Where did "Yautja" come from?

[TheDerelict]

Because it robs them of all character, presence and mystery.

[SiL]

Ooohhh, OK, thank you! How was that novel?

I struggle to read it because there are paragraphs that last a page or more (for no good reason) but other than that it's pretty neat.

[Corporal Hicks]

I've never been a fan of the name, but that's mostly because I'm not keen on the samurai/Klingon aspect of them from Perry's interpretation. But I've just come to accept it now. It very nearly made its way overtly into the film through some Star Wars wall of text in earlier cuts of The Predator, but you can hear it in some Predator speech so it is in the cinematic world.

It did always bother me in The Rage War, though (and I still thoroughly enjoy that trilogy). I have a big thing for contextually appropriate lexicon in the EU and the humans just calling them Yautja without any actual contact between them annoyed the crap out of me.

[BlueMarsalis79]

ACM "Lurker!" vibes tbh

[CANNON]

Because it robs them of all character, presence and mystery.

I agree with you here - mystery is one of the most important attributes often overlooked that defines a Predator.

[Local Trouble]

Yauuuuuutja!

[Agent Aztlan]

At 0:20 the Upgrade Predator begins his sentence with "Yautja".

[CANNON]

Oof.. It is nauseating to even watch that clip. What was going on when this was green lit.

[Cougerboy]

I've never been a fan of the name, but that's mostly because I'm not keen on the samurai/Klingon aspect of them from Perry's interpretation. But I've just come to accept it now. It very nearly made its way overtly into the film through some Star Wars wall of text in earlier cuts of The Predator, but you can hear it in some Predator speech so it is in the cinematic world.

It did always bother me in The Rage War, though (and I still thoroughly enjoy that trilogy). I have a big thing for contextually appropriate lexicon in the EU and the humans just calling them Yautja without any actual contact between them annoyed the crap out of me.

The name has stuck, for better or worse now. I understand why it makes sense in the EU that they needed a more precise name, as the "Predator" can come off as just generic and not very specific. The EU expanded on the lore of the predators and for those stories, an actual name rather than just "predator" is better. I agree that name is not necessarily very ideal, but I actually prefer "Yautja" to "Hish", which sounds worse, in my personal opinion. Although in the movies, they don't use either term, unlike say, "Xenomorph", which is used in the Alien films of course.

I guess partly the movies have a more basic set-up than the EU in the comics and novels. You don't really get to hear what the Predator thinks. He doesn't really "talk" much. There are no human companions going on hunts with the Predator (at least in the standalone Predator films). So there was no need to have a more specific "yautja" name reference to them.

[CANNON]

@Cougerboy I personally think its better to avoid giving Predator a name, at least on film. I feel strongly that the mystery of the Predator is one of his most important attributes, empowering him and defining the character itself. That mystery gives credence to his external alien nature making him feel unrelatable to an audience. Unfortunately that mystery is often overlooked by filmmakers, when labeling and defining aspects of the Predator and its subsequential lore, it robs him of that power.

[Cougerboy]

@Cougerboy I personally think its better to avoid giving Predator a name, at least on film. I feel strongly that the mystery of the Predator is one of his most important attributes, empowering him and defining the character itself. That mystery gives credence to his external alien nature making him feel unrelatable to an audience. Unfortunately that mystery is often overlooked by filmmakers, when labeling and defining aspects of the Predator and its subsequential lore, it robs him of that power.

Well, I don't think having an actual name will somehow destroy their mystery. You can have a name to something or some phenomenon and it can retain their mystery...if the name is good. With "yautja"...eh, the jury is out on that. But for story telling purposes, the Predator movies (so far) does not require a specific name to be given to them...yet.

Its possible in a future predator movie they will be given a specific name, whether "yautja" or something else, its fine for me personally so long as the story, characters and overall movie is good.

[CANNON]

@Cougerboy I personally think its better to avoid giving Predator a name, at least on film. I feel strongly that the mystery of the Predator is one of his most important attributes, empowering him and defining the character itself. That mystery gives credence to his external alien nature making him feel unrelatable to an audience. Unfortunately that mystery is often overlooked by filmmakers, when labeling and defining aspects of the Predator and its subsequential lore, it robs him of that power.

Well, I don't think having an actual name will somehow destroy their mystery. You can have a name to something or some phenomenon and it can retain their mystery...if the name is good. With "yautja"...eh, the jury is out on that. But for story telling purposes, the Predator movies (so far) does not require a specific name to be given to them...yet.

Its possible in a future predator movie they will be given a specific name, whether "yautja" or something else, its fine for me personally so long as the story, characters and overall movie is good.

I'm definitely not saying applying the name wont or wouldn't work.  I just personally prefer to know as little as possible about the Predator in the medium of film. With Predator less is more and giving the Predator a name, we begin to define him and in my opinion therefore robs him of that mystery a bit.

But like you said, as long as the story, characters and overall movie is good - that's what matters most.

[Yautja888]

In the movies, I always call them preds, in the other products, i don't care if they're called yautja or preds.

[Laika]

In the films the first place I noticed it's use was on the "trivia track" in the "special features" on the AvP Blu Ray (which I happened to watch earlier today), but it must come from before that.

[SM]

About 10 years before that.