I think all the salarian characters (apart from the one on the Council) have the same voice actor, Robin Atkin Downes. Worth a mention? -- Tullis 10:20, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, if you can confirm it, add it to trivia at the bottom of the article. Look on the official website or IMDB for confirmation. EliTe X HeRo 15:30, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

It's... already confirmed and added to the trivia section. It's right there. It has been for ages. --Tullis 15:38, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Where is this confirmed? I think Downes only voices two or three unnamed background salarians.--Morlan 06:39, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

He's credited with "salarian" voices. The majority of salarians clearly have the same voice actor aside from their Council representative, so it's likely a voice filter was used (as Downes' voice is relatively deep). Downes certainly voices a couple of background turians, though. But if you have evidence to the contrary, change the article. : ) --Tullis 12:48, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

“The majority of salarians clearly have the same voice actor aside from their Council representative”

Arrgh, this is driving me insane. I seem to be the only one who hears the different voice actors for the various salarians. There are 30+ salarians in the game. I believe that over a dozen different voice actors voice the salarians, not just one or two guys. Anyway, I have no evidence, just speculation.

Speculation on voice actors and salarians in ME:

Salarian Councillor - Armin Shimerman

Administrator Anoleis - Roger Jackson

Captain Kirrahe - George Szilagyi

Doctor Saleon - Brian George (with Garrus) / Bill Ratner (without Garrus) *for some reason Saleon has a different voice actor depending on whether or not Garrus is with you.

Chorban - David Ley

Schells - Josh Dean

Ganto Imness - S. Scott Bullock

Doctor Palon - Steve Staley

Menos Avot - S. Scott Bullock

Morlan - Matt Levin (it sort of sounds like Levin, but I’m not sure about this one)

Ledra - George Szilagyi

Unnamed Salarians:

Presidium Salarian Diplomat / Citadel Tower Salarian Diplomat- David Ley

Salarian Consort Client- S. Scott Bullock

Salarian Flux Patrons- Matt Levin, Robin Atkin Downes

Salarian CSec Guard - George Szilagyi

Noveria Salarian Suicide Log - Steve Staley

Hanshan Salarian Businessman - S. Scott Bullock

Hanshan Salarian Doorman - Matt Levin

Virmire Salarian soldiers- Mark Meer, David Ley, Robin Atkin Downes, Matt Levin

I can't seem to identify who voices Rentola and a few of the background salarians.--Morlan 21:19, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

George Szilagyi??? Is he hungarian or just his name is? I never expected that someone from my country was a voice actor of my favourite game...

Can't find any info on where he was born, but he seems to be Canadian. That's certainly where he lives and works out of for at least the past decade or so. SpartHawg948 21:21, July 17, 2010 (UTC)

Contents 1 Capitalization... 2 Graphics overlap text 3 Family Relations 4 Salarian Goddess 5 Silent Step and Ever Alert 6 Salarian Republic 7 Breeding Habits 8 Salarian Heads 9 Change last line of Biology section 10 Salarian psychological imprinting / Dalatrass 11 French trivia: "galarien" vs. "salarian" 11.1 "gale à rien" ? 11.2 Editing wars ? 11.3 What I propose for this entry of the trivia ? 11.4 In the same way: "batarian" vs. "butarien" ?

Capitalization... Edit

Well there's like 15 entries of "Salarian" in here, so I'll edit those, but it pretty much goes against all proper grammar I've learned in regards to titles and names. --Delsana 23:42, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

This article actually looks good as far as capitalization is concerned. Remember: if it's the first word in a sentence, the alien race name will obviously be capitalized (as it is a few times in this article). All other times, no caps.SpartHawg948 00:09, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Nationality and Race should ALWAYS be capitalised. See here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/teacher/0000010459.shtml

Hope that helps. StirB

(edit conflict)And that is incorrect. in the Mass Effect Universe, race names like salarian, turian, human, etc., are not capitalized. Only Prothean, Reaper, and Collector are capitalized. Nationality is a different story. So it really doesn't help actually. Also that is a blog and blogs are not so good reference sources. Lancer1289 11:28, September 2, 2011 (UTC)

This blog isn't in Mass Effect, or its environment, it exists in our reality in 2011. The rules of SPAG from our world should supercede.

I'm not sure where you learnt English, I am guessing America, but in the definitive OED English, nationalities and races (aside from black / white) are capitalised.

