Welcome to a linguistic odyssey through the stars and beyond. As we traverse the vast expanse of sci-fi cinema, we uncover not just new worlds but new tongues—languages so meticulously crafted they breathe life into the cultures they represent. Let’s delve into the exotic lexicons that have shaped our favorite interstellar narratives. Unveiling the Warrior Tongue of Klingon The Klingon language, birthed by linguist Marc Okrand for the Star Trek universe, is not merely a collection of sounds but a window into a warrior culture. Its complex grammar and agglutinative structure, where affixes transform word meanings, showcase its depth. Klingon...
- 11/22/2023
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
Did you know that the Gorn have lips?
Evidence presented in the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "Arena" might stand counter to that assertion, as the mask worn by (alternately) Bobby Clark, Gary Combs, and Bill Blackburn didn't have an articulated jaw or mouth. Indeed, the Gorn mask has been widely giggled at by Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. The fight between the Gorn captain and Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is usually considered broadly campy, what with its stiffness and slowness.
But the Gorn -- an aggressive reptilian species -- actually do speak their own language. In "Arena," the Gorn captain (voiced by Ted Cassidy) spoke to Captain Kirk using a miniature, hand-held translation device. He explained that the Federation had set up a colony on Cestus III, which was unknowingly a Gorn world. The Gorn, rather than negotiate or file a complaint, merely laid waste to the colony and killed everyone living there.
Evidence presented in the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "Arena" might stand counter to that assertion, as the mask worn by (alternately) Bobby Clark, Gary Combs, and Bill Blackburn didn't have an articulated jaw or mouth. Indeed, the Gorn mask has been widely giggled at by Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. The fight between the Gorn captain and Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is usually considered broadly campy, what with its stiffness and slowness.
But the Gorn -- an aggressive reptilian species -- actually do speak their own language. In "Arena," the Gorn captain (voiced by Ted Cassidy) spoke to Captain Kirk using a miniature, hand-held translation device. He explained that the Federation had set up a colony on Cestus III, which was unknowingly a Gorn world. The Gorn, rather than negotiate or file a complaint, merely laid waste to the colony and killed everyone living there.
- 8/25/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
/Film has written about conlangs -- or constructed languages -- several times in the past. Hardcore "Avatar" fans may recall that language Professor Paul Frommer helped construct the Na'vi language for James Cameron's franchise. (Frommer was also behind the Barsoomian language heard in "John Carter.") Additionally, any good Trekkie will definitely be able to name Marc Okrand, the author of the extensive Klingon language, perhaps the most widely spoken of all conlangs. And, of course, readers of "Lord of the Rings" likely know that J.R.R. Tolkien based Quenya, his fictional Elf language, on the structure and syntax of Finnish. Space aliens and fantasy cultures have long allowed linguists to play around.
Although it may not be as celebrated or slavishly structured as Klingon or Dothraki (authored by David J. Peterson), Star Wars has its own conlang: Ewok. In 1982, during the production of the soon-to-be-hit film "Return of the Jedi,...
Although it may not be as celebrated or slavishly structured as Klingon or Dothraki (authored by David J. Peterson), Star Wars has its own conlang: Ewok. In 1982, during the production of the soon-to-be-hit film "Return of the Jedi,...
- 5/2/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Zack Snyder's 2013 film "Man of Steel" is a retelling of the Superman origin story. As with the 1978 Richard Donner film "Superman," "Man of Steel" begins on the distant planet of Krypton which is nearly due for its apocalyptic destruction. The scientist and scholar Jor-El (Russell Crowe) pleas with his planet's government to do something about it, warning that the end is nigh. They refuse him. At the same time, a military coup is underway at the hands of the violent General Zod (Michael Shannon). Things are not looking good for the planet. Jor-El, wanting to save his infant son from the planet's destruction, loads the baby Kal-El into a rocket and launches him toward an unknown planet called Earth. It's a pretty well-known piece of trivia that Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster loosely modeled their character's story after Moses in the book of Exodus. Instead of being sent down a river,...
- 1/13/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Ryan Britt Mar 15, 2019
Did you catch all of the Star Trek references in "Project Daedalus"?
This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for Season 2 Episode 9.
The latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 is not only the most shocking of the season, it’s also the one that references... board games the most? Not only do Burnham and Spock play chess, there’s also a huge callback to a board game played on Star Trek: Voyager!
But the Easter eggs and references don’t end there. From gravity boots to holographic biases and conversations about mines, this episode’s spanned nearly every version of Star Trek in existence. And that’s not even getting to the cryptic reference to a real-life space study.
