Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm wondering why they named their tanks and stuff after fish and whales. Seems odd to me.

I'm not a troll so don't treat my question like a troll post.

Because the Tau "names" are Imperial reporting names, like how we gave new names to Soviet weapons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_reporting_name

Its "our" names for them. Much like Zeroes, Kates, Judys and such in WWII, or Akulas and Typhoons in the Cold War.

Makes sense.

Also their faces look a bit like fish. And they are communists, it goes along with how fish travel in schools.

Right. Likewise, I doubt that tyranid of the hive fleet Leviathan think of themselves as being hive fleet Leviathan. They more think of themselves as "WAAARGLABLAAAA!"

Why is a Trygon named Trygon if it doesn't even speak?

 Kroothawk wrote:
Why is a Trygon named Trygon if it doesn't even speak?

brings up a good point, the imperium calls genestealers for good reason and they even explained how the planet of Tyrin gave name to the race but who came up with all the wierd ways to pronounce these things? trygon? carniflex? doesn't sound like anything in particular in the imperium gothic that we know about

 sudojoe wrote:

 Kroothawk wrote:
Why is a Trygon named Trygon if it doesn't even speak?

brings up a good point, the imperium calls genestealers for good reason and they even explained how the planet of Tyrin gave name to the race but who came up with all the wierd ways to pronounce these things? trygon? carniflex? doesn't sound like anything in particular in the imperium gothic that we know about

The names are derived from latin, the same way all of high and low gothic are...
Trygon means stingray
Carnifex means butcher

The names are derived from latin, the same way all of high and low gothic are...
Trygon means stingray
Carnifex means butcher

ooo I didn't know that squadman. Thanks! ( really, I didn't know it, so I am quite happy about learning something new. the internet is hard to make it not sound sarcastic so please think of the response as a positive intention)

By that vein, are eldar aspects named that by the imperium? Or are those translations? I don't know that the imperial soldiers would call them "dire avengers" or "striking scorpions".

If they were human names wouldn't they be called "xenoscorpions" or "Howling witches" or some such?

I would guess a mix of translations and the naming style mentioned earlier, as the Imperium does (limited) trading with the Eldar via Rogue Traders. Would have thought it'd be the same for the Tau (/shrug).
Obviously, for 'Nids they just make something up.

the_scotsman wrote:
If they were human names wouldn't they be called "xenoscorpions" or "Howling witches" or some such?

Why should a Xeno race name its Aspect Warriors after an Undead from Irish Mythology (Banshee)?
In the end it is the Codex writer who comes up with the names, so inconsistencies may happen.

 Ailaros wrote:
Right. Likewise, I doubt that tyranid of the hive fleet Leviathan think of themselves as being hive fleet Leviathan. They more think of themselves as "WAAARGLABLAAAA!"

This

Well, for orks, their stuff is usually so crzy and haphazard it's hard to classify. Most of the stuff I've read will refer to ork vehicles and weapons by what they look like (aka "shoot down that jet!" or "stop that greenskin's tank before it hits our lines") I've never heard them say things like "bring down that deffkopta!" for example. Ork infantry gets a similar treatment, with most infantry either being refered to as greenskins, big greenskins, and holy-feth-thats-a-bigass-greenskin. Their codex however refers to them as what the orks themselves call their gear, but that's probably just because the ork way of classification is a lot funnier.

The Tyranids are called that because the very first imperial planet they ate was called Tyran.

Genestealers were codified previously, and it actually took several centuries after Nids arrived before the connection between them and Genestealers was established. They are called Genestealers because they "steal" your genes.



Tau stuff is named after fish because thats the system the Imperium chose. Possably because their main vehicle hull resembles a Hammerhead shark, and they float along gracefully like aquatic life.

So Hammerhead, Devilfish, Skyray, Remora, Tetra, etc...

