Though mentioned in Star Trek: The Original Series, the Klingon language wasn’t used until Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Fictional languages are fun to use for fans who really want to get into the characters of their favorite fandom. According to Britannica, there are six fictional languages you can really learn. Unsurprisingly, Klingon is on the list. Originally it was called Klingonese on Star Trek: The Original Series “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Since then, the ese was dropped.
But here’s something that’s unique about the language of Worf’s people. It is the most widely spoken fictional language in the world. According to Guiness World Records, the language, originally invented by Mark Okrand (with a little help from James Doohan who created a handful of words that were used in The Motion Picture), is now spoken at fan conventions and is even available on Google’s search engine.
You can learn Klingon at the Klingon Language Institute
Not only can you buy books like Hamlet and Gilgamesh that have been translated into the language, you can learn it yourself if you’re up to the challenge with Rosetta Stone as Michael Dorn reveals in the video above or at the Klingon Language Institute.
Marriage ceremonies have even been performed using the language, songs have been written and others translated as have plays and sonnets, and if you check out Youtube, you’ll find a plethora of ways to use it in your everyday life. Of course, if no one else knows it, you’ll be speaking to yourself most of the time.
As an aside, Okrand was originally hired to dub in Vulcan language dialogue for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Then he was hired by Paramount Pictures to create the Klingon language and teach the actors who had to use it in The Search for Spock, The Final Frontier, and The Undiscovered Country. He was also hired to create Romulan and Vulcan dialogue for 2009 Star Trek, but those lines were cut from the film’s final release.
I don’t think there are many Star Trek fans standing in line to learn Romulan or Vulcan, especially since the languages haven’t been fully developed, but with the help of a Klingon dictionary and classes, any Star Trek fan can be conversant in the language eventually. And then you can be a part of the most widely spoken fictional language in the world.