Klingon language

The Klingon language (Klingon: tlhIngan Hol, pIqaD:  , pronounced [ˈt͡ɬɪ.ŋɑn xol]) is the constructed language spoken by a fictional alien race called the Klingons in the Star Trek universe. Described in the 1985 book The Klingon Dictionary by Marc Okrand, and deliberately designed to sound "alien", Klingon has a number of typologically uncommon features. The language's basic sound, along with a few words, was devised by actor James Doohan ("Scotty") and producer Jon Povill for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The film marked the first time the language had been heard. In all previous appearances, Klingons spoke in English, even to each other. Klingon was subsequently developed by Okrand into a full-fledged language. Klingon is sometimes referred to as Klingonese (most notably in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles", where it was actually pronounced by a Klingon character as "Klingonee" ), but among the Klingon-speaking community, this is often understood to refer to another Klingon language called Klingonaase that was introduced in John M. Ford's 1984 Star Trek novel The Final Reflection, and appears in other Star Trek novels by Ford. The play A Klingon Christmas Carol is the first production that is primarily in Klingon (only the narrator speaks English). The opera ʼuʼ is entirely in Klingon. A small number of people are capable of conversing in Klingon. When Klingon was created, its vocabulary was heavily centered on Star Trek-Klingon concepts such as spacecraft or warfare, therefore it was hard for everyday use because of the lack of words for a casual conversation. With the release of the interactive "Learn Klingon" course of the Talk Now! series in September 2011, and the intense contact between Klingonists and Marc Okrand, the situation has changed; new words have been introduced, offering more everyday vocabulary.