Here are all the easter eggs and references we spotted in Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, Episode 9, “Project Daedalus”...
Admiral Cornwell’s first job
When Admiral Cornwell secretly sneaks onto Discovery,...
Did you catch all of the Star Trek references in "Project Daedalus"?
This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for Season 2 Episode 9.
The latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 is not only the most shocking of the season, it’s also the one that references... board games the most? Not only do Burnham and Spock play chess, there’s also a huge callback to a board game played on Star Trek: Voyager!
But the Easter eggs and references don’t end there. From gravity boots to holographic biases and conversations about mines, this episode’s spanned nearly every version of Star Trek in existence. And that’s not even getting to the cryptic reference to a real-life space study.
Here are all the easter eggs and references we spotted in Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, Episode 9, “Project Daedalus”...
Admiral Cornwell’s first job
When Admiral Cornwell secretly sneaks onto Discovery,...
- 3/14/2019
- Den of Geek
As of September 8, “Star Trek” will have officially been a part of American pop culture for 50 years, and it has one of the most robust and passionate fandoms in pop culture history. Fandom is basically a synonym for love — and “Star Trek” is currently in the process of telling some fans how to express their love.
It has been, to be frank, a bit of a mess.
How One Fan Film Set Things Off
In May 2016, one of the nerdiest things ever written was filed with the United States District Court. In a ruling by Judge R. Gary Klausner, His Honor declared that a lawsuit filed by Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios should proceed, because:
“Although the Court declines to address whether Plaintiffs’ Claims will prosper at this time, the Court does find Plaintiffs’ claims will live long enough to survive Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.”
This followed many pages of...
It has been, to be frank, a bit of a mess.
How One Fan Film Set Things Off
In May 2016, one of the nerdiest things ever written was filed with the United States District Court. In a ruling by Judge R. Gary Klausner, His Honor declared that a lawsuit filed by Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios should proceed, because:
“Although the Court declines to address whether Plaintiffs’ Claims will prosper at this time, the Court does find Plaintiffs’ claims will live long enough to survive Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.”
This followed many pages of...
- 7/18/2016
- by Liz Shannon Miller
- Indiewire
The attorney representing a fan-film production being sued for copyright infringement is pushing even harder to yank the Klingon language out of the lawsuit, fueling a new battle over the fictitious language.Erin Ranahan, an attorney representing Axanar Productions and its principal, Alec Peters, says CBS Corp. and Paramount Pictures can't claim ownership to the language, which Marc Okrand created as a work-for-hire in the early 1980s. And while fans might not want to think about food and Klingons in the same sentence, Ranahan doesn't have to look any further than the kitchen to defend her position."Indeed, like recipes in a cookbook, while the Klingon dictionary may be protected from wholesale copying, the individual Klingon words contained therein and expressions flowing from the Klingon ...
- 5/7/2016
- GeekNation.com
More than 30 years after it was created, the Klingon language still knows how to get attention in the press. That was apparent in recent weeks when some news outlets focused on its inclusion as part of a copyright infringement lawsuit CBS Corp. and Paramount Pictures has filed against a fan-film.But can someone (or some company) actually own a language? And if so, who owns it?It's not Marc Okrand, the man credited with creating the language with some early help from James Doohan. He said it himself during a recent podcast interview on Look at His Butt."This is not the first time that who owns Klingon issue came up," Okrand told the podcast over the weekend. "It is an artificial language that was created for hire ... to the best of my knowledge, it has never been officially settled by anybody." Read ...
- 4/18/2016
- GeekNation.com
Opera has always been a reflection of the cultural zeitgeist of Western society. Historical events, popular stories, real people—they’ve all inspired musicalizations which allow patrons to connect directly with cultural moments in artistic ways.
But while opera may have stopped being the most popular art form, it never stopped being a relevant one. Hats off to the contemporary composers who continue to devote themselves to breathing life into the art form (because if they don’t, who will?). Opera is an endangered species, much like pandas or stenographers, and it continues to thrive creatively by reflecting the pop culture moments—movies,...
But while opera may have stopped being the most popular art form, it never stopped being a relevant one. Hats off to the contemporary composers who continue to devote themselves to breathing life into the art form (because if they don’t, who will?). Opera is an endangered species, much like pandas or stenographers, and it continues to thrive creatively by reflecting the pop culture moments—movies,...
- 1/27/2014
- by Marc Snetiker
- EW.com - PopWatch
Social media has become an added medium of coverage to all news genres, including sports, politics and entertainment. We’re bringing you a social media round-up of interesting and entertaining items making film headlines in the social sphere.