Cheers, StirB

And the question, which is over three years old now so why you are responding is a good question, was about whether or not "salarian" should be capitalized in the article, and the correct answer is it shouldn't be. Real world capitalizing rules don't apply here as the Universe has its own set of rules, and those rules take precedent. I have already explained those rules, so I don't need to go through them again. This is a fictional universe, and as such, they can make whatever rules they want to about capitalization and whatnot. So what you cited is actually not helping as it doesn't take into account the Universe's rules regarding capitalization.

Also is there really a need for this, "I'm not sure where you learnt English, I am guessing America" I honestly feel insulted because it doesn't matter. In the Mass Effect Universe, capitalization of race names follows different rules than the real world. Lancer1289 11:51, September 2, 2011 (UTC)

I am not sure why you would take offense to being asked where you learned English, as we have a number of different SPAG rules between the continents. America may well have a different set of rules for capitalisation, as well as a fondness for 'z's.

Anyhoo, this isn't really helping. In the fictional Mass Effect world, which we do NOT inhabit, there is no capitalisation, however in our world, there is. Let me put an example to you. If you were to write an article about Octoberfest in Munich, would you write about 'Octoberfest in Munich' or would you write about 'Oktoberfest in München'? I think you would write about 'Octoberfest in Munich', because it uses your SPAG/language and not Germany's. In this same way, we are observers into the ME universe, so should use our own terminology for things therein, not ME's.

Cheers, StirB

And all of our articles are written from and in-universe perspective, so the rules in that universe apply. Even if they were written from an outside perspective, we still don't capitalize race names. This is present throughout the wiki in various articles and throughout the universe. Therefore, your example is meaningless as we don't write our main articles from that perspective, rather from the perspective as if you were in the universe and reading an encyclopedia. This is all listed in the Manual of Style. Lancer1289 12:09, September 2, 2011 (UTC)

StirB: Do you also capitalize the word "human" when you write English? Salarian isn't a race like Hispanic or African-American (that usage of the word "race" is controversial, too), it's a race like the human race. In the Mass Effect universe these race names are not capitalized. Wikis like this are often written from an in-universe perspective (it's not rare to have a "real world" disclaimer for articles written from the real-life point of view). Disregarding that, I don't see how SPAG is relevant for this discussion at all. --Tobiasvl 12:00, September 2, 2011 (UTC)

If I was able to access your wiki from somewhere in the ME universe, I would accept that it has to be written from an ME perspective. It is not accessible from inside the games, it is hosted and written in our own reality.

We seem to be confusing species and race here (something I haven't been clear on either to be fair). Salarians are a species, like the fabled 'Martians'. In the absence of taxonomic names for all of the species in the game, we have to assume their taxonomic names are indeed the names they have in game. A human is a member of the Homo sapiens species. Human should not be capitalised in this instance (however, a Terran or an Earthling would be), however, species are ALWAYS capitalised. There are also precedents in fantasy literature (see Tolkein for example) where a man / an orc / a dragon are in lower case, however the species are Men / Orcs / Dragons, however in everyday writing, this is not the case, demonyms are ALWAYS upper case.

A Salarian should be upper case, Salarians should also be capitalised.

Cheers, StirB

(edit conflict)And you are incorrect on all counts. It doesn't matter if this can be accessed form the game or not, or whether or not it is hosted in the real world. As pointed out by Tobiasvl, this wiki, and many others, are written from an in-universe perspective and has been that way since before I joined. It doesn't matter where it is hosted or if it can be access from the game, because we choose to write from an in-universe perspective, we have to follow all the rules therein. How a wiki is written varies and it can be written from either perspective, and this one is written form an in-universe context, so we have to write like it, regardless if it is hosted in the real world or not.

Actually we aren't confusing anything. Race is the term used in the Mass Effect Universe, examples include but are not limited to, Codex/Aliens: Council Races, "Spectres usually come from the Council Races", and it is used many more times than that. Therefore, your example of human is actually irrelevant and incorrect. Human would only be capitalized on this wiki and in this universe if it is at the beginning of a sentence. No other time would it be capitalized unless it is Prothean, Collector, or Reaper. Those are the only names that are capitalized. Every other name, asari, salarian, turian, drell, elcor, volus, human, hanar, raloi, rachni, batarian, geth, krogan, quarians, yahg, and vorcha are not capitalized under any circumstances.

Precedents don't matter here as this universe is in no way related to Tolkein's LotR universe, or any other. In this universe race names aren't capitalized, and since we are written from an in-universe perspective, we follow that rule. It doesn't matter what another universe does, or what else is out there, this wiki is about Mass Effect, and the universe it is set in, and race names are not capitalized in that universe. I should also point out that species is rarely seen in the Mass Effect Universe, with the only instances I can think of in the Codex, and when it is, it is used interchangeably with race. Therefore, you example is again incorrect.

