Editing Vulcan (Star Trek) (section)

==Culture==<!-- [[Kolinahr]] links to this section -->
===Language===<!-- [[Vulcan language]] redirects to this section -->
Vulcans have their own language in the ''Star Trek'' universe. Several words are heard throughout the various television series starting with the ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' episode "[[Amok Time]]". Words and dialogue are heard in the feature films ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'', ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'', ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'' and ''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/|title=The Star Trek Transcripts|work=chakoteya.net|access-date=September 26, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spockandsaavik.com/vulcans/Vulcan.htm|title=Excellent Vulcan research, all canon sources: compiled by Brightstar on Geocities|work=spockandsaavik.com|access-date=September 26, 2015|archive-date=February 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219222041/http://www.spockandsaavik.com/vulcans/Vulcan.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Linguist [[Marc Okrand]] is credited for creating the Vulcan spoken language for ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''. As in most of the films, the actors filmed their lines in English which was later dubbed with the Vulcan translation.<ref>According to Robert Wise's commentary in the Director's edition DVD, it was Gene Roddenberry's idea to have the Vulcans speak their own language. [Wise, Robert. ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture Directors Edition'' [Disc 1]. Special features: Commentary] The translation into Vulcan was made by actor [[James Doohan]]. Doohan observed the actors' lip movements and created new vocal "sounds" for them to dub over their original English. According to the DVD commentary of the film ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'', actors Leonard Nimoy and [[Kirstie Alley]], portraying Spock and [[Saavik]] respectively, also spoke their lines in English, and later dubbed in Vulcan that corresponded with the movements of their mouths in the scene. {{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5Did-eVQDc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/e5Did-eVQDc| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=Marc Okrand on Klingon|date=May 2, 2012|work=YouTube|access-date=September 26, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Names===
The treatment of Vulcan names has been erratic throughout ''Star Trek''{{'}}s production history. Early on, female Vulcans were typically given names beginning with "T" followed by an [[apostrophe]] then a "p". The earliest reference to Vulcan names following a set pattern dates back to a May 3, 1966 memo from ''TOS'' producer [[Robert H. Justman]] to [[Gene Roddenberry]] (later reprinted in the book ''The Making of Star Trek'') in which Justman recommended that all Vulcan names begin with "SP" and end with "K", and have exactly five letters. (It is clear from the context of the book, however, that the memo was intended as a joke, as the series of memos ends up discussing the pronunciation of such names as "Spook", "Spilk" and "Spork".)<ref>{{cite book |author1=Whitfield, Stephen E. |author2=Gene Roddenberry |title=The Making of Star Trek |location=New York |publisher=Ballantine |year=1968 |page=274 |id= SBN 345-23401-4-150 |others={{USD|1.50}} |isbn=0-345-23401-4}}</ref>

Only non-canonical sources have provided any Vulcans with family names, which are usually spoken of as defying attempts at both human pronunciation, especially with English-language phonemes, and human typesetting, especially with the characters of the modern Latin alphabet used for the English language. Hence, no canonical source has given any family names to any Vulcan characters, and, indeed, every one of the personal names previously mentioned is officially described as being only Latin-alphabetical and English-phonetic approximations of the real ones. In the ''TOS'' episode "[[This Side of Paradise (Star Trek: The Original Series)|This Side of Paradise]]", Spock is asked if he has another name, to which he replies "You couldn't pronounce it."

===Marriage===
Vulcans practice [[arranged marriage]],<ref name="startrek.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/documentaries/article/8118.html|title=Star Trek|work=startrek.com|access-date=September 26, 2015|archive-date=September 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903105919/http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/documentaries/article/8118.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> in which a male and a female are bonded as children, with consummation at a later date. [[Spock]] explains that this childhood pairing has no one-for-one human analogue, as it is considered less than a full "marriage", but more than simply a "betrothal". This is why Spock first described T'Pring as his "wife", before later explaining that this was an incorrect approximation. Following adult union, it is customary for the couple to remain on [[#Homeworld|Vulcan]] for at least one Vulcan year before conducting off-world travel, though it is possible to defer this requirement until a later date, upon negotiation with the male's family. The state of pon farr is not required for marriage to occur.

