Klingon grammar

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The grammar of the Klingon language was created by Marc Okrand for the Star Trek franchise. He first described it in his book The Klingon Dictionary. It is a nominative–accusative, primarily suffixing agglutinative language, and has an object–verb–subject word order. The Klingon language has a number of unusual grammatical features, as it was designed to sound and seem alien, but it has an extremely regular morphology.

Word order

Klingon follows a object–verb–subject word order.[1] Adverbs usually go at the beginning of the sentence[2] and prepositional phrases go before the object.[3]

Sentences can be treated as objects, and the word ’e’ is placed after the sentence. ’e’ is treated as the object of the next sentence.[4] The adverbs, indirect objects and locatives of the latter sentence go after the subject, but before the ’e’[5]

bIpIv ’e’ vItu’
bI - pIv ’e’ vI - tu’
you-Ø + to be healthy that I-it + observe
I observe that you are healthy
I see that you're healthy

Nouns

Klingon has three noun classes. The first one is living beings with an innate capacity to use language. The second one is body parts (not the body itself) and the third is all other nouns.[6] Klingon has no articles, so the word raS table can mean a table or the table. The difference between the two is inferred from context. The suffixes are ordered based on type number; a type 2 suffix goes before a type 3 suffix, but after a type 1 suffix.[7]

vengHommeyqoqchajDaq
veng - Hom - mey - qoq - chaj - Daq
city + (1) diminutive + (2) plural + (3) dubitative + (4) their + (5) locative
in their so-called villages

Suffixes

There are five types of noun suffixes. A word cannot have two suffixes of the same type.[8]

Type 1 (size, affection)

This type has three suffixes:

ghom group → ghom’a’ crowd
yuQ planet → yuQHom planetoid
vav father → vavoy daddy
  • If the noun to which the endearment suffix is added ends with a vowel, a glottal stop is inserted between them:[9]
cha torpedoes → cha’oy dear torpedoes

Type 2 (plurals)

This type of suffix forms plurals. There are three suffixes, one for each noun class.

qetwI’ runner → qetwI’pu’ runners
ghop hand → ghopDu’ hands
quS chair → quSmey chairs
  • When -mey is used for nouns that would normally take -pu’ or -Du’, it carries the connotation of being all over the place.
ghot person → ghotmey people all over the place

A noun does not require a plural suffix if a pronoun or pronominal prefix serves to indicate that it is plural,[10] or if it is being used in conjunction with a number.[11]

Type 3 (accuracy)

This type of suffix indicates the speaker's opinion of the applicability of the noun. There are three suffixes:

QaH the help → QaHqoq the so-called help
choH change → choHHey apparent change
jup friend → jupna’ true friend

Type 4 (possession, determiners)

This type of suffix indicates possession or specifies which object is referred to. It contains twelve suffixes.

There are ten possession suffixes, indicating who is the possessor of the object, which may be a person. For first- and second-person possessors, there are different forms depending on whether the "object" is a being capable of using language.

Possessives[13] 1st-person
singular
2nd-person
singular
3rd-person
singular
1st-person
plural
2nd-person
plural
3rd-person
plural
Not capable of using language -wIj -lIj -Daj -maj -raj -chaj
Capable of using language -wI’ -lI’ -ma’ -ra’

There are also two determiner suffixes:[14]

Examples:

Type 5 (syntactic role)

This type of suffix serves a syntactic role in the sentence. It contains five suffixes.

juHmaj our home → juHmajDaq in our home
qoj cliff → qojvo’ away from the cliff
ghu’ situation → ghu’mo’ because of the situation
je’wI’ buyer → je’wI’vaD to/for the buyer

Verbs

Klingon verbs mark for aspect but not for tense, which is indicated where necessary by context and by time adverbs. Prefixes mark subject and object. There are ten types of suffix, and as with nouns, a verb can have no more than one suffix of any type. (The tenth type, called rovers, are an exception.) Again as with nouns, the types of suffix must appear in a strict order, indicated by their type number: a type 2 suffix goes before a type 3 suffix, but after a type 1 suffix. A rover suffix can go between any of them.[17]

Unlike English, there is no infinitive.[18] The presentation of the verb stem as an infinitive in this article's example sentences is just to show the individual morphemes.