As to what caused the edit conflict, "A Salarian should be upper case, Salarians should also be capitalised" that is again incorrect. Neither is capitalized and nether will ever be. Mass Effect does not capitalized race names and that is it. Precedents, real world examples, and anything else don't matter as this universe sets its own rules and because we are writing from an in-universe perspective, we follow those rules. Race names are always lower case per the rule set by the universe.

Hoenstly, you don't have a leg to stand on in this argument. You are trying to apply real world policies to a fictional universe and that fictional universe sets its own policies about race capitalization. We are written from an in-universe perspective, every instance of the races in the Mass Effect universe is lower case, and we have to follow those rules. It doesn’t matter what English says, since this is a fictional universe it can do what it wants with capitalization and anything else. This isn't a case where you can take real world policies and apply them without consequences. This is a fictional universe, and in that universe, they can do what they want with anything. In this case, it sets its own capitalization rules, and race names are not capitalized under any circumstances unless they are at the beginning of a sentence. This is how this wiki is written, and how the universe is written. It is not our job to reset canon in the Mass Effect Universe, apply real world policies when they don’t apply or run counter to it, or to not enforce a basic element of the universe when it stares us in the face every day. Lancer1289 12:58, September 2, 2011 (UTC)

I don't think that developers not knowing the rules of the English language is a reason for you not to make the same mistakes. The game contains many bugs - they are there because of Dev mistakes, but that doesn't mean you should take it as what was intended for the universe. If for example, Shephard stands in one spot and falls through the scenery, are we to take it that this is a scary warp hole phenomenon, or is it a development mistake?

In all honesty, you know as well as I do, this isn't a conscious choice on behalf of the makers of ME, it is something that has been mistakenly added, as someone probably thought that non-capitalisation of race names was correct English.

I would also point out that the game has multiple language versions - all nouns are capitalised in the German version - they do not rewrite the script to ensure that all races have lower case. This really blows your theory out of the water that in the ME universe they have intentionally decided to drop capitalisation of Nationalities/Races, they have left it in what our reality calls 'Hochdeutsch' (High German). This would have been their real opportunity to prove that everything was in lower case in the brave new ME future.

Blindly following convention can never be correct. Apply a modicum of common sense.

Look further down the page, you have Lystheni capitalised...why?

Cheers, StirB

Where's your proof that the devs did not know the rules of the English Language? As stated this is a fictional universe and they can do what they want with it as that is their right. I'm writing a book and as my right, I can do what I want with that universe because it's my universe. Since Mass Effect was developed by BioWare, it is their universe and they can do what they want with it. Relating bugs in the games to this is not the same thing. They aren't even remotely on the same level. That is a result of code not being handle properly, improper collisions, and a few other things I can think of.

Unless you have access to information we don't, it isn't a mistake, considering they keep making it, and that is extremely unlikely. I should also point out that Mass Effect was written in English, and American English at that. That said, it doesn’t matter what other versions do as the game is adapted for that language. When situations like this come up, everyone defaults to the English Version because that is where it was originally written. Things are lost, mistranslated, and mistakes are made all the time during translation. If the German version is capitalized, then it is a mistake in that versions as no other versions are, and I've seen plenty of them. Again this is BioWare's universe and if they say that we don't capitalize race names, then we don't capitalize them. You claim that my "theory" is blown out of the water, yet yours is already floating is space as it isn't a theory, it is fact and that you can't argue with.

"Blindly following convention can never be correct. Apply a modicum of common sense". Common sense huh? Well I should point out that you are asking us to ignore common sense. Again this is a fictional universe and what BioWare says, goes. They don't want race names capitalized, then they aren't capitalized. That's final. As for the first part of your statement, well there are numerous examples where doing just that has been a good thing.

You are arguing for us to ignore canon, and that isn't something we are going to do. You again don't have one leg to stand on here, let alone anything else because this is a fictional universe with different rules than our English. That's fact and there's no getting around it. We will not change what BioWare says is canon because you say so and that is final.