A Vulcan female can challenge the proposed bonding by calling for "koon-ut-kal-if-fee", meaning "marriage or challenge", in which a challenger for marriage engages the bonded male in a fight to the death. Alternatively, the bonded male has the option of rejecting his intended bride and choosing another. It is acceptable for a male to "release" his mate from marriage (effectively the same as a [[divorce]]).<ref>Sussman, Michael and Bormanis, Andre. Star Trek: Enterprise, Episode 4/12, "Babel One." First aired January 28, 2005.</ref> It is not established whether females have the same option, and T'Pring stated in "[[Amok Time]]" that a koon-ut-kal-if-fee challenge was the only way she could legally divorce Spock.<ref name="startrek.com" />

While most Vulcan marriages are arranged in childhood, adult Vulcans who have no mates may also declare the "koon-ut-so-lik", the ritual Vulcan marriage proposal. As with arranged marriages, the Vulcan being proposed to may accept or challenge the union.

===Family===
It is customary for Vulcan children to undertake an initiation ordeal known as the "Kahs-wan" (sometimes spelled Kaswahn), in which they are left to fend for themselves in the desert for a specific period of time. Not all children survive this rite of passage. T'Pol underwent the ritual, while [[Tuvok]] experienced a variation known as the "tal'oth". The Kahs-wan was first introduced in the ''Star Trek: The Animated Series'' episode "[[Yesteryear (Star Trek: The Animated Series)|Yesteryear]]", in which Spock's experience as a child was detailed.

Contrary to the Vulcan image of expressing no emotion, family bonds can be strong and affectionate just as they are for humans. Tuvok expressed his love for his wife on a few occasions (without actually using the term), [[Sarek]] openly expressed affection for both his human wives, and a clear bond of love existed between [[T'Pol]] and her mother, T'Les. The bond between Spock and his adopted sister, [[Michael Burnham]], is a central theme of the ''[[Star Trek: Discovery]]'' second season.

===Fighting and self-defense===
In the ''TOS'' episode "[[The Savage Curtain]]", [[Surak]] explains to Kirk Vulcan's history of violence and the turn to peace that saved their civilization. He tells Kirk that he will not fight. Spock says that he has fought, and will fight again, but that he, too, is a "Vulcan, bred to peace."

====Vulcan nerve pinch====
{{Main|Vulcan nerve pinch}}
Vulcans are capable of a technique known as the "[[Vulcan nerve pinch]]" or "neck pinch", which targets a location on the neck between the head and the shoulder that renders the victim unconscious. The pinch was first seen in the ''TOS'' episode "[[The Naked Time]]". The mechanics of the pinch have never been explained. While practiced mainly by Vulcans, it is apparently not exclusive to their race. [[Jonathan Archer]] and [[Jean-Luc Picard]] both use the technique after becoming involved in Vulcan telepathic rituals (Archer holding the katra of Surak, Picard having undergone a [[#Mind melds|mind-meld]] with [[Sarek]]). [[Seven of Nine]] is depicted as capable of using this ability in the episode of ''Voyager'' "[[The Raven (Star Trek: Voyager)|The Raven]]". The android [[Data (Star Trek)|Data]] also displayed this ability in the ''TNG'' episode "[[Unification (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Unification, Part II]]," which Spock described as "not bad." In Star Trek: Discovery, Michael Burnham does the nerve pinch on Captain Philippa Georgiou and commits mutiny.

The neck pinch itself (referred to in scripts as "FSNP", or "Famous Spock Neck Pinch"<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Star trek encyclopedia : a reference guide to the future|last=Michael|first=Okuda|date=1999|publisher=Pocket Books|others=Okuda, Denise., Drexler, Doug.|isbn=0671034758|edition= Updated and expanded|location=New York|pages=550|oclc=42837231}}</ref>) was created by Leonard Nimoy, who objected to a scene in "[[The Enemy Within (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Enemy Within]]", in which a transporter malfunction had divided Kirk between his good and evil selves, that required Spock to render the "evil" Kirk unconscious and subduing him by hitting him over the head with the butt of a phaser. Nimoy was convinced that such overt violence, in addition to being too similar to that found in many crime dramas of the time, was uncharacteristic of the strictly-logical Spock, and suggested the neck pinch as a less-emotional alternative.<ref>{{Cite press release|last=Cushman|first=Marc|title=The Day Leonard Nimoy Created Spock's Neck-Pinch|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-day-leonard-nimoy-created-spocks-neck-pinch-300044568.html|access-date=2021-10-27|website=www.prnewswire.com|language=en}}</ref>

