Pronunciation 1
This unit will teach you the sounds of Klingon. Don’t worry if you can’t say or hear them perfectly to begin with. Keep practising and you will get it.
Much as the letter “H” in English has a name (“aitch” or “haitch”), or “Y” is “wye” and “W” is “double-you”, so Klingon letters also have names.
The vowels are called ‘at ‘et ‘It ‘ot ‘ut, the consonants by adding -ay to the consonant sound, e.g. m is called may (sounds like English my) and tlh, tlhay.
Translate those names as “the letter a”, “the letter D”, “the letter tlh”, etc.
This lesson also teaches the word mu’ which means “word”.
General notes on pronunciation:
Letters b, l, m, n, p, t, & v are said as in English, but b, p & t should always have a puff of air, even at the end of a word.
Vowels each have one pronunciation.
a as in father
e as in ten
I as in it
o as in bowl
u as the oo in pool
I is uppercase to remind us that it is different from the pattern of 5 vowels we often see in foreign languages. The vowel I (capital i) never has an adjacent vowel and the consonant l (small L) will always have at least one adjacent vowel. Also note the small curl at the bottom of the l (small L) and absent from the I (capital i).
w & y are as in English at the beginnings of syllables and form a combined sound called a diphthong at the ends. At the end of a syllable w sounds like the vowel u & y sounds like “ee”. So paw sounds like “pow” & pay sounds like “pie”.
ch is said as in the English word “church”. Never like an English “k” nor “sh”, & never like a German, Scottish, nor Hebrew “ch”. Please note that ch is a single Klingon consonant.
j should be said hard like the beginning & end of the English word “judge” & never with the softer sound from French.
‘ represents a sound we make a lot in English. We don’t usually mark it in English, but in Klingon it is a full letter & leaving it out is like missing any other letter from a word. We call this a qaghwI’. It is made by closing the throat & is described as a glottal stop. You can experience it in the middle of the word “uh-oh”. That stop between syllables is a glottal stop. You may notice that you also close the throat at the beginning of “uh-oh” and all English words that start with a vowel. The Klingon word ‘ej sounds exactly like the English word “edge”.
r is not usually said at the roof of the mouth like an American English “r”, but with the tip of the tongue behind the teeth like a Spanish “r”.
ng is said exactly as in English, but many English speakers are not used to it at the beginning of a word. Put the back of your tongue to the roof of your mouth to make this sound. Please note that ng is a single Klingon consonant.
q sounds much like an English “k”, but is said from the back of the throat. The q does not include the “w” sound as in English words that begin with “qu” and even when q is followed by u, the two sounds do not blend. The Klingon word qul (“fire”) should sound like the English word “cool”, but with a stronger “c” sound. This is a different letter than the Q which is explained below.
D in Klingon sounds very similar to the English “d”, but should be said with the tip of the tongue further back in the high roof of the mouth and is capitalized to help us remember the difference.
S is similarly said with the tip of the tongue further back in the high roof of the mouth. It winds up sounding a little bit like an English “sh”, but should never be said like an “sh”. The S is also capitalized to help us remember the different pronunciation.
gh is produced at the top of the throat with a raspy gargle or purr and a voiced vibration in the throat. Please note that this is a single Klingon consonant.
H is pronounced in the same position as the gh but without the voiced vibration. It is very similar to the “ch” heard in Scottish “loch”, Hebrew “l’chaim”, & German “Bach”, though it is usually pronounced a little further back and a little stronger than those sounds. It is capitalized to remind us not to pronounce it like the weak English “h”. When you see a lower-case “h” it will always be part of one of the consonants ch, gh, or tlh.
Q is different than q, but it is similar in that it is a sort of a combination of the q sound and the H sound. It should start with the throat closed like you are going to make a q, but then explode into a raspy H-type sound.
tlh is another sound not made in English. It sort of explodes like a “t”, but out the sides of the tongue like an “l”. Note that this is one consonant in Klingon and is the only time you will see a l (lower-case L) without at least one vowel next to it.
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Example sentences
tlhIngan Hol Dajatlhʼaʼ?
Do you speak Klingon?
jIyajbeʼ.
I don’t understand.
Dochvetlh vISoplaHbeʼ.
I can’t eat that thing.
bIlughbeʼ.
You are wrong.
bortaS bIr jabluʼDIʼ reH QaQquʼ nayʼ.
Revenge is a dish best served cold. (lit: When cold revenge is served, the dish is always very good)
HeghluʼmeH QaQ jajvam.
Today is a good day to die.