Prefixes

Klingon verb prefixes mark both the subject and the object.

Indicative-mood prefixes[18] Object
No object 1st person
singular
2nd person
singular
3rd person
singular
1st person
plural
2nd person
plural
3rd person
plural
Subject 1st person singular jI- — qa- vI- — Sa- vI-
2nd person singular bI- cho- — Da- ju- — Da-
3rd person singular Ø- mu- Du- Ø- nu- lI- Ø-
1st person plural ma- — pI- wI- — re- DI-
2nd person plural Su- tu- — bo- che- — bo-
3rd person plural Ø- mu- nI- lu- nu- lI- Ø-
unspecified* Ø- vI- Da- Ø- wI- bo- lu-

* Expressed with the type-5 verb suffix -lu’

Legend Meaning
— Not represented
Ø- Null prefix
Imperative-mood prefixes[18] Object
No object 1st person
singular
3rd person
singular
1st person
plural
3rd person
plural
Subject 2nd person singular yI- HI- yI- gho- tI-
2nd person plural pe-

Prefixes must be present even if the nouns or pronouns they reference are declared explicitly.[19] In certain cases with a third person object, a first or second person indirect object can be omitted by using the first and second person object prefixes instead. This is known as the prefix trick.[20]

Examples:

Suffixes

Type 1 (reflexive/reciprocal)

This type of suffix forms reflexive verbs. There are two suffixes.

jIlegh I see → jIlegh’egh I see myself
ma’ang We reveal → ma’ang’egh We reveal ourselves (individually)
Sulegh You(pl) see → Suleghchuq You(pl) see each other

Type 2 (volition/necessity)

This type of suffix deals with the subject's volition. There are five suffixes.

choja’ You tell me → choja’nIS You need to tell me
lungev They sell it → lungevqang They are willing to sell it
ghu’ poj He/She analyzes the situation → ghu’ pojrup He/She is ready to analyze the situation
nagh poj It analyzes the rock → nagh pojbeH It is ready to analyze the rock
DaQub You think → bIQubvIp You are afraid to think

Type 3 (inceptive/inchoative)

This type of suffix describes the action of the verb. There are two suffixes.

yIt He/She/It walks → yItchoH He/She/It starts walking
Doq It is red → DoqchoH It becomes red
yIQIj Explain it → yIQIjqa’ Re-explain it

Type 4 (causative)

There is only one suffix in this category, the causative suffix -moH. This suffix indicates that the subject is causing the object to do something. If the verb to which it is added is transitive, the object becomes the indirect object. Many Klingon words are derived this way. For example, the verb to clean (Say’moH) is derived from the verb to be clean (Say’).[24]

Intransitive verb:

poS lojmIt.
poS   lojmIt
to be open   door
The door is open.
Causative form:
lojmIt poSmoH ghot.
lojmIt   poS - moH   ghot
door   to be open + causative   person
The person caused the door to be open.
The person opened the door.

Transitive verb:

paq Danej.
paq Da - nej
book you-it + to look for
You look for the book.
You look/are looking for the book.
Causative form:
paqvaD DunejmoH
paq - vaD qa - nej - moH
book + dative I-you + to look for + causative
I caused you to look for the book.
I made you look for the book.

Type 5 (undefined subject; capability)

There are two unrelated suffixes in this group. The suffix -lu’ indicates an undefined subject.[24] The verb prefixes that are normally used for first or second person subject with third person singular object are used to indicate first or second person object. The suffix -laH indicates that the subject is capable of performing the action of the verb.[24]

Examples:

much bejlu’
much bej - lu’
presentation to watch + indefinite subject
the presentation is watched, someone watches the presentation [Note 1]
much bej
He/she watches the presentation
vItlha’lu’
vI - tlha’ - lu’
I-it + chase + indefinite subject
I am chased, someone chases me
vItlha’
I chase it
vIbomlaH
vI - bom - laH
I-it + sing + able to
I can sing it

Type 6 (perfection; uncertainty)

This type indicates the speaker's opinion of the action of the verb. There are four suffixes.

pIQoy we hear you → pIQoychu’ we hear you clearly
bInep you lie → bInepbej you definitely lie
luyaj they understand it → luyajlaw’ they seem to understand it
lupar they dislike it → luparba’ they obviously dislike it

Type 7 (aspect)

This type indicates the verb's aspect. There are four Type 7 suffixes.