As to why lystheni is capitalized, I don't know, but it may be a mistake. I will check on that. Were's my copy of Ascension. Lancer1289 14:02, September 2, 2011 (UTC)

Look, the point I am making with the German, is that ALL nouns in modern High German are capitalised. Had they wanted to make a point that in the future, race names were only to be referred to in lower case, then they would have done that in the German version, as that would have been a definitive decision on behalf of BioWare. They would have translated lowercase English races into lowercase German races - it would have looked strange in German, but had they intended for this to happen, they would have specifically told the translation teams to make this point. As it is, they translated the universe into EXACT High German (and French), so whilst you expect us to believe that in the ME Universe, English deviated off on a tangent, whilst German adhered to current day standards is far fetched at best. The French version also contains capitalised races, and they use the same capitalisation conventions as the English.

This strongly suggests that the person doing the English script didn't know what he was doing, but the people on translations did know what they were doing.

What you are implying is that in the ME universe, every language, bar English, has stayed the same as its modern day form, and English has changed a bit to make races lower case. Do you REALLY think that is likely, or do you think it is an oversight from the designers?

I rest my case. StirB

And you just made my point, and rested your case on contradictory statements, not a good idea. All nouns in modern German are capitalized. So, unless I'm misunderstanding something, a noun like socks is capitalized, yet in modern English, the language the game is written in, it isn't, because it isn't a proper noun. BioWare is following the rules of that language when they adapted it and in that language, everything is capitalized. Yet in every other version of the game it isn't. You are arguing for us to ignore canon based on one language, yet every other translation of the game puts those words in lower case. Do you see the problem?

Your sentence of "[a]s it is, they translated the universe into EXACT High German (and French), so whilst you expect us to believe that in the ME Universe, English deviated off on a tangent, whilst German adhered to current day standards is far fetched at best" has a lot of issues and I don't think you can see them. Of course they would translate it following the rules of that language, yet in English and every other version, they aren't capitalized. This is true in every version I've seen. This is a fact that in the Mass Effect Universe, the names of the various alien races are treated as common nouns, that is a fact. It's not a tangent, it's not anything apart from fact. Why can't you get your head around this? It's BioWare's universe so they can do what they want.

"This strongly suggests that the person doing the English script didn't know what he was doing, but the people on translations did know what they were doing." It doesn't suggest anything. What it does say is that you are reading too much into the issue no matter how many times I point out you are wrong. Maybe they did know what they were doing ad when they translated, they followed the rules of the language it was being translated into. The fact remains that you are incorrect in your statement and you don't know what the devs thought. Maybe again, they did know what they were doing, yet decided to do something different. Did you ever consider that? That everything doesn’t have to be strict and precise? And that it's a fictional universe so they don't have to follow something if they don't want to?

"What you are implying is that in the ME universe, every language, bar English, has stayed the same as its modern day form, and English has changed a bit to make races lower case. Do you REALLY think that is likely, or do you think it is an oversight from the designers?" What?! Seriously I really do think that you just won't get it, no matter how many times it's told to you. In every translation I've seen, all of the race names are not capitalized, NOT JUST ENGLISH. What is so hard to get about that? If race names aren't capitalized, then perhaps it is German that didn't change and every other language did. Did you consider that? That perhaps every other language changed and German didn't? Because that, given everything I've seen, is much more likely. Or what is even more likely is the fact BioWare knew what they were doing, and when they translated it, they followed the rules of that language. Go to 1:02 in this video, which has Spanish subtitles, and look, oh krogan isn't capitalized. Hmm, maybe your theory has more holes in it than you think.

The bottom line again is you want us to ignore canon and ignore the rules of a fictional universe with its own grammar rules. Just because it is done a specific way in the real world, doesn’t mean that it has to apply there. Lancer1289 16:31, September 2, 2011 (UTC)

I'll tell you exactly why Lystheni is capitalized. Two reasons: A) It's capitalized in the source, and B) There's been absolutely no indication that the Lystheni are a race. They are referred to as an "offshoot" of the salarians. No indication is given what sort of offshoot. Could be a separate race (divergent evolution and whatnot), but it could also be that they are a cultural or religious offshoot or some such. All we know is that they're an outcast "offshoot" of the salarians. Interestingly, in the very sentence in which Lystheni is capitalized, two races are named, and neither is capitalized. Observe: "Now it served as a meeting place and interstellar hub of commerce for those unwelcome in Citadel space, like the batarians and the salarian Lystheni offshoot, as well as mercenaries, slavers, assassins, and criminals from all races." (Emphasis mine) Might that not serve to blow a certain theory about the lack of capitalization being unintentional out of the water?

As for the notion that the lack of capitalization is unintended, is there some substantive evidence for this? Consider: In the original English version, in literally every source dating from the very first novel, race names are not capitalized. This is consistent throughout the franchise. Pre-release material (including the first novel, Revelation) do not capitalize. Material concurrent with release (such as the Galactic Codex: Essentials Edition 2183) do not capitalize. And everything post-release of the first game does not capitalize. If this amazing consistency doesn't indicate intent, I don't know what does.

