Non OTU: Alien Naming Schemes

[Golan2072]

As part of my Visions of Empire setting I'd like to give each alien species its naming scheme for its space, but how does one create such a scheme? One option (since this is a free, non-OTU setting using CT rules and fair-use Traveller content) is to recycle the CT alien module language generators, but I'd rather do something a bit more original.

Any ideas?

I need about 30-40 names per language, except for Reticulan which will probably need over a hundred.

 

[aramis]

First, decide what types of parts of speech are used. If a race doesn't use proper nouns in naming vessels, or if all proper nouns have common noun components then the names can simply be presented in translation.

For example, Yamato　大和 might be rendered as Ancient Japan or (by mistranslation) Mountain Sword.

Grabbing a dictionary and sloppily translating real names can have some fun names.

EG the Raeder can be mistranslated with räder, "wheels"...

 

[salochin999]

As part of my Visions of Empire setting I'd like to give each alien species its naming scheme for its space, but how does one create such a scheme? One option (since this is a free, non-OTU setting using CT rules and fair-use Traveller content) is to recycle the CT alien module language generators, but I'd rather do something a bit more original.

Any ideas?

I need about 30-40 names per language, except for Reticulan which will probably need over a hundred.

I did something like this once for the personal names of fantasy races and made up two lists of words for each race that seemed to suit the race and then rolled randomly for each list.

#1

word list 1
blue
green
white

word list 2
lotus
rose
grass

so random roll might give "blue lotus", "green rose", "white grass" etc

#2

list 1
running
sitting
flying

list 2
lion
bear
wolf

#3

list 1
bloody
cracked
broken

list 2
fang
fist
blade

#

once you have the list in English then just change the language.

 

[Golan2072]

First, decide what types of parts of speech are used. If a race doesn't use proper nouns in naming vessels, or if all proper nouns have common noun components then the names can simply be presented in translation.

For example, Yamato　大和 might be rendered as Ancient Japan or (by mistranslation) Mountain Sword.

Grabbing a dictionary and sloppily translating real names can have some fun names.

I', strongly leaning in this direction, especially for the Cicek (anarchistic reptilian warriors); for the Reticulans (scientific, asexual Grey Aliens), I might borrow (and mix letters) from various D&D-type "Elven" names (not the well-constructed Tolkien Elven languages but the Faux-Elven of D&D) or go with something similar to the Taelons from Earth: Final Conflict. Or a mixture of both... Or use Old Egyptian-sounding names, perhaps.