Klingon Language
Klingon was invented by Marc Okrand, for use in some of the Star Trek movies. He invented not just a few words to make the Klingons sound alien, but a complete language, with its own vocabulary, grammar, and usage. The Klingon language is something truly unique: while there have been other artificial languages, and other languages crafted for fictional beings, Klingon is one of the rare times when a trained linguist has been called upon to create a language for aliens.
Klingon Alphabet
The orthography outlined
when we talk about the sounds of Klingon, is the "official" writing
system designed by Marc Okrand when he invented the language. However,
other alphabets have appeared in Star Trek books and movies. The movies
and shows just use the characters randomly, for effect. There are no
punctuation characters in this character set. It may be that
Klingon doesn't use punctuation, although a few of Okrand's sentences
do.
The convention has developed that it's written horizontally, from left to right, like English, and usually each sentence is given its own line and centered. Paramount wanted the language to be gutteral and harsh, and Okrand wanted it to be unusual, so he selected sounds that combined in ways not typically found in other languages.
Also, when speaking Klingon, be sure to speak forcefully! Some of the sounds may make the person you're talking to a little wet, but this is correct and to be expected.
Klingon is an agglutinative language, using mainly affixes in order
to alter the function or meaning of words. Some nouns have inherently
plural forms, such as jengva' "plate" (vs. ngop
"plates"), but most nouns require a suffix to express plurality.
Depending on the type of noun (body part, being capable of using
language, or neither) the suffix changes. For beings capable of using
language, the suffix is -pu', as in tlhInganpu', meaning
"Klingons," or jaghpu', meaning "enemies". For body parts, the
plural suffix is -Du', as in mInDu', "eyes". For items
that are neither body parts nor capable of speech, the suffix is
-mey, such as in Hovmey ("stars"), or targhmey
("targs") for a Klingon animal somewhat resembling a boar.
To say "The stars are beautiful", 'IH Hovmey and
'IH Hov are equally grammatical, although the second can also mean "The
star is beautiful".)
The 2003–2010 version of the puzzle globe logo of Wikipedia, representing its multilingualism, contained a Klingon character. The updated logo removed the character and substituted one from the Ge'ez script.
Klingon Language Institute
In operation since 1992, the independent organization located in Flourtown( Pennsylvania) of the Klingon Language Institute has a mission of bringing together individuals interested in the study of Klingon linguistics and culture, and providing a forum for discussion and the exchange of ideas. The KLI has members from all over the world, 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 KLI is in close contact with Marc Okrand, the creator of the Klingon language, who has visited each qep’a’ since the third one. At this occasion, he receives a wishlist of requests for missing Klingon vocabulary, which he frequently answers.