Finally, an interesting tidbit - while researching for this, I stumbled across something that had remained hidden under my very nose for quite some time. One of the editors on this very wiki (Stormwaltz) is named in the acknowledgements for Revelation. Neat! I mean, I was already in awe of him for his involvement in ME and ME2, but this is just one more thing. Matter of fact, I suppose we could always ask him about this. Or maybe even Drew Karpyshyn (writer of the three novels released thus far and lead writer for the first game), if push came to shove. He's fairly responsive, though he usually takes a little while to get back to people. SpartHawg948 07:44, September 3, 2011 (UTC)

Your research is impressive on this topic, however fatally flawed. In contemporary Spanish, race isn't capitalised - see the page title of Spain's premier news outlet for proof: http://www.elpais.com/global/ - espanol is lower case.

I am aware you are fighting a battle to keep things the same here, but sometimes you just have to accept someone who is linguistically more knowledgeable is correct. I don't say these things for fun, I say them as they are rules that should be adhered to, and as someone who is a polyglot, I am trying to help you out.

It takes a big man to admit when he is wrong, I hope for your sake you can now see that you are paddling against the tide on this one, and that capitalisation of race names is a must.

Feel free to ask Herr Stormwaltz, he even has a German name(!), so may be able to provide further insight into the decisions of capitalisation in multiple languages - I eagerly await his response.

Cheers, StirB

Enough, StirB. This has nothing to do with language and never did. The race names in the games are not capitalized. It doesn't matter the reason, the whys, or the hows. All that matters is that on this wiki we follow the style of the game as written. That's all, and you can put all this condescending polyglot nonsense where it belongs.--Captainhu 16:20, September 3, 2011 (UTC)

I fail to see how my research is "fatally flawed". I pointed out a clear-cut instance of consistency where racial and non-racial names are presented differently (batarians and salarian being not capitalized, but Lystheni, which appears to not be a race, being capitalized), which you failed to address. And, in an aside, I can't really see Stormwaltz as a "Herr". His name seems more French (or French Canadian) than German. And, as Captainhu points out, the way we handle race names is 100% consistent with how they are treated in the source material. And, before you argue about translated versions, I'll refer you back to my point about how race names appear in the original (which is to say, the English) sources. that point also seems to have gone unaddressed. Finally, as has been pointed out several times by several people, this site presents canon information from an in-universe perspective (minus a few exceptions like Guides and some in-article segments which are clearly noted). In-universe perspectives are common on wikis dealing with fictional subjects.

Sometimes, you just have to accept that someone who is canonically more knowledgeable is correct. Race name capitalization is a rule set by the creators of this fictional universe that must be adhered to. You're right. It does take a big man to admit he is wrong. However, as someone paddling with the tide, I see no need to admit any such thing. You, on the other hand, appear to be distinctly against the tide, the tide of source material, canon information, and the will of the community. SpartHawg948 21:57, September 3, 2011 (UTC)

L'Etoile is clearly French(/Canadian) it means 'the star', I presume this is to what you refer. His username sounds distinctly German (well I suppose Waltz is technically more Austrian, either way Germanic).

I dunno. If it were Sturmwaltz, sure. But "storm" isn't German. And waltzes are, as you pointed out, Austrian in origin, and the waltz has become quite internationalized. And while the Austrians may be Germanic, saying Stormwaltz sounds German because one word is Austrian in origin is like saying (for purposes of example... no offense intended Stormwaltz!) "Stormhaggis" sounds Irish. After all, haggis is Scottish, and thus Celtic/Gaelic. :P SpartHawg948 05:00, September 5, 2011 (UTC)

No offence taken, I think I may call myself Sturmhaggis from now on. However, the only quibble with that is, German words take their cues (i.e. articles) from the last part of the compound word, so (die) Stormwaltz is still a perfectly valid German word, however, Sturmdance wouldn't be.

