All posts tagged Foreign Language

Star Trek's feared Klingon race is about to have a culture shock as words such as “teddy bear” 
and “aspirin” officially enter the Klingon language with the launch of a new CD-ROM.

“Talk Now! Learn Klingon,” launched today (Fri Sept 30) by London-based EuroTalk, gives followers 
of the sci-fi series Star Trek a chance to learn new 21st century “Earth” words in spoken Klingon 
for the very first time.

The disc has been made with the help of CBS Consumer Products, UK Klingon translator Jonathan Brown 
and US linguist Marc Okrand, creator of the Klingon language.

Okrand’s involvement is particularly important because only words invented by him are recognised
 by the Star Trek community.  “The speaking community made the rule, I did not require it,” he says.



The disc, which is voiced by UK Klingon speakers,  includes around seven
 brand new words and more than 40 new arrangements of existing words. 

One of the brand new Klingon words is the one for swimming 
as in the phrase “is it safe to swim here?”

“Klingons don’t like water as, for them, it’s a sign of weakness; 
they also love danger.  So this one may come as a surprise to them!” says Okrand.

Other new combinations of words which might give the famous warriors pause for thought are the words 
for “teddy bear” which translates as a “phoney bear” (a Klingon “would sooner rip up a soft toy than 
cuddle it” says Okrand ) and “aspirin” which translates as “coward’s medicine.”

Talk Now! Learn Klingon, which does not include phrases specific to the Klingon culture,
 is the latest product to be released in the Talk Now! range by language learning company EuroTalk.

The series, which includes more than 120 languages, aims to help beginners learn the basics of
 a new language, quickly and easily, with the help of recorded speech and interactive quizzes and games.

EuroTalk chairman Richard Howeson says: “This is the first sci-fi language we’ve ever published.
 But Star Trek fans asked us to do it, and we were really happy to explore new frontiers!”

Howeson continues: “It also allows Klingon speakers all over the world to learn the sci-fi 
language because all the words on Talk Now! Learn Klingon have been translated into 120 Earth tongues, all available on the same disc.” 

The Klingon words on the disc were voiced by Star Trek fans Jonathan Brown of Milton Keynes 
(who also helped translate the words into Klingon) and Charlotte Kebbell of Spalding, Lincs.
  
The launch of Talk Now! Learn Klingon is timed to coincide with the Star Trek Convention 
in Chicago, US which is scheduled to run from Fri Sept 30 to Sun Oct 2.

The disc is available online from today (Sept 30) from www.multilingualbooks.com

				Ends

For media inquiries contact Lotta Farley at EuroTalk on 0207 371 7711
 or (out-of-hours) Sarah Page on 07866 511783.

Notes to editors:

Media copies of Talk Now! Learn Klingon are available on request.
 Contact Kenneth Tomkins at sales@multingualbooks.com