So it just occurred to me that during the TNG production era there is a shift in ship nomenclature:
- TNG: The Enterprise
- DS9: The Defiant/Yukon/Danube/etc.
- VOY:
TheVoyager - (ENT): “Ennurprais” is all that’s left.
Seems towards the later shows they stopped referring to the ship as a, well, ship and just addressed it as a character? Why?
Interesting, I hadn’t considered that. Though that would still not explain why even the “formal” guys like janeway and tuvok are using the colloquial form at all times, even when interacting with other species. I’d imagine especially tuvok would use the correct form at all times, just because it is the proper way.
For ENT I have nothing, only perhaps that the snobby Vulcans were referring to it as just enterprise as well, right from the start. All other non human ships got addressed properly though (the kumari, the dal‘kyr).
“I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Star Ship Voyager.” Once it’s been properly introduced she abbreviates with “Voyager.”