Klingon Language Institute
Encyclopedia
The Klingon Language Institute (KLI) is an independent organization located in Flourtown, Pennsylvania
, USA. Its goal is to promote the Klingon language
and culture.
qep'a' (Klingon for "great meeting"), which is open to both members and anyone interested in the language. At this conference, an annual $500 scholarship is bestowed upon an undergraduate or graduate linguistics student. The KLI is running several projects, including the translation into Klingon of the Bible
and works by Shakespeare
. The motto of the institute is qo'mey poSmoH Hol, which means "Language opens worlds".
The KLI is a nonprofit corporation
and exists to facilitate the scholarly exploration of the Klingon language and culture. It has the permission of Paramount Pictures
to use trademarks such as Star Trek and Klingon.
.
Each year in midsummer, the annual meeting named qep'a' takes place. It is open to anyone who is interested in the Klingon language, and usually takes place in the United States. The eighth meeting was held in Europe, in Brussels (Belgium) in 2001. At these meetings, attendees talk about Klingon and in Klingon in a school-like style, with lessons, lectures and exercises. It is usually at a professional level and cannot be compared to a standard science fiction convention
. Parallel to this annual meeting, many members of the KLI also organize their own "small meetings", in Klingon called qepHom, which are informal and local small gatherings to practice the Klingon language.
At the qep'a' of the year 2003, a documentary movie about the KLI was produced. Its name is
Earthlings: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water. This movie was presented at the Cannes Film Festival
in France, and was shown at theaters few years after.
, Ph.D.
In changing periods from three to eighteen months a so-called Beginners' Grammarian is elected among the most experienced speakers. His duty is to help and teach the beginners of the Klingon language, especially in the Klingon email discussion group, which is also accessible for non-members. When his duty is over, he keeps his title of "Grammarian". Meanwhile the KLI has about 20 of those former Beginners' Grammarians.
The KLI is in close contact with Marc Okrand
, the creator of the Klingon language. Since the third qep'a' he has visited each one. At this occasion, he receives a wishlist for missing Klingon vocabulary, which he frequently answers. These new words are first published in "HolQeD", and then at the KLI's website.
, is probably the world's first ever conversational speaker of Klingon. He is the author of the book The Grammarian's Desk, published in 1996 by the Klingon Language Institute, a collection of the columns he wrote for the Institute's scholarly journal HolQeD. Yampell is also the author and co-author of numerous songs, such as the Klingon Anthem "taHjaj wo' " (music and lyrics), " 'Iv maH" (music and lyrics), "yIH bom" (music).
He graduated from Georgetown University
in the Spring of 2002. His dissertation topic was "Representation of American Sign Language for Machine Translation."
Speers is known for having undertaken the endeavour to raise his child bilingually in English
and Klingon; Speers spoke in Klingon and his wife in English
. A few years into his life, the child began rejecting Klingon and gravitating towards English, as he could use English with many more speakers. At the time of Speers' attempt, Klingon even lacked words for many objects common around the house, such as "table". The experiment ultimately failed when the child refused to use Klingon when he got older.
He obtained a bachelor's degree in psycholinguistics from California State University, Northridge
, and then master's and doctoral degrees in cognitive psychology from Kansas State University
. He has worked as a professor, teaching and doing research, at New College of Florida
, Lake Forest College
, Chestnut Hill College
, and West Chester University. More recently he serves as the director of research and chief compliance officer for the Wedge Medical Center.
He is also a professional science fiction author, a lifetime member of SFWA
, and in 2007 was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
He resides in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania USA, where he also maintains a post office box, the international headquarters of the KLI.
Flourtown, Pennsylvania
Flourtown is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a ZIP code of 19031. Flourtown is adjacent to the Philadelphia neighborhoods of West Oak Lane, Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill...
, USA. Its goal is to promote the Klingon language
Klingon language
The Klingon language is the constructed language spoken by the fictional Klingons in the Star Trek universe....
and culture.
General
About 2500 members in over 50 countries all over the world have joined the KLI. For 13 years, it published a quarterly journal HolQeD (Klingon for linguistics), before discontinuing the paper mailings and changing to an electronic version with an irregular schedule. It also published the fiction and poetry magazine jatmey. Each year, the KLI hosts a five-day conference calledBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and works by Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. The motto of the institute is qo'mey poSmoH Hol, which means "Language opens worlds".
The KLI is a nonprofit corporation
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
and exists to facilitate the scholarly exploration of the Klingon language and culture. It has the permission of Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
to use trademarks such as Star Trek and Klingon.
History
The KLI was founded in 1992 in Flourtown, PennsylvaniaFlourtown, Pennsylvania
Flourtown is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a ZIP code of 19031. Flourtown is adjacent to the Philadelphia neighborhoods of West Oak Lane, Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill...
.
Each year in midsummer, the annual meeting named qep'a' takes place. It is open to anyone who is interested in the Klingon language, and usually takes place in the United States. The eighth meeting was held in Europe, in Brussels (Belgium) in 2001. At these meetings, attendees talk about Klingon and in Klingon in a school-like style, with lessons, lectures and exercises. It is usually at a professional level and cannot be compared to a standard science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
. Parallel to this annual meeting, many members of the KLI also organize their own "small meetings", in Klingon called qepHom, which are informal and local small gatherings to practice the Klingon language.
At the qep'a' of the year 2003, a documentary movie about the KLI was produced. Its name is
Earthlings: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water. This movie was presented at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in France, and was shown at theaters few years after.
Organization
The director of the KLI is its founder Lawrence M. SchoenLawrence M. Schoen
Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen is an American author, publisher, psychologist, and expert in the Klingon language. The youngest of four children, Schoen was born in Chicago, Illinois, but his family moved to southern California when he was eighteen months old and he grew up in Culver City, California. In...
