(covers information from several alternate timelines)
Romulan script
Some letters of the written Romulan language
Romulan text aboard the Narada
The Romulan language was used within the Romulan Star Empire. Its written form consists of square and rectangular letters. (e.g., TNG: "The Mind's Eye", "Face of the Enemy"; DS9: "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"; Star Trek Nemesis)
The Romulan spoken language had three dialects, and was difficult to distinguish from the Vulcan language to those not proficient in xenolinguistics. (Star Trek)
Upon the first official encounter between Romulans and Starfleet in 2152, audio-only communications were established. Although the early universal translator initially had problems to lock on to the Romulan language, Enterprise communications officer Hoshi Sato was able to translate what turned out to be an ultimatum to depart immediately. (ENT: "Minefield")
As of 2258 in an alternate reality, Starfleet officer Nyota Uhura was knowledgeable in all three Romulan dialects. (Star Trek)
In 2370, Jean-Luc Picard identified an artifact recovered from Calder II as being from Vulcan, because the alphabet and symbology of the glyphs and pictograms on the artifact was much more consistent with early Vulcan than Romulan. (TNG: "Gambit, Part II")
Words and phrases
Edit
- Chula: Place name of a valley on Romulus. (TNG: "The Defector")
- D'deridex: "Warbird", a term designating Romulan starships:
- Data refers to the Romulan starships as "D'deridex-class cruisers". (TNG: "Tin Man") The same type of ships are referred to as a "Warbird-class starship" by Jean-Luc Picard. (TNG: "The Defector")
- Gol Gathol: A place name on Romulus (TNG: "The Defector")
- Jolan-tru: A salutation, used in the same way as "greetings" and "good-bye". (TNG: "Unification I", ENT: "United")
- Kali-fal: A type of Romulan ale. (DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight")
- Prod: Praetor or Commander. (Star Trek)
- Tal Shiar: The Romulan intelligence agency/secret police (TNG: "Unification I")
- Uhlan: A rank in the Romulan military. (TNG: "The Defector")
- Veruul: A Romulan insult, analogous to the Klingon word "pahtak" (petaQ); possibly profane
- Commander William T. Riker was familiar with the term, and used it against Alidar Jarok, when the Romulan disparaged Lieutenant Worf with Klingon curse words. (TNG: "The Defector")
- Viinerine: A type of food. (TNG: "Face of the Enemy")
- Vorta Vor: The source of all creation. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)
Language samplesEdit
Part of a Romulan self-destruct countdown aboard a Romulan Warbird:
Romulan ultimatum to Enterprise NX-01 inside an annexed star system:
- Uhn kan'aganna! Tehca zuhn ruga'noktan!
- Uhn Kan'aganna! Tehca zuhn! Neemasta kan'aganna uckwazta!
- Kuhn'ukchtacht zuhn vockwadai!
- Bar'ak t'stu annankana. (ENT: "Minefield")
Appendices Edit
Background information Edit
Romulan dialogue was spoken by Ayel (played by Clifton Collins, Jr.) in a deleted scene from the film Star Trek. Translated into English, the Romulan he said meant, "Commander Nero. We're surrounded. What are your orders?"
Apocrypha Edit
- In Diane Duane's novel The Romulan Way, the Romulan language is said to be related to the Vulcan language. This suggests that during the Exodus of the Romulans, they abandoned most things Vulcan. "One thing they agreed on quickly was that they could not stop being Vulcan while they still spoke the language." In order to rectify this problem, the Romulans went back to old or "High" Vulcan and "aged" the language in another direction. The resulting tongue was named Rihan, with the Romulans' name for themselves being Rihannsu in Duane's novels, meaning "the Declared", in reference to their decision to secede from Vulcan society. (This name also used to collectively refer to the novel series.) The Romulan Way includes a partial glossary for the language (reprinted in the omnibus edition Rihannsu: The Bloodwing Voyages), and Duane reportedly intended to publish a Rihan counterpart to The Klingon Dictionary but it never materialized. However, fandom has extensively expanded on it, and it has been reused in other licensed works including the Romulan War series of Star Trek: Enterprise novels and Star Trek Online.
- In the novel Vulcan's Heart, Spock notices Romulans cursing in old Vulcan.
- The Romulan language font is called Kzhad, and was created by Monte Thrasher based on the shapes of LED displays.
- FASA gaming manuals referred to the Romulan word for the Romulan language as Romlastha.
External linksEdit
- Romulan language at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