Maybe he could change it to Stromwaltz - electric waltz :-)

Cheers, StirB

Graphics overlap text Edit

Under certain resolutions, the top image on this page covers a section of the first paragraph. Changing to image border to a thumbnail solves the problem and makes the paragraph legible again. It may be worth changing the image so that all users are able to view the page without having text hindered. -- Exao 14:42, March 25, 2010 (UTC)

What browser and version are you using? The page seems to render correctly at a variety of resolutions on WinXP SP3 under Firefox 3.6.2, Opera 10.51, Chrome 4.1, Safari 4.0.5, IE8, and IE8 using IE7 compatibility mode. Can you provide a screenshot? --DRY 17:59, March 25, 2010 (UTC)

I found that it only overlaps on old browsers and older monitors. I tried it in a few locations today and that was the result. Lancer1289 18:01, March 25, 2010 (UTC)

Tested using the most recent version of Firefox (3.6.2) and the problem still occurred. Perhaps it's the monitor I'm using but it's still a 19" monitor so shouldn't produce those problems. It's happening when ads are displayed as banners at the top of the page, as far as I can tell. -- Exao 21:06, March 25, 2010 (UTC)

EDIT: I can provide a screenshot of it, yes. I took one last time it appeared. -- Exao 21:29, March 25, 2010 (UTC)

EDIT2: Here is a link to the screenshot: [1] -- Exao 21:46, March 25, 2010 (UTC)

Family Relations Edit

I've notice there isn't much mention of the family relationships dynamic Mordin mentions (i.e. an instinctual need to uncover others secrets to promote minor conflict, drama and excitement, as well as subconscious body language that warns others when secrets are best left alone).

Should it be mentioned? I'm conflicted because it fits with the inquisitive nature of salarians, but it seems almost like human have much of the same social instincts. Doesn't make it very unique if so.Ironreaper 08:34, July 29, 2010 (UTC)

And this isn't normal for humans or any other species how? I mean people usually want to uncover someone else's secrets but most people know enough when to lay off an issue, i.e. body language and social ques. This appears to be normal behavior for species and as shuck shouldn't be mentioned. I mean even in our society, we generally know when to let an issue drop or to stop digging right? Lancer1289 15:16, July 29, 2010 (UTC)

A simple no would do. if you read the whole thing you'd see i pointed the similarity to humans out already.Ironreaper 03:52, July 30, 2010 (UTC)

Salarian GoddessEdit

Legion mentions a Salarian goddess in a conversation - in an attempt to gauge organics' reactions to stimuli, the geth fabricated a report of a star cluster that resembled a salarian goddess when viewed from batarian space, prompting many salarians to immediately lay claim to said cluster without attempting to independently verify the report. Is this goddess the same as the one already mentioned in the article as being cult-worshipped?

The incident also sheds light onto the religious attitudes of Salarians - i.e. they can be just as ruled by belief as the less scientifically-minded races. Optimystic8 20:18, August 2, 2010 (UTC)

Silent Step and Ever Alert Edit

Now, we don't have enough information on the Silent Step and the Ever Alert for articles on them, but shouldn't they be at least added to the list of notable Salarians? They're apparently very notable in-universe. --Lucius Voltaic 03:51, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

Ok what do we know about them? Practically nothing at all. We don't know if they were organizations, or individual people. There just isn't enough information to say for certain. In fact I think they only have one mention in the games, during Kirrahe's speech, and that is not enough to say for certain if they were individuals or organizations. So I would have to say no. Lancer1289 03:54, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

I think that Kirrahe's wording "Think of our heroes" makes it pretty clear that each one is an individual hero. --Lucius Voltaic 04:00, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

I debate that as the wording is ambiguous, at best, as he could say the exact same thing for organizations. The League of One was an organization and could be referred to just like that. I am not willing to put speculation into an article based on your interpretation of extremely vague wording. Example: "Think about our heroes, the Marines, the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Coast Guard." All of those are organizations and yet they are also referred to like that. The wording further on doesn't help either. "...the Silent Step, who defeated a nation with a single shot. Or the Ever Alert, who kept armies at bay with hidden facts." In that context, who could be an individual or the organization. There just isn't enough to say decisively either way. Lancer1289 04:11, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, they sound like organizations to me, especially given what we know of salarian naming conventions. Silent Step and Ever Alert are not typical salarian names. If they are the names of individual salarians, they will be the only such names we've ever seen. Assuming they are individuals, Silent Step and Ever Alert are likely designations, aliases, or call signs. But again, to me organizations seems more likely. Particularly in the case of "the Ever Alert". The fact that both start with 'the' ('the Silent Step' and 'the Ever Alert') is pretty telling, at least IMO. SpartHawg948 04:44, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

Well, we know the STG is very secretive about its operatives—it would be much more surprising if they weren't known only by codenames. --Lucius Voltaic 05:01, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

I still say they are organizations rather than codenames. It just doens't fit. Lancer1289 05:02, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