===IDIC===
[[Image:IDIC.png|right|175px|thumb|A graphic representation of a Kol-Ut-Shan pendant symbolizing IDIC]]
In ''Star Trek'', the IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) has become a symbol of Vulcan equality philosophy. It is symbolized by the "Kol-Ut-Shan", a [[pendant]] of yellow and white gold with a circle and triangle resting upon each other, and adorned with a white jewel in the center.<ref>{{cite video |people = Terry Windell (Director) Tim Russ (Actor) |date = 1999-02-03 |title =Star Trek: Voyager - Gravity |medium = [[Production company|Television production]] | publisher = [[Paramount Pictures]] |location = [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]]}}</ref>

The Vulcan IDIC pendant was designed by [[Gene Roddenberry]] as a marketing premium to be sold through [[mail order]] to ''Star Trek'' fans. As early as the end of the first season, fans of the show had begun writing the studio asking for copies of the scripts, film clip frames, etc., and these were soon sold through Roddenberry's mail order company, [[Lincoln Enterprises]].<ref>[[Harlan Ellison]] mentions the Trimbles as founders of the business and their eventual ouster in favor of Barrett in his book ''The City on the Edge of Forever'' (Open Road, 2014).</ref> As evidenced in some of his letters and memos, Roddenberry was fond of circle-and-triangle designs and had wanted to use them as early as the first season's "[[The Return of the Archons]]". As reported by ''Inside Star Trek'' editor Ruth Berman, "ardent [[rock hound]] and amateur [[lapidary]]" Roddenberry came up with the Vulcan philosophy after he presented Leonard Nimoy with a unique hand-crafted piece of jewelry, a pendant of a polished yellow gold circle and a florentined white gold triangle with a stone of brilliant white [[Strontium titanate|fabulite]]—an artificial gem "developed by the laser industry and used in space mechanisms for its optical qualities", and thus well-suited as a gift for an actor in a science fiction show. Readers were encouraged to submit their interest in such a product to Lincoln Enterprises mail order firm. It was noted that less expensive materials would keep costs down.<ref>(issue #1, ''Inside Star Trek'', July 1968, pp.&nbsp;15–16)</ref>

According to [[William Shatner]] in ''Star Trek Memories'', IDIC was only worked into the episode "[[Is There in Truth No Beauty?]]" as an afterthought. The actors all knew it was a mere advertising toy. Reportedly, Leonard Nimoy was asked to wear it and refused, so it was passed on to Shatner; when he also refused, Nimoy reluctantly agreed to wear it. At the last minute, Roddenberry sent down several pages of new script for the dinner scene, in which Spock was to give a long-winded explanation of the philosophy. The actors refused to film it until Roddenberry cut it down.

In an issue of ''[[The Humanist (magazine)|The Humanist]]'', [[Majel Barrett]] claimed that the philosophy of "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" was based on the teachings of Rabbi [[Maimonides]].<ref>Roddenberry, Majel B. "The Legacy of ''Star Trek''" ''The Humanist'' 55(4): 9–11. July 1995</ref>

Although its origins are rooted in marketing and sales, the IDIC became a theme writers and set designers have used in most of the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Spock wore the symbol during important gatherings and ceremonies as part of his [[dress uniform]]. After appearing for the first time in the ''TOS'' episode, "[[Is There in Truth No Beauty?]]", it appeared in Spock's quarters in ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'', ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'', and ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]''. In the series ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', T'Pol is given an IDIC pendant from her mother T'Les, she holds an IDIC pendant in "[[Terra Prime]]" while she is in mourning for her dying child, and in the episode "[[The Andorian Incident]]" the IDIC symbol appears on small playing pieces that are being used to construct a map of the P'Jem catacombs. In the ''DS9'' episode "[[The Jem'Hadar]]", Quark mentions selling Vulcan IDIC pins, and in the ''DS9'' episode "[[Take Me Out to the Holosuite]]", Captain Solok and his Vulcan team, the Logicians, wear ball caps featuring the IDIC symbol.