UHURA ANNOUNCES SHE'S A XENOLINGUIST
If you haven't seen it yet, do so this weekend. The new STAR TREK movie is well worth seeing. The young actors are excellent in their roles, not obviously trying to ape the mannerisms of the original cast but managing to suggest them in subtle ways. We get explanations for all manner of puzzling things in the series -- such as why Kirk calls Dr McCoy "Bones" (not as a nod to the old slang term for doctor: sawbones). The special effects are gorgeous. The plot is exciting. And we have the added pleasure of an appearance by Leonard Nimoy as the later Spock, courtesy of some handwaving rubbery science for which I willingly suspended my disbelief.
But for me the best part was when Uhura declared herself a "xenolinguist" and defined "xenolinguistics!" Since I first coined that term back in a story and an article on alien communication in AMAZING back in 1988 (the online Oxford dictionary of sf terms confirms this), I was quite delighted to have Paramount give it its blessing! Take that, NASA -- which has been playing with the prefix "exo."
But for me the best part was when Uhura declared herself a "xenolinguist" and defined "xenolinguistics!" Since I first coined that term back in a story and an article on alien communication in AMAZING back in 1988 (the online Oxford dictionary of sf terms confirms this), I was quite delighted to have Paramount give it its blessing! Take that, NASA -- which has been playing with the prefix "exo."