Well, unless someone can get an answer out of the dev team, I suppose we'd better just agree to disagree. --Lucius Voltaic 05:04, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

But we actually have multiple examples of STG operatives going by their real names, and not codenames. Captain Kirrahe, Commander Rentola, Ganto Imness, Menos Avot, Maelon, and Mordin Solus. All STG operatives. And we have exactly no examples of STG operatives using codenames. And again, there is the 'the'. Even if they are codenames, that doesn't explain "the Silent Step" and "the Ever Alert". The lack of any evidence that STG operatives use codenames is pretty telling here. SpartHawg948 06:05, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

You have a point there. But I had just assumed that the "sealed records" involved replacing names with codenames. --Lucius Voltaic 06:08, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

Something tells me that sealed records would include their real names even if it was classified. The salarians have proven to be expert record keepers and even better at intel and keeping secrets. Lancer1289 06:13, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

I meant that their real names were kept in the sealed records, but the codenames were released. --Lucius Voltaic 06:19, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

However, were that the case, the STG operatives on Virmire likely wouldn't have told the Commander their actual names, would they have? Spectre or no, Shepard did not "need to know". Code names would have been more than sufficient, if it were standard operating procedure for the STG to use them. SpartHawg948 06:35, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

Hm, yes, good point. --Lucius Voltaic 06:38, March 8, 2011 (UTC)

Salarian Republic Edit

I recall one elevator scene in ME1 that refers to "the Salarian Republic". What's that? Just a non-canon name for the Salarian Union? --Tobiasvl 20:09, July 10, 2011 (UTC)

Not necessarily. The turian government is referred to as the Turian Hierarchy, the Turian Hegemony, and the Turian Empire. I also don't see why it wouldn't be canon. It is in the game isn't it? Lancer1289 20:22, July 10, 2011 (UTC)

I thought more along the lines of "an old, retconned name for the salarian government", as it's only used once. --Tobiasvl 20:28, July 11, 2011 (UTC)

Still, do you have any proof that it is retconned? It was still used, and while the names for the turian government are used more often than that one, there is no evidence contradicting it, so it is still canon. It could just be a less used name, or one that is used by other races, but nevertheless, it is again, still canon. Lancer1289 20:43, July 11, 2011 (UTC)

Breeding Habits Edit

This might very well be a can of worms best left unopened but: Why do they seem to want to limit the number of females?--Grassrunnerdaughter (talk) 04:47, October 15, 2011 (UTC)

For future reference, please direct such inquiries to the Forums. Article talk pages are generally reserved for discussing the upkeep of articles (maintenance, organization, sourcing, and so on), rather than the actual subject matter of the articles.
Now, to address your question, I don't believe there is an in-depth answer in available ME lore. The extent of our knowledge is that it's simply a salarian cultural practice; how such a practice originated is anyone's guess at this point. Maybe ME3 will shed more light on salarian culture. -- Commdor (Talk) 05:10, October 15, 2011 (UTC)

Salarian Heads Edit

Wait, has no one else noticed that salarian heads are apparently designed after mermaid's purses? It was one of the reasons that the salarians are one of my personal favorite races in alien-related media. Does anyone else see that? Because I was somewhat surprised to see it not being in the trivia section after all this time.
-- Somarinoa 00:57, November 29, 2011 (UTC)

Visual comparisons that you or I make aren't permitted in articles. Developer confirmation (a statement from a verified employee of BioWare clearly indicating that salarian heads were inspired by mermaid purses) is needed for this to be added to the Trivia section. -- Commdor (Talk) 03:06, November 29, 2011 (UTC)

Got it. I was simply left in a "huh." state since it was such the obvious visual flair for them. I don't think I have the authority to add anything to any of these articles, since I've only ever played Mass Effect 1 (although I'm trying to work my way through them now). -- Somarinoa 10:00, November 29, 2011 (UTC)

And if you wish to discuss the relation, then take it elsewhere as this isn't what talk pages are for. Lancer1289 03:46, November 29, 2011 (UTC)

Huh. Seems like the exact purpose of talk pages to me, to discuss possible points of interest for the species or ask questions, but whatever, I'm not the owner of this wikia or nothing so I certainly don't make the rules here. That was as far as the question for me went. But for future (albeit presumably unneeded reference), where would be your suggestion to take it? -- Somarinoa 10:00, November 29, 2011 (UTC)

