Language and Culture
The Story of Klingon
Course 1 · Chapter 9 · Language and Culture
Klingon is more than a set of rules; it is meant to sound like the people who speak it. This chapter looks at how the vocabulary, the greetings and the sayings carry a picture of the Klingon warrior, and at the places where the picture slips and a very human joke shows through.
A Vocabulary of Conflict
Wikipedia says the Klingon lexicon is closely tied to Klingon culture. There are several words for "to fight" or "to clash", each of a different intensity, and many words for warfare and weapons. The same article says that cursing is treated as a fine art, which "helps lend a particular character to the language".
Fighting Words
Several verbs for fighting, graded by intensity, rather than one general word.
The Art of Cursing
Curses are a skill. A discussion of the dictionary's addendum divides them into epithets (name-calling, such as petaQ) and general invectives (such as baQa'), and describes Qu'vatlh as the curse for extreme anger.
Warrior Sayings
HeghluʼmeH QaQ jajvam is glossed "Today is a good day to die", and Chapter 5 described the proverbs collected in The Klingon Way.
What Is Missing
| English idea | Klingon | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| "Hello" | no direct word; the nearest is nuqneH, "What do you want?" | Greeting is a challenge to state your business |
| "Goodbye" | Qapla', "Success!" | Parting is a wish for victory |
| Revenge | a proverb matching "Revenge is a dish best served cold", as used in Kill Bill | Revenge is an accepted moral idea |
How the Sentence Is Built
The most common word order is object, verb, subject, usually the reverse of English. There is also a "clipped" style, tlhIngan Hol poD or Hol poD, which drops superfluous grammar when speed matters. And there is a word, pabHa', meaning "to misfollow the rules", which Wikipedia says shows that deliberate ungrammaticality is part of the culture. These are the places where grammar and character meet: a people in a hurry, who turn even breaking the rules into a skill.
Where the Culture Slips
Not all of the culture is solemn. Wikipedia lists a series of in-jokes in the vocabulary:
- chang'eng ("pair") refers to the conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker.
- tlhaq ("chronometer") sounds like "clock".
- Sa'Hut ("buttocks") is the Yiddish tuches spelled backwards.
These words show that behind the warrior façade there is a linguist with a sense of humour.
Sources for This Chapter
- Wikipedia, "Klingon language".
- A web search on Klingon curses (mailing-list archives of the Klingon Language Institute and a book description of Klingon for the Galactic Traveler).
Hands-On Exercises
Give two features of the Klingon vocabulary that reflect a warrior culture, and one everyday word or greeting that is missing or unusual.
Explain what nuqneH and Qapla' tell us about how Klingon speakers meet and part.
Use the in-jokes in the vocabulary to argue that Klingon is both a language and a made object. Which parts are language, and which are invented society?
Quick Reference
- Vocabulary: many fighting and weapon words; cursing treated as a fine art.
- Greetings: no "hello" (nuqneH means "What do you want?"); Qapla' "Success!" for parting.
- Grammar and style: object-verb-subject; clipped speech; pabHa' misfollowing the rules.
- In-jokes: chang'eng, tlhaq, Sa'Hut.