, Ph.D.
In changing periods from three to eighteen months a so-called Beginners' Grammarian is elected among the most experienced speakers. His duty is to help and teach the beginners of the Klingon language, especially in the Klingon email discussion group, which is also accessible for non-members. When his duty is over, he keeps his title of "Grammarian". Meanwhile the KLI has about 20 of those former Beginners' Grammarians.
The KLI is in close contact with Marc Okrand
Marc Okrand
Marc Okrand is an American linguist and is most notable as the creator of the Klingon language, which he speaks.-Biography:Okrand worked with Native American languages. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1972...
, the creator of the Klingon language. Since the third qep'a' he has visited each one. At this occasion, he receives a wishlist for missing Klingon vocabulary, which he frequently answers. These new words are first published in "HolQeD", and then at the KLI's website.
Notable speakers
Some Klingonists have gained relative notoriety for various accomplishments. The KLI can award the title Friend of Maltz to a Klingonist who has furthered the language in various ways.Rich Yampell
Rich Yampell (known to Klingonists as HoD Qanqor or "Captain Krankor"), a software engineer currently residing in Bellevue, WashingtonBellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
, is probably the world's first ever conversational speaker of Klingon. He is the author of the book The Grammarian's Desk, published in 1996 by the Klingon Language Institute, a collection of the columns he wrote for the Institute's scholarly journal HolQeD. Yampell is also the author and co-author of numerous songs, such as the Klingon Anthem "taHjaj wo' " (music and lyrics), " 'Iv maH" (music and lyrics), "yIH bom" (music).
d'Armond Speers
Dr. d'Armond Speers is an American computational linguist and a member of the KLI.He graduated from Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in the Spring of 2002. His dissertation topic was "Representation of American Sign Language for Machine Translation."
Speers is known for having undertaken the endeavour to raise his child bilingually in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Klingon; Speers spoke in Klingon and his wife in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. A few years into his life, the child began rejecting Klingon and gravitating towards English, as he could use English with many more speakers. At the time of Speers' attempt, Klingon even lacked words for many objects common around the house, such as "table". The experiment ultimately failed when the child refused to use Klingon when he got older.
Lawrence M. Schoen
Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen is the founder and current director of the KLI. He is the editor of the Institute's scholarly journal "HolQeD," and co-creator of the Klingon song "yIH bom" (lyrics). With only two exceptions, he has been the organizer of the KLI's annual summer conference, or qep'a'.He obtained a bachelor's degree in psycholinguistics from California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....
, and then master's and doctoral degrees in cognitive psychology from Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
. He has worked as a professor, teaching and doing research, at New College of Florida
New College of Florida
New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college located in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded originally as a private institution and is now an autonomous honors college of the State University System of Florida.-History:...
, Lake Forest College
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest College, founded in 1857, is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. The college has 1,500 students representing 47 states and 78 countries....
, Chestnut Hill College
Chestnut Hill College
Chestnut Hill College is a coeducational Roman Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally called Mount Saint Joseph College and assumed its current name in 1938. In...
, and West Chester University. More recently he serves as the director of research and chief compliance officer for the Wedge Medical Center.
He is also a professional science fiction author, a lifetime member of SFWA
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, or SFWA is a nonprofit association of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. It was founded in 1965 by Damon Knight under the name Science Fiction Writers of America, Inc. and it retains the acronym SFWA after a very brief use of the SFFWA...
, and in 2007 was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
He resides in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania USA, where he also maintains a post office box, the international headquarters of the KLI.
Publications
- HolQeD
- The quarterly journal of the KLI containing grammatical discussions, new Klingon words, Klingon literature as well as internal information for the members.
- A Pictorial Guide to the Verbal Suffixes of tlhIngan Hol (1995, ISBN 0-9644345-0-4) no longer available
- A book with drawings explaining the use of different suffixes.
- ghIlghameS (2000, ISBN 1587153386).
- The Klingon version of the Epic of GilgameshEpic of GilgameshEpic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...
, translated by Roger Cheesbro, with an introduction of Lawrence M. Schoen.
- The Klingon HamletThe Klingon HamletThe Klingon Hamlet was a project to translate William Shakespeare's Hamlet into Klingon, a constructed language first appearing in the television series Star Trek....
(full title: The Tragedy of Khamlet, Son of the Emperor of Qo'noS)
- The Klingon translation of Shakespeare's most famous work, translated by Nick Nicholas and Andrew Strader supported by the KLI. This project was initiated after the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David WarnerDavid Warner (actor)David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
) stated in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
: »You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon«.
- The KLI printed and published a limited edition hardback version in 1996, entitled Hamlet Prince of Denmark: The Restored Klingon Version (ISBN 0-9644345-1-2)
- Star Trek publisher Pocket BooksPocket BooksPocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
published the work as a trade paperback (ISBN 0-671-03578-9) in 2000.
- Much Ado about NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
in Klingon (2003, ISBN 158715501X)
- The next project of the KLI, also translated by Nick Nicholas.
- From the Grammarian's Desk (ISBN 0-9644345-3-9) no longer available
- A collection of grammatical wisdom from the HolQeD-column by Captain Krankor, one of the first grammarians of the KLI.
- Tao Te ChingTao Te ChingThe Tao Te Ching, Dao De Jing, or Daodejing , also simply referred to as the Laozi, whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is a Chinese classic text...
(2008)
- A Klingon translation and a new English translation of Lao Tzu's classic, by Agnieszka Solska, published as a trade paperback (ISBN 978-09644345-5-4) and a hardcover version (ISBN 978-09644345-2-3).