Naming Tau Ships

[AndrewChristlieb]

Oy. Ok so this is starting to hurt my head a bit but here goes.

NAMING TAU SHIPS
As with many things the Tau adopt a very
structured approach to naming their vessels. Each
ship or squadron’s name is made up of a series
of elements.

The first element is the Sept responsible for
building the ship or squadron.

The second element is the ship’s class name.

The third element is the personal name of the
ship or squadron’s first commander. This will
always be an air caste member of Kor’ui rank or
higher.

The fourth element is the personal name of the
ship or squadrons current commander. This is
omitted if it is the same as the third element.

Ok so where do Tau names come from?

Tau personal names, unlike those of humans, usually mean things in their language, depending on the deeds in their lives.
 
Example
 
Thus, the Tau named "Shas'O Vior'la Shovah Kais Mont'yr" (a.k.a. Commander Farsight) would be broken down as follows:
 Shas - The individual is a member of the Fire Caste...
O - ...who is a high-ranking Commander and hero...
Vior'la - ...who comes from the Sept of Vior'la...

...and has a personal name translated as being far-sighted (Shovah), skilled (Kais), and having seen many battles (Mont'yr, meaning "blooded").

Ok so how do we tell the first and second commander appart? for example my Defender squadron:

Dal'yth Kir’qath Kauyon Lynu

Defender (Ship or Squadron?)
built at Sept Dal’yth
first commanded by “Patient Hunter”
currently commanded by“Steadfast”

This really doesnt differentiate between the commanders and gives no indication of which fleet (sept) theyre currently tied to. This also doesnt explain how you tell the rank of either the original or current commander other than we know hes at least a captian. How do we determine the break down as they did with the example in Armada:

Thus Dal’yth Gal’leath A’proh M’lath is an
Explorer class vessel built by on the Dal’yth,
first commanded by Kor’O A’proh and now
commanded by Kor’ui M’lath

I would hate to have to rely on posting the entire name but that the only way Ive seen so far to convey the correct message:

Dal'yth Kir’qath Lissera Kor’El Dal’yth Kauyon Kor’El Tau’n Lynu

Defender Group
Built at Dal'yth
Originally commanded by Captian Kauyon “Patient Hunter” from Dal'yth
Currently commanded by Captian Lynu “Steadfast” from Tau'n

Thats a mouth full.

[Sigoroth]

I don't think we need to know the rank and point of origin of the commanders in the ship name. That information is included in the commanders name.

[horizon]

Indeed, sept - class - first commander - new commander is enough for a ships name.
How it used in the fleet and what the ranks are doesn't matter for the name, that is something for fleet command.

[AndrewChristlieb]

I can agree with that but then why does it have any of this in there? The name doesnt realy tell me anything useful about the ship. Why do i care where the ship was built as opposed to where its stationed, why do i care who the first commander was at all? I just realy dont understand this naming system. If were not actually naming the ship and instead giving facts about it why are so pointless?

[horizon]

It is a name. Divine Right doesn't tell us anything either.

[AndrewChristlieb]

Well... to an extent yes, but also no. Imperial ships are not as structured but they each tell a bit about the ships. The Divine Right was named due to the circumstances of its discovery. Some are named based off of the place of construction or some important person of the time while others are named after a previous ship. All of these tell us something about the ship.

Now we have the Tau way which is very structured and seemingly designed with the purpose of giving not a name as such but a synopsis of the ships history which would be fine if it made any sense. Actually talking it out is helping tho, i think the only thing thats really annoying me about it now is that it represents the place of origin but not the current location. Well that and the problem with what is its actual name , would it just be called the same as the personal name of the commander in short? It feels like they should earn their own names based off of the "personal" deeds and experiences of the ships which could well exceed that of any commanders they may carry. 

[Sigoroth]

Well... to an extent yes, but also no. Imperial ships are not as structured but they each tell a bit about the ships. The Divine Right was named due to the circumstances of its discovery. Some are named based off of the place of construction or some important person of the time while others are named after a previous ship. All of these tell us something about the ship.

Now we have the Tau way which is very structured and seemingly designed with the purpose of giving not a name as such but a synopsis of the ships history which would be fine if it made any sense. Actually talking it out is helping tho, i think the only thing thats really annoying me about it now is that it represents the place of origin but not the current location. Well that and the problem with what is its actual name , would it just be called the same as the personal name of the commander in short? It feels like they should earn their own names based off of the "personal" deeds and experiences of the ships which could well exceed that of any commanders they may carry.

It is the same with the Tau. The Tau name tells us something of the history of the ship. It tells us where it was made for a start. This will mean a lot to certain Tau, who will know the reputation of any given sept. It tells the configuration of the ship, which informs the Tau hearing it what sort of ship it is and what sort of roles it's likely to have performed and how successful it was. It tells who first commanded the worthy vessel, which again means something to the Tau. Maybe it's a noteworthy commander whose reputation is known far and wide, for good or ill. And it tells them who's in charge now, with the same reputation perks and pitfalls. This last name does more though. It does actually tell the place where the ship is now. Because if you know to which battlegroup, convoy, sept, Aun or mission that commander is assigned to then you know what the ship is doing. If you were to provide information about the current location in the name then you'd have to continually change the name as the ship moves from place to place!

These facts will all mean something to a member of the Tau empire. From them a narrative is unfolded in much the same way that mentioning the name "Bismark" unfolds a narrative for us. All the facts associated with the place, variant, historical commander and current commander become associated with the ship in its name.