Note that aspect is different from tense and independent of it. A "completed" event (perfective aspect, -pu’ or -ta’) can just as easily be set before, during, or after the time of description (past, present, or future tense), or unspecified for tense. For simplicity, this section says "is completed", not "was, is, or will be completed." (Do not confusive perfective aspect with "perfectly done".)

qaS It occurs → qaSpu’ It has occurred
vIghor I break it → vIghorpu’ I broke it
Qap rIn She finishes the work → Qap rInta’ She has finished the work
vIghor I break it → vIghorta’ I broke it (on purpose)
jItlhuH I breathe → jItlhuHtaH I am breathing
vISop I eat it → vISoplI’ I am eating it (There is a definite ending point to eating something)

The perfective aspect can also be indicated by the use of the verb form rIntaH after the main verb. This carries the connotation of irreversibility.[28]

ghorlu’ rIntaH It has been broken (and it cannot be mended)

Type 8 (honorific)

There is only one suffix in this group, the honorific suffix -neS. It is used when addressing any type of superior, be it social, political, or military, and only when being very polite or having high regard for that person. It is never required.[29]

-neS: qaqIH I meet you → qaqIHneS I am honoured to meet you

Type 9 (syntactic)

Eleven suffixes specify syntactic roles in the sentence.

Nominalizers

Two suffixes form specific types of noun from a verb.

’Ij to listen → ’IjwI’ listener
woch to be tall → wochwI’ tall person or tall thing
jachnISchoH to start to need to scream → jachnISchoHwI’ someone who starts needing to scream
QallaH to be able to swim → QallaHghach the ability to swim
pIvchoH to become healthy → pIvchoHghach becoming healthy
Modals

These two suffixes inflect the verb in specific grammatical moods.

bIqal you are corrupt → bIqal’a’? Are you corrupt?
bIQap You succeed → bIQapjaj May you succeed
Subordinators

The following seven suffixes are used to form subordinate clauses. A subordinate clause may go after or before the clause it modifies.[32]

Time

jItlheDpa’, yIboQ Before I depart, assist me
(jItlheD I depart, yIboQ assist me)
lumtaHvIS, pagh ta’ He accomplishes nothing while he procrastinates
(lum to procrastinate, ta’ accomplish, pagh nothing)
jImej chocholDI’ As soon as you approach me, I leave
(jImej I leave, chochol you approach me)

Cause and effect

DaSamlaHchugh, DaSuqlaH If you can find it, you can take it
(DaSamlaH you can find it, DaSuqlaH you can acquire (take) it)
bI’Ilmo’, qavoq Because you are sincere, I trust you
(bI’Il you are sincere, qavoq I trust you)

(Relative and purpose clauses)

Rovers

This type of suffix is known as a lengwI’ in Klingon, which is translated as rover (leng to wander + wI’). There are four rovers. These suffixes have no defined position, and can go after the verb stem or after any suffix – even another rover – except after a type-9 suffix or where the result would be meaningless. They modify whatever directly precedes them.

wInaD We praise it → wInaDbe’ We do not praise it
bo’ollaH You are able to verify it → bo’ollaHbe’ You are not able to verify it
yIQIp Be stupid → yIQIpQo’ don't be stupid
vIlon I abandon it → vIlonQo’ I refuse to abandon it
mejqang He is willing to leave → mejqangqu’ He is really willing to leave
yIchu’ Activate it → yIchuHa’ De-activate it
relo’ you (plural) use it → relo’Ha’ you (pl.) misuse it
bIQuch You are happy → bIQuchHa’ You are unhappy