To a certain extent yes, questions to a certain point are permitted, but talk pages are not "a substitute forum" or "a space to post theories without fear of deletion". You are asking people for their opinion on whether or not they think salarian heads look like something, and that is not the purpose of a talk page, that is something that belongs in a forum or a blog post. "It was one of the reasons that the salarians are one of my personal favorite races in alien-related media. Does anyone else see that?" These two statements are asking people for their personal opinions about something while also providing a personal opinion, and that has no place on a talk page. Lancer1289 14:16, November 29, 2011 (UTC)

Change last line of Biology section Edit

The last line of the Biology section needs to be changed. Javik never claims that the salarians evolved from reptiles; he just contemptuously refers to them as 'lizard-people'. Javik clearly has a wide range of knowledge regarding the history of races that were primitive in his time, it is highly unlikely that he would think or state (mistakenly I might add) that salarians are or evolved directly from reptiles. Even in a time span of hundreds of millions of years before the protheans amphibians evolved first and then into reptiles, not the other way around.

Salarian psychological imprinting / Dalatrass Edit

Was there any mention on how Mordin Solus managed to disobey the wishes of the Dalatrass? According to the article it should be almost impossible with the imprinting. Add to that, the Government section does not give details on how a Dalatrass is selected as the main one. The mention about fiefdoms, baronies, duchies, planets, and marches does not cover how the Union head is selected. --NisansaDdS 06:59, May 1, 2012 (UTC)

Because we don't know how. It's that simple. If we knew, it would be mentioned. Lancer1289 15:32, May 1, 2012 (UTC)

Fair enough. Hope a future DLC would solve it then. --NisansaDdS 15:39, May 1, 2012 (UTC)

French trivia: "galarien" vs. "salarian" Edit

Quoting the current version:

In the French version of Mass Effect, the name of the race was changed from "salarian" to "galarien". This may have been because the French word "sale" means "dirty". (In French, "sale à rien" would translate into "dirty for nothing"; although "gale à rien", meaning "mange for nothing", is not much better.)

In french (I am french, from France, so your mileage may vary), "salarian" would be traduced as "salarien", which, when pronounced would be either understood as:

• "sale aryen" : meaning "dirty aryan", which would have a strange connotation
• "sale-à-rien" : a kind of neologism which would meaning "dirty-to-nothing", as "bon à rien" would mean "good-to-nothing", which would be an undesirably "biased" kind of name for an alien species

Those two possible meanins could well explain why the name was slightly changed to remove its possible "alternate understanding" for french people.

"gale à rien" ? Edit

[...] although "gale à rien", meaning "mange for nothing", is not much better.)

About "galarien" which is supposed to be understood as "gale à rien" and meaning "mange for nothing", I have serious doubts: I don't believe "galarien" would be understood as "gale à rien", as gale is a name, and does not raise attention nor is instinctively understood, unlike an adjective like "sale" which is used as prefix for insults.

Editing wars ? Edit

I would have corrected the issue directly, but apparently, there is some editing war on this section of the trivia. In chronological order:

• http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Salarian?diff=71929&oldid=68505
• http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Salarian?diff=85981&oldid=82574
• http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Salarian?diff=184120&oldid=179808
• http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Salarian?diff=224838&oldid=224780
• http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Salarian?diff=227542&oldid=224841
• http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Salarian?diff=239858&oldid=239109
• http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Salarian?diff=248475&oldid=245849
• http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Salarian?diff=249267&oldid=248478
• http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Salarian?diff=315091&oldid=309133

What I propose for this entry of the trivia ? Edit

• Adding the "sale aryen" mention in addition to "sale-à-rien"
• Removing the "gale à rien" mention

The result would be:

In the French version of Mass Effect, the name of the race was changed from "salarian" to "galarien". This may have been because the French word "sale" means "dirty" and is usually used as adjectives in insults (e.g. a possible translation of "sale bâtard" would be "f*cking bastard"). Indeed, in French, "salarien" could be understood either as "sale-à-rien" ("dirty-for-nothing", in the same way "bon-à-rien" translates into "good-for-nothing") or as "sale aryen" ("f*cking aryan").

I'm not sure about using "f*cking" in the Wiki, though, so input/variation/less shocking alternatives would be welcome.

P.S.: So much explanations/research for one trivia entry... I need some sleep... :-)

In the same way: "batarian" vs. "butarien" ? Edit

The "batarian" name was probably changed into "butarien" for the same reason (the prefix "batar-" could be understood as the french word for "bastard"), but the alternative "butatien" has a prefix "but-", which is similar to the slang verb "buter", which means more or less "to kill", "to execute"...

Localisation of neologism is hard indeed... :-)

Paercebal (talk) 23:27, August 14, 2012 (UTC)