deep space onomastics
if the Bajorans had a name for Deep Space 9 other than "Terok Nor," the show never lets us know about it. I wonder if during the meetings leading up to the Federation taking over administration of the station, the name "Deep Space 9" was chosen *by* the Bajorans, drawing on Federation procedure, as a strategy to replace the emotionally charged name of what was essentially a labor camp with something more bureaucratic and anodyne?
deep space onomastics
(though it's difficult to think of a more colonialist name than "Deep Space 9"—the existence of a "deep" implying the existence of a "shallow," i.e., closer to the center of the Federation. so if the name was the Bajorans' idea, it must have been with a certain bemused irony about what the Federation thinks is the boondocks)
deep space onomastics
@aparrish I think the "frontier medicine" scene in The Emissary confirms this line of thinking, except Kira is more offended than amused
deep space onomastics
@technomancy honestly a testament to Kira's bottomless restraint that she didn't punch him in the face then and there tbh
deep space onomastics
@aparrish The Federation seemed to put “Deep Space” stations in border zones, so I’ve always wondered if “deep” meant “politically unstable”.
deep space onomastics
@aparrish My recollection from the last time I thought about this and looked stuff up: "Deep Space" is a designation for space stations that are relatively far from other Federation outposts, not from the center of Federation space, and the Bajorans allowed the Federation to name Terok Nor that way because at the time they were petitioning to join the Federation, and if they joined the station would be renamed (again).
deep space onomastics
@noelle yeah, that makes sense! it just seems weird to me that the federation would insist on a name like "deep space 9" which—though maybe a technically accurate designation—doesn't have any real material effect? like who was the godforsaken starched-up line of pips in san francisco who was like, "NO, the Bajorans can't call it 'Prophet's Hope,' look at the survey, it's clearly deep space, and this is CLEARLY the ninth of them"
deep space onomastics
@aparrish Comedy option: someone reprogrammed the universal translator to translate "Prophets' Hope" (or whatever) in Bajoran to "Deep Space Nine" in English, and vice versa, so the Bajorans all think the Federation are calling the station "Prophets' Hope" and the Federation all think the Bajorans are calling it "DS9".
deep space onomastics
@noelle much more believable that the "universal translator" is a patchwork of one-off statistical models and hardcoded politically-motivated exceptions than a magical device that automatically knows all languages imo
deep space onomastics
@aparrish makes sense to me that they would use the Cardassian name. Using an enemy’s foreign word keeps it emotionally distant. It’s a form of othering (in this case, justifiedly so).
deep space onomastics
@aparrish this seems so apt that i almost feel like it's in the text somewhere.
deep space onomastics
@aparrish I always assumed none of the names the Bajorans had for the station were suitable for use in polite company (or a PG rated show).
deep space onomastics
@aparrish my initial gut reaction to this idea is one of agreement. It’s also making me think a station is a thing like a space ship, which you’d call by the occupier’s name for it. I wonder if they referred instead to things like the ore processing?
I could see going along with federation since they want it for their safety from cardassia but not like as a GOOD thing at least at first.
deep space onomastics
@brightneedle the federation wasn't occupying the station though, just administering it, and intra-fictionally the Bajorans *invited* the Federation. to me it seems weird on the surface that the Federation would insist on a name like "Deep Space 9" *and* weird that the Bajorans wouldn't want to control what the station was named, *and* weird that the Federation wouldn't immediately cave to that demand as a gesture of good will or something?
deep space onomastics
@aparrish once again wishing Kira were real....
deep space onomastics
@aparrish tho really—Opaka. I was in a gchat earlier which turned to how good Opaka is.
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deep space onomastics
(otherwise it seems weird that the federation would just waltz in and rename something that wasn't even theirs, and that the bajorans would agree to it. seems like it would have been a point of contention at least. when will the cowards at CBS or whatever release the holofootage of these historic negotiations)