The position of the rover suffixes affects the meaning of the word. Contrast

luSoplaH They are able to eat it
luSoplaHbe’ They are not able to eat it
luSopbe’laH They are able to not eat it
(In context, possibly equivalent to They can refuse to eat it)
luSopbe’laHbe’ They are not able to not eat it
(In context, possibly equivalent to They cannot refuse to eat it)

Pronouns and copula

Klingon has no verb that corresponds to the verb to be; the concept is expressed using a different grammatical construction. Pronouns can be used as verbs that act as the pronoun plus the verb to be. The pronoun can take verb suffixes, which then modify the pronoun like any other verb. A third-person subject that is not a pronoun must go after the pronoun-verb and carry the type-5 noun suffix -’e’[37]

Pronouns[38] 1st-person
singular
2nd-person
singular
3rd-person
singular
1st-person
plural
2nd-person
plural
3rd-person
plural
Capable of using language jIH SoH ghaH maH tlhIH chaH
Not capable of using language ’oH bIH

Examples:

Adjectives

Klingon does not have adjectives as a distinct part of speech. Instead, many intransitive verbs can be used as adjectives, in which case they follow the noun they modify. Contrast (wep coat, and yIQ be wet)

wep yIQ
the wet coat

with

yIQ wep.
The coat is wet.

In this construction, the only verbal suffixes allowed are rover suffixes such as -qu’ and -Ha’.[39] Type-5 noun suffixes that would normally be attached to the noun are instead attached to the adjectival verb:[40]

pa’Daq
in the room
pa’ tInDaq
in the big room (tIn big)

Adverbs

Adverbs are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence,[2] but time adverbs go before other adverbs.[41] Adverbs can take the rover suffix -Ha’ to denote the opposite adverbial.[42]

Conjunctions

Klingon has seven conjunctions, and they are different for nouns and for sentences. The noun conjunctions are je for a logical conjunction, joq for a logical disjunction and ghap for an exclusive disjunction. Noun conjunctions go after the nouns they connect. Sentence conjunctions are ’ej for a logical conjunction, qoj for a logical disjunction and pagh for an exclusive disjunction. ’ach (or ’a) but is used to contrast sentences.[11]

Clauses

Relative clauses

In a relative clause, the verb has the type-9 verb suffix -bogh added to it.[43] The order of the words in relative clauses remains the same as in regular clauses, but the head noun may optionally get the type-5 suffix -’e’ added.[44]

chuS Saj ngevbogh ghot’e’
chuS Saj ngev - bogh ghot - -’e’
to be noisy pet to sell + relative person + focus
The person who sells the pet is noisy
chuS Saj’e’ ngevbogh ghot
chuS Saj + -’e’ ngev - bogh ghot
to be noisy pet + focus to sell relative person
The pet which the person sells is noisy

Since there is already a type-5 noun suffix marking the head noun, nothing other than the subject or the object can be marked as head noun. Two sentences are formed instead to form the same idea. Relative clauses can have nouns with type 5 suffixes as modifiers, but it can be ambiguous as they can be misinterpreted as being part of the main sentence.[44]

Purpose clauses

A purpose clause expresses the reason or goal of the action of the main clause. If it is modifying a noun it states the purpose of the noun. A purpose clause always goes before the clause or noun it modifies.[43] This is the cause of some grammatical ambiguity in Klingon, as a -meH modifying a noun at the beginning of a sentence can be misinterpreted as modifying the entire sentence. This can be resolved in writing with punctuation.[44]

ju - mIS - moH - meH, ju - toj
you-us + to be confused + causative - purpose you-us + to trick
You tricked us in order to confuse us.
QaQ vI - Dub - meH qach - lIj
to be good I-it + improve + purpose idea + your
Your idea [for I improve it] is good
Your idea on how I should improve it is good/Your idea for improving it is good.

Comparatives

In this section, noun phrases are indicated by the abbreviation NP, and adjectives by A.

