Star Trek's Klingon Language Catches On

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - In the “Star Trek” universe, English was once the accepted language of Klingons.

Then came the 1979 film “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” That’s when actor James Doohan, who played “Scotty,” first devised the basic sound and a few words for the Klingons’ own language.

American linguist Marc Okrand further developed the language. In 1985 he even published "The Klingon Dictionary."

More recently, a downloadable app version of the dictionary was made available for iPhones.

And if you need immediate help with translating English words into the Klingon language, check out the online “ English-to-Klingon Dictionary ”.

The fictional language has inspired a world of Klingon scholars and even a Klingon Shakespeare Restoration Project that includes a production of "Hamlet."

The latest development in the world of the fictional “Star Trek” language is an audio tour of Australia’s Jenolan Caves using the Klingon lingo, ABC News reports. Opening next month, the caves could represent the first tourist attraction in the world to offer tours in Klingon, according to the Australian Broadcasting Company .

For non-Trekkies, the ABC says that the tours will also be available in 10 more commonly spoken languages .

“Hamlet” was translated into Klingon with the revised title, “The Tragedy of Khamlet, Son of the Emperor of Qo'noS.” 

All it took for that idea to germinate was a line from the movie “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” in which Klingon Chancellor Gorkon said, “You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.”

Nick Nicholas and Andrew Strader of the Klingon Shakespeare Restoration Project translated the play over several years.

Sometimes the Klingon language is used in academic endeavors. That happened when a linguist/software consultant spoke to his son only in the Klingon language for the first 3 years of the boy's life , calling it an experiment.