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  • Subject: alien names in Halo
Subject: alien names in Halo

Why are they all based on Greek mythology? When the Didact was naming his army, why did he use something from Human fiction? Also, why are they all in english? Why would the Forerunners call The Flood The Flood? Why not dbaoimbmabm or some crazy alien thing? It should have been like the human that named them the flood that shouldn't have been their name before. Halo is SciFi that means it should make sense with science and the names in Halo make no sense unless you can explain.

  • 11.24.2012 12:35 PM PDT
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Forerunner script, when translated into English, uses idioms from the reader's own experience. Forerunner tech is pretty advanced, so that's just how it translates.

  • 11.24.2012 12:50 PM PDT

what do you mean? and how does this explain things like covenant stuff being in english, like the Brutes names and stuff, or the "needler" or "spiker". Do they call it something different?

  • 11.24.2012 12:52 PM PDT
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Do not waste your tears, I was not born to watch the world grow dim. Life is not measured in years, but by the deeds of men.

Posted by: goldhawk
We should know better, because we are better.

Mostly translation convention. The Covenant managed to make a translation of english pretty quick.

  • 11.24.2012 12:57 PM PDT


Posted by: Oblivioh
what do you mean? and how does this explain things like covenant stuff being in english, like the Brutes names and stuff, or the "needler" or "spiker". Do they call it something different?
Well things like "Elite", "Brute", "Grunt", "Spiker", "Needler", etc are names HUMANS have given them.

That's not they actually mean in the Covenant language(s). So Sangheili doesn't mean "Elite" in their language. It probably means something along the lines of "A person from Sanghelios", much like how "Canadian" is used to distinguish someone from Canada.

  • 11.24.2012 1:08 PM PDT

Forerunner translators translate names and meanings of words into their most similar parallel in a different language. Promethean is not a Forerunner word, it's the closest translation of a Forerunner word in our dictionary.

And the term Flood was actually coined by humans, not Forerunners. As are all of the mainstream names of Covenant races.

  • 11.24.2012 1:20 PM PDT

No Cortana was like "They simply called it "The Flood"" when talking about the forerunner-flood war. And why are Brutes called things from greek mythology then and why did Elites call Requiem Requiem in the terminal...

  • 11.25.2012 10:29 AM PDT

If you're passionate about the thing you're talking about, I'll always lend an ear.

Because this is a science fictional universe created by humans.

Every now and then there will be references to human history in any part of the fiction. I'm sure anyone can just make up a explanation to your current questions and we'll just roll with the one that sounds the best.

[Edited on 11.25.2012 11:09 AM PST]

  • 11.25.2012 11:07 AM PDT


Posted by: Oblivioh
And why are Brutes called things from greek mythology then.
Care to provide at least three examples, besides Tartarus?

  • 11.25.2012 12:02 PM PDT

Here is a good idea. Ask bungie, and 343 why they couldn't come up with something original.

  • 11.25.2012 1:47 PM PDT

Easter Egg Hunter. Apprentice Tricker/Glitcher (learning from Grumpy and Sliding Ghost).

Trying to get Waypoint to update Halo 3 stats in detail like here. Now no one can see that my Halo 3 Spartan no longer looks like my Reach Spartan.

Really want to be a Heroic member or have a title. :/


Posted by: Oblivioh
what do you mean? and how does this explain things like covenant stuff being in english, like the Brutes names and stuff, or the "needler" or "spiker". Do they call it something different?


Those are names humans gave to them. The Covenant only call it that when speaking English as there is probably no other translation.

  • 11.25.2012 2:22 PM PDT


Posted by: Oblivioh
No Cortana was like "They simply called it "The Flood"" when talking about the forerunner-flood war. And why are Brutes called things from greek mythology then and why did Elites call Requiem Requiem in the terminal...


Ancient Man called it the Flood, and the Forerunners adopted the term.

  • 11.25.2012 7:13 PM PDT