Klingon (tlhIngan Hol)

Klingon is the language spoken by Klingons, alien characters in the Star Trek films and TV series. In the 1984 film, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the director, Leonard Nimoy, and the writer-producer, Harve Bennett, wanted the Klingons to speak a real-sounding language rather than gibberish, so they commissioned the linguist Marc Okrand to create Klingon.

Okrand based the language partly on Klingon phrases made up by James Doohan (Scotty) for the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and developed a grammar and more extensive vocabulary. Aspects of Klingon language and culture were further developed for the 1987 series, Star Trek: The Next Generation and later series.

To make Klingon sound alien consonants and combinations of consonants, particularly retroflex, velar and uvular ones, uncommon in natural languages are used, such as /q͡χ/.

There is a Klingon dictionary and a number of Klingon courses, and Klingon versions of two Shakespeare plays: Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing (paghmo' tIn mIS), and also of Gilgamesh (ghIlghameS) and the Tao Te Ching (pIn'a' qan paQDI'norgh). A journal entitled HolQeD (Klingon for linguistics), which contains articles on Klingon linguistics, language and culture, is published by the Klingon Language Institute (KLI). The KLI also publishes jatmey "scattered tongues"), a magazine featuring poetry and fiction in and about Klingon, as well as running an annual conference or qep'a ("great meeting").

There are a small number of people able to converse in Klingon, and maybe several hundred others who have some knowledge of the language.

Klingon alphabet (tlhIngan pIqaD)

The Astra Image Corporation designed letters to represent Klingon writing for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and based them on symbols created by Matt Jefferies which appear on the Klingon battlecruiser in the film, and also on the Tibetan script. Random Klingon letters are used in the Star Trek films and TV series for effect, and Klingon enthusiasts have devised a way of writing Klingon with them, though Klingon is generally written with the Latin alphabet.

Klingon alphabet

Hear the sounds of Klingon

A recording of the Klingon numbers by Jan Jurčík

Download an alphabet chart for Klingon (Excel)

Sample text in Klingon

tlhIngan Hol yejHaD jInmol chu' 'oH Qo'noS QonoS'e'. tlhIngan Hol jatlhwI'pu'vaD wIcherpu'. naDev vuDmey Daj lutmey Sagh je DalaDlaH, 'ach tlhIngan Hol DayajnIS. Hoch jar chovnatlh chu' wImuch. yIlaD. yIqeq. tugh bIpo'choH.

Translation

The Kronos Chronicle is a new project of the Klingon Language Institute, intended for Klingon speakers. Here you can read interesting opinons and articles, but only if you can understand Klingon. Each month we will have a new issue for you to read and practice your skill.

Source: http://klingonska.org/qq/

Sample text in Klingon in pIqaD

Sample text in Klingon in pIqaD

Transliteration

noH QapmeH wo' Qaw'lu'chugh yay chavbe'lu', 'ej wo' choqmeH may' DoHlu'chugh lujbe'lu'

Translation

Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory, and ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat.

Source: The Klingon Way in pIqaD and Wikiquote

Sample text in Klingon in pIqaD

                  

Transliteration

boghDI' Hoch Humanpu', tlhab, rap DIbmeychaj 'ej rap nurchaj. meqlaHghach, ghob chovlaHghach je luHev. vangtaHvIS, pal'arpu' rur net tlheb.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Source: https://www.kli.org/resources/udhr/

Sample videos in and about Klingon

More videos by Marc Okrand

Information about Klingon | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of babel | Learning materials

Links

Information about Klingon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klingon_language
http://www.slate.com/id/2217815/
http://www.studio360.org/episodes/2009/05/22
http://www.kli.org/tlh/pIqaD.html
http://www.klingonwiki.net/
http://klingonska.org/piqad/

Learn Klingon
http://www.qephom.de/e/klingon.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucO3heC-Ztw

Daily Klingon podcast (DaHjaj Hol)
http://www.lawrencemschoen.com/category/podcasts/

Klingon dictionaries
http://klingonska.org/dict/
http://www.movies-dictionary.org/English-to-Klingon-Dictionary/
https://sites.google.com/a/klingonword.org/klv/klingon-translator-and-dictionary

Klingon fonts
http://www.evertype.com/fonts/tlh/
http://www.kasper-online.de/en/docs/startrek/klingon.htm
http://www.eatoni.com/wiki/index.php/Klingon
https://fontlibrary.org/en/font/horta

Klingon dictionary for the iPhone
http://www.ultralingua.com/en/klingon.html

Klingon Language Institute
http://www.kli.org

HolQeD: The Journal of the KLI
http://www.kli.org/study/HolQeD.html

jatmey - The Literary Supplement of the KLI
http://www.kli.org/study/jatmey.html

Klingonska Akademien (in Swedish and English)
http://www.klingonska.org

Klingon Imperial Diplomatic Corps
http://www.klingon.org

Deutsch Welle Klingon language pages (in Klingon, German and English)
http://klingon.dw-world.de/klingon/

Constructed scripts for: Ainu | Arabic | Chinese languages | Dutch | English | Hawaiian | Hungarian | Japanese | Korean | Lingala | Malay & Indonesian | Persian | Tagalog / Filipino | Russian | Sanskrit | Spanish | Taino | Turkish | Vietnamese | Welsh | Other natural languages | Colour-based scripts | Tactile scripts | Phonetic/universal scripts | Constructed scripts for constructed languages | Adaptations of existing alphabets | Fictional alphabets | Magical alphabets | A-Z index | How to submit a constructed script

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