Klingon comparatives mainly rely on adjectives like law’ (to be many), puS (to be few), rap (to be the same), and rur (to resemble, to be like) to contrast the nouns. However, many (but not all) of the comparatives have unusual word orders that don't parse as regular Klingon sentences.

qachvam chu’ law’ juHlIj chu' puS. This building is newer than your home.
(chu’ to be new, qachvam this building, juHlIj your home)
literally: this-building new many – home-your new few
qIDvetlh tlhaQ law' Hoch tlhaQ puS. That joke is the funniest.
(tlhaQ to be funny, qIDvetlh that joke)
literally: joke-that funny many – everything funny few
Hoch quv law’ verengnan quv puS. Ferengi are the least honorable.
(quv to be honorable, verengnan Ferengi)
literally: everyone honorable many – Ferengi honorable few
’IQ rav rur. He is as sad as a floor.[45]
(’IQ to be sad; he is sad, rav floor, rur to resemble; he resembles)
literally: he is sad; he is like a floor

Questions

A yes–no question in Klingon can be formed by adding the suffix -’a’ to the regular form. The word for yes is HISlaH or HIja’ and the word for no is ghobe’.[37] Interrogative pronouns go where the answer would normally go, and don't reorder the sentence. Interrogative adverbs go at the beginning of the sentence.[46]

Numbers

Klingon uses a base-10 system to count numbers. To form a multiple of 10, 100, 1000, 1000000, the word for the multiple of ten is suffixed to the digit. For example. chorghmaH is a combination of the word chorgh eight and the number forming suffix -maH ten.

Larger powers go before smaller powers: chorghmaH Soch is eight-ten seven. The number suffix -DIch is used to form ordinal numbers, and the number suffix -logh indicates how many times an action has been repeated: loSDIch fourth, wa’maH cha’logh twelve times.[47]

10 -maH
100 -vatlh
1 000 -SaD -SanID
10 000 -netlh
100 000 -bIp
1 000 000 -’uy’
0 pagh 5 vagh
1 wa’ 6 jav
2 cha’ 7 Soch
3 wej 8 chorgh
4 loS 9 Hut

Notes

  1. ↑ -lu’ is not the same thing as the passive voice. -lu’ makes the subject indefinite, and keeps the object where it would be if it had a subject. Unlike the passive voice, it does not make the subject the patient of the verb, except when using the verb prefixes

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.59
  2. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.56. Note exception neH only, merely from p.56 and jay’ (swear word) from p.177.
  3. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.180
  4. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.66. Note exception neH to want
  5. ↑ Okrand 2011
  6. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.22
  7. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.29
  8. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.21
  9. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.174
  10. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.23
  11. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.55
  12. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.24
  13. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.25
  14. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.26
  15. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.27
  16. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.28
  17. 1 2 3 4 Okrand 1992, p.44
  18. 1 2 3 Okrand 1992, p.33
  19. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.52
  20. ↑ Okrand, Marc; Schermerhorn, Neal (29 June 1997). "Re: Some quick questions...". Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  21. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.35
  22. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.36
  23. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.37
  24. 1 2 3 Okrand 1992, p.38
  25. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.40
  26. 1 2 3 Okrand 1992, p.175
  27. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.41
  28. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.42
  29. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.43
  30. ↑ Okrand, Marc; Schoen, Lawrence M. (September 1994). "Interview: Okrand on -ghach". HolQeD (Flourtown, Pennsylvania: Klingon Language Institute) 3 (3): 10–13.
  31. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.176
  32. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.62
  33. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.46
  34. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.47
  35. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.48
  36. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.49
  37. 1 2 Okrand 1992, p.68
  38. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.51
  39. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.49, says only -qu’, but later canon examples expand the set, for example ngaDHa’ in Okrand 1997, p.150
  40. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.50
  41. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.179
  42. ↑ Okrand, Marc (December 1995). "More from Maltz". HolQeD (Flourtown, Pennsylvania: Klingon Language Institute) 4 (4): 11.
  43. 1 2 3 Okrand 1992, p.64
  44. 1 2 3 Okrand, Marc; Schoen, Lawrence M. (June 1995). "Interview: Okrand on -bogh and more". HolQeD (Flourtown, Pennsylvania: Klingon Language Institute) 4 (2): 5–6.
  45. ↑ Native Klingon Simile from Okrand, Marc. Klingon for the Galactic Traveller. Pocket Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-0671009953.
  46. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.69
  47. ↑ Okrand 1992, p.53-55
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