to Germany, which calls itself Deutschland in the German toungue I believe.

 

[TeutonicNights]

I have read "The Romulan Way", and I liked that explanation, too.
However, ENT has done away with that since T'Pol told Hoshi the Romulans actually call themselves "Romulans". I mean I am all for ignoring ENT lore , and Minefield is is something that's better forgotten anyway.

 

[Franklin]

Basill said:

leadprophet said:
Romulus is the metaphorical Roman empire of Star Trek. Naming the villan Nero is merely stretching the point perhaps a tad too far.

TeutonicNights said:
The Romulan culture must be related to either the Romans on Earth or a parallel Earth featuring parallel Romans (like the one in "Bread and Circuses").
But "Nero" is still kinda odd. Since the Romulans don't speak latin, it must mean it has to be a reference to the actual Emperor Nero- or like someone here recently suggested, a similar-sounding name like "Neyrouh", which the humans simply take as "nero" cuz it sounds familiar.
However, the latter idea would make things even weirder.

Maybe they will just call him T'Nero and save us the embarrassment. I mean... best of both worlds... Roman AND Vulcanish. (Though the Vulcan boys can joke that he has a girl's name. Maybe being teased as a child is reason he turns out to be a villain.)

I still think it is a bad idea.

Call him D'Nero, perhaps?

It says on the Memory Alpha site that the Romulan names in NEM were based on ancient Chinese names. So, maybe Nero could be Zedong?

 

[sturmde]

Or, perhaps Ni Lou... which in traditional Wade-Giles would be Nee Leow? Or even Knee Low. A perfect happy ending?

Ummm, that smiley is more disturbing than ever.

 

[Kegek]

^
Sheesh, Wade-Giles isn't that phonetic.

TeutonicNights said:
But "Nero" is still kinda odd. Since the Romulans don't speak latin, it must mean it has to be a reference to the actual Emperor Nero- or like someone here recently suggested, a similar-sounding name like "Neyrouh", which the humans simply take as "nero" cuz it sounds familiar.

Words associated with the Romulans that have Latin origins:

Romulus - the mythological founder of Rome (thus Romulan)
Remus - the brother of the mythological founder of Rome. Killed by Romulus.
Praetor - a Roman office.
Senate - a term Roman in origin.
Proconsul - a retired consul given a provincial office.
Centurion - A rank in the Roman Legion.

All these words are of Latin origin. In fact, so is Vulcan, the Roman smithy god. Just accept that the Romulans are an obvious and intentional analogy to ancient Rome.

The very first Romulan to have a name, Decius, in "The Balance of Terror"... was also named after a Roman Emperor. O&K aren't doing anything that hasn't been done before in naming practices.

Now, I'm wary about these screenwriters. But they're some of the few in a long time to get the Romulan connection to Rome done right. Naming the villain Nero is, like hauling in Michael Giacchino to do the score, one of the things I'm very confident about in this film.

 

[Blip]

Nerun, Neruun, Neraan, Neron, Neroon [(c) B5], Nerahn "Neraaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhn!!!" Either way, I'm sure if they actually tried, then the writers could adapt the name just enough to make it sound a little more .. Romulany.

Shame these people were hired by Paramount, huh?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Some Romulan names sound very Latin. Where's the problem? Perhaps they should make Spock's name sound more Vulcany? S'Pok? Spuukk? sP'k?

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

The villain's first name and middle initial will be "Robert D."

 

[Jack Bauer]

Nero is his first name. Wolfe is his last name. Mark my words!

 

[Kegek]

Blip said:
Nerun, Neruun, Neraan, Neron, Neroon [(c) B5], Nerahn "Neraaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhn!!!" Either way, I'm sure if they actually tried, then the writers could adapt the name just enough to make it sound a little more .. Romulany.

Shame these people were hired by Paramount, huh?

Again: The first named Romulan was called Decius. The Romulans themselves have a name derived from the Roman founder. Calling him Nero is unoriginal, but it's actually consistent with what went before (as opposed to the pseudo-Chinese names used in Nemesis).

I don't like Orci & Kurtzmann any more than most - a good deal less, actually - but here I just don't see a problem.

 

[sturmde]

Decius is a title for one out of ten lower leaders, a lieutenant. Centurion is a title for one out of one hundred much lower leaders, a sergeant.

"Tal" is the only name in TOS, and it isn't Latin.

 

[Kegek]

Decius is also a name. There's no evidence in the episode that this wasn't actually his name. And even so, there's enough use of Latin words and Roman vocabulary aplenty to justify 'Nero.'

 

[sturmde]

So the Romulan Commander's name is probably actually Commander? Cool. I can buy that. Centurion's name is Centurion.

Meh... it's the universal translator acting up.

Hoshi never got it exactly right.

 

[Kegek]

^
The difference between 'Commander' and 'Centurion' is that 'Decius' is a name. Otherwise yes, sure, maybe. Either way, though, it's Latin.

 

[TeutonicNights]

As said, the Duane explanation
- That "Senate", "Praetor" and other words (including the Planet names) could be human-only denominations because of similarities which are actually unrelated.
- That Romulans have nothing to do with the Romans

was interesting, but has become obsolete by the time of Star Trek V (when we learn the Klingons also call the Romulans "Romulans") and Enterprise (when we learn the Romulans call themselves "Romulans").

So yeah, Nero is 100% justified. I really hope they will one day (in the movie?) dare to clarify what the connection is.
In the days of Stargate I think the viewers will be sure to find that rather interesting.

I'd very much like the Idea that "Nero" is a direct reference to Emperor Nero, like the Romulans idealize him for some reason and it has become a common name among them.

But I also think Decius is a rank. Why? because it makes perfect sense.

 

[Nerys Myk]

sturmde said:
So the Romulan Commander's name is probably actually Commander? Cool. I can buy that. Centurion's name is Centurion.

Meh... it's the universal translator acting up.

Hoshi never got it exactly right.

What "universal translator" would that be? The conversations between the Commander and the Centurion on the Romulan ship were not heard by the Enterprise crew.

 

[cueballb]

sturmde said:
Decius is a title for one out of ten lower leaders, a lieutenant. Centurion is a title for one out of one hundred much lower leaders, a sergeant.

"Tal" is the only name in TOS, and it isn't Latin.

Actually, a "Decius" as military rank in Roman history does not exist. It is called a Decurion. (leader of 8 men) A centurion is the leader of a century, and that's more or less a hundred, sometimes 80.

Decius however was a Roman emperor.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Tal is a Hebrew word. Maybe he was from the provinces.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

After the Enterprise got away, he was heard to say: "Oy, what a day I'm having! I could eat a whole cheescake."