You do have to be a bit more cautious with the more sentient xenos races that the imperium has contact with. I mean, the orks call their choppas choppas, and there has been enough contact over time for the imperium to call choppas choppas now as well. Likewise, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the imperium's names for eldar stuff is a translation of the eldar name for those things.

In the case of tau, the period of contact has probably just been too brief.

Because the Tau call them Sha'u'va'ra'kri'to'vun'arra or something like that. Would you like to say that beside the tabletop?

 Harriticus wrote:
Because the Tau call them Sha'u'va'ra'kri'to'vun'arra or something like that. Would you like to say that beside the tabletop?

I've just read this out loud. It sounds cool

 Ailaros wrote:
Right. Likewise, I doubt that tyranid of the hive fleet Leviathan think of themselves as being hive fleet Leviathan. They more think of themselves as "WAAARGLABLAAAA!"

 Meade wrote:
Also their faces look a bit like fish. And they are communists, it goes along with how fish travel in schools.

You obviously don't even know what communism actually is.

The Tau Empire is a Despotic Totalitarian Collectivist Imperialistic Utilitarianist Society ruled by Theocratic Hereditary Oligarchies watching over Meritocratic Councils.

 juraigamer wrote:

 Meade wrote:
Also their faces look a bit like fish. And they are communists, it goes along with how fish travel in schools.

You obviously don't even know what communism actually is.

The Tau Empire is a Despotic Totalitarian Collectivist Imperialistic Utilitarianist Society ruled by Theocratic Hereditary Oligarchies watching over Meritocratic Councils.

I only disagree with the Theocratic bit, the Greater Good isn't theology.

The Greater Good is a big part of their theology as it is the basis of their belief system. Tau are expected to put aside their personal aspirations in order to advance "The Greater Good " of the Tau empire and the welfare of their fellow citizens within it.

juraigamer wrote:

And they are communists

You obviously don't even know what communism actually is.

/thread

Just let it die in peace, folks.

 Marcch wrote:
The Greater Good is a big part of their theology as it is the basis of their belief system. Tau are expected to put aside their personal aspirations in order to advance "The Greater Good " of the Tau empire and the welfare of their fellow citizens within it.

Sounds like socialist ideology to me. Putin would be impressed.

I suppose so. Anyways it works for them I guess.

 Ailaros wrote:
Right. Likewise, I doubt that tyranid of the hive fleet Leviathan think of themselves as being hive fleet Leviathan. They more think of themselves as "WAAARGLABLAAAA!"

Interestingly enough there is some kind of language behind the Tyranids. Not saying they speak to one another (Tyranids do not need speech or culture), but astropaths and psychics caught in the shadow of the warp will often start babbling in a bizarre language and scribbling unknown symbols everywhere.

Harriticus wrote:Interestingly enough there is some kind of language behind the Tyranids. Not saying they speak to one another (Tyranids do not need speech or culture), but astropaths and psychics caught in the shadow of the warp will often start babbling in a bizarre language and scribbling unknown symbols everywhere.

Huh.

 Marcch wrote:
The Greater Good is a big part of their theology as it is the basis of their belief system. Tau are expected to put aside their personal aspirations in order to advance "The Greater Good " of the Tau empire and the welfare of their fellow citizens within it.

Does that make communism one of the big world religions?
(Hint: ideology and religion are two different things)

 Kroothawk wrote:

 Marcch wrote:
The Greater Good is a big part of their theology as it is the basis of their belief system. Tau are expected to put aside their personal aspirations in order to advance "The Greater Good " of the Tau empire and the welfare of their fellow citizens within it.

Does that make communism one of the big world religions?
(Hint: ideology and religion are two different things)

Communism despises religion.
Lenin:'Religion is like opium to the people'

This is probably a bit late to interject this point, but T'au isn't a 'desert world'. The Fire Caste first came from a more arid part of T'au, and they're the caste we see the most of, but the climate is pretty varied; the Earth Caste come from more fertile regions, the Air Caste come from mountains, and the Water Caste come from islands/coastlines somewhere, which suggests the whole thing isn't a desert.