I'm re-reading Hard Contact at the moment and have just noticed for the first time that when several Trandoshans appear they are continually refered to as "Trannies". This of course made me giggle a lot. The commandos seemed to be having a tough time taking down three aggressive "Trannies" who kept going at them. Does this nickname appear elsewhere or is this just Traviss being really oblivious as to what the term means in real life?
I don't recall seeing it in anything else that I have read, nor do I recall seeing it in any source material. I've seen the abbreviation "Trandos" at least once, but I can't recall quite from where. "Trannies" to refer to Trandoshans, though... This is a first.
Not oblivious, it's just that there's a cultural dissonance. For one, the term doesn't carry the same in-universe connotation. Secondly, you should have a look here to see just how many different subjects can be referred to as "trannies", half of which have absolutely nothing to do with anything sexual whatsoever. It's slang, and therefore subject to the whims of language.
What if an orphaned Trandoshan was adopted by Gungan parents? They would obviously immerse him in the Gungan culture, and name him according to their style, perhaps repetitive like Jar Jar? What if this Trandoshan were questioning their identity? Would it be possible to have a Trannie Trannie called Trannie Trannie?
I could be wrong, but I've got a feeling they called them Trannies in the original Republic Commando video game.
Traviss is also english as i recall, they have a word for cigaretts which is a no no for Americans unless you are a raging homophobe. Trannie might not have the same contex, like Paki does not have the same context in the American lexion.
Could have sworn they just call them lizards or Trandos, at least as far as I recall from playing through it 2 weeks ago, whilst still feeling that the game would actually have been more fun to play if we were playing from Trandoshan merc perspective. Screw Clone Commando II, I want Separatist commando.
Hutt Commando, the Game 4 races to choose: Shell Hutts, Trandoshan Slavers, Gamorreans, Nikto Mercenaries
I've never heard Trandoshans called trandos or trannies. I've never read the republic commando books either so no big loss.
I've never heard the term "trannies" or "trandos" to refer to Trandoshans either. Only thing I remember from the books and games is their proper names and the occasional derogatory lizard or scaly... BTW: I'm writing a fanfiction at the moment and was wondering if an officer or member of the Imp armed forces could be booted out from the service for concealing a prior service interspecies tryst? I don't now of any mentions of this in the EU, but just making sure.
If it's a fanfic, then it's really up to you. You could always see how fraternizing is handled in various real world armed forces and base it off of those policies. To my knowledge, it tends to be a "if you do it and don't get caught, you're fine. If you do it and get caught, it's your ass" type of thing. It's frowned upon, but fraternizing happens (noncoms with noncoms, officers with officers, avoid mixing the two), and it's not something that would go on someone's records, if I recall correctly. If you let it impede your judgment to the point that it causes you to make a grievous misstep and be discharged, or the fraternizing was not consensual, then yes, you could be booted out. Back to the topic at hand... I swear I had read "Trando" in something, perhaps a source or a novel, but I can't quite recall from where. I may be remembering something wrong, but I swear that I had seen the term in print somewhere.
I know for a fact Trandoshans have indeed been referred to as Trandos before in both Republic Commando and the novel series.
lol @ this thread but anyway I'm pretty sure they say "trandos" or something in the video game, been awhile tho
I remember this really stood out when reading the books, like she was going out of her way to mock transgender people.
In UK English, it was commonly used for 'transistor radio(s)' when I was young (probably when Karen Traviss was, too) - there are very distinct derogatory English slang terms for gay and transgender people.
We do, Likewater, and it's not 'ciggie' or 'gasper' either! The full, six letter, uncontracted word was originally applied to a bundle of wood (probably small, short, logs) as a unit of measurement and is still in use today as the name of a type of (IIRC, offal-based) food. Somewhere in between, it became a mild form of insulting description for a certain type of female; particularly if preceded by the word 'old'. As you rightly point out, the three letter contraction (four letter plural) is still used as an alternative for cigarette - and has been since the First World War (Great War), as evidenced by the lyrics to the "Pack up your troubles in your old kitbag" marching song. The singular has also been used (in the past) within English Universities and Public Schools to describe a junior student who had been assigned as the 'servant' of a senior one. Possibly due to the association with 'troubles' in the marching song, the word is quite often still used to describe something being too much trouble, too much of a bother or needing too much effort.
I wonder if in Trandoshan history, culture and folklore - if there ever was a case of an elderly woman transvestite? A Granny Trannie Trannie?