Klingon language
constructed language created for Star Trek
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.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Klingon language” is constructed language created for Star Trek. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Klingon, language and constructed, not as a finished interpretation.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q10134. The Library of Congress control number is sh93002529. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1985 and 1984.
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This entry incorporates text from “Klingon language” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.