In honour of the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, Microsoft’s Bing has designed a few neat cosmic treats online for fans. According to Mashable, the search engine made it possible to translate English words into Klingon, a fictional language spoken in the Star Trek Universe, and vice versa.
Bing received help from a few experts, including linguistics Ph. D. Marc Okrand, who created the language for the original series. Bing also tweaked their search bar tricks, causing “beam me up” to transport users to a colorful interactive galaxy page when entered into the search bar field.
Check it out, plus more from the world of James Bond and TV's "The Office" farewell after the jump!
In honour of the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, Microsoft’s Bing has designed a few neat cosmic treats online for fans. According to Mashable, the search engine made it possible to translate English words into Klingon, a fictional language spoken in the Star Trek Universe, and vice versa.
Bing received help from a few experts, including linguistics Ph. D. Marc Okrand, who created the language for the original series. Bing also tweaked their search bar tricks, causing “beam me up” to transport users to a colorful interactive galaxy page when entered into the search bar field.
Check it out, plus more from the world of James Bond and TV's "The Office" farewell after the jump!
- 5/17/2013
- by Jeremy Singer
- Cineplex
Welcome to No Fact Zone’s weekly roundup of cultural references on The Colbert Report. From Darcy to Danger Mouse, String Theory to Shakespeare, we’ve got the keys to this week’s obscure, oddball, and occasionally obscene cultural shout-outs (hey!).
nuqneH Zoners! Hope you had a great weekend! Too bad it isn’t still Friday, Friday… I still can’t get that darn song out of my head, but I enjoyed the build up to it oh so much! What were some of your favorite segments of the week?
Monday
Tip/Wag – Cigarette, Abortion Waiting Period and Bargain Shoppers
In, fact you can now mess with Texas for 50 bucks, but no kissing on the mouth.
Hey, I mean it, I live in Texas, so don’t mess with it! Even on the weekends or in skeevy bars! Don’t Mess With Texas turns 25 this year. It is a campaign...
nuqneH Zoners! Hope you had a great weekend! Too bad it isn’t still Friday, Friday… I still can’t get that darn song out of my head, but I enjoyed the build up to it oh so much! What were some of your favorite segments of the week?
Monday
Tip/Wag – Cigarette, Abortion Waiting Period and Bargain Shoppers
In, fact you can now mess with Texas for 50 bucks, but no kissing on the mouth.
Hey, I mean it, I live in Texas, so don’t mess with it! Even on the weekends or in skeevy bars! Don’t Mess With Texas turns 25 this year. It is a campaign...
- 4/11/2011
- by Toad
- No Fact Zone
Everyone has their Christmas traditions. Some gather around the fireplace with their families, some watch It's A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story on loop for 48 straight hours. If you live in Chicago, though, I have a new tradition that you might want to consider: A Klingon Christmas Carol. The Wall Street Journal has done a report on a small theater troupe that has decided to put on a production of the classic Charles Dickens tale, with the catch being that the language has been translated to the alien Star Trek language and some of the names and themes have changed to correspond with the race's beliefs and ideals. It's all pretty surreal, but at the same time pretty damn cool. Apparently the production has gone as far as to enlist the help of Marc Okrand, the man who invented the Klingon language. Check out the video below and if...
- 12/20/2010
- cinemablend.com
Have you ever wanted to send out tweets on Twitter in another language? TwitLan lets you translate your tweets in 81 different languages. But that's... boring. How about a website that allows you to tweet using a fictional foreign or intergalactic language? TweetInKlingon.com allows you to send messages on Twitter, translated into the same language as the famous reoccurring Star Trek villains. The language's basic sound, along with a few words, was first devised by actor James Doohan (aka "Scotty") for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, subsequently developed by Marc Okrand into a full-fledged language. According to our friends at Mashable, Cryptic Studios worked with Friend2Friend to create the site. Messages are automatically translated, hash-tagged and linked to an English-conversion URL (which makes it helpful for the many Trekkers, Trekkies and non-Trek fans who are unable to converse completely in Klingon).
- 12/7/2009
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
Keyboards featuring the letters from the Klingon alphabet have gone on sale in Britain. Designed for Star Trek fans who have learned to speak and write in the alien language, they are priced £43.99. Developed into a full language by Marc Okrand, Klingonese was first devised by actor James Doohan for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. "The Klingon keyboard is the first step in providing PC input devices for all Federation cultures and will aid communications between Earth and other cultures within (more)...
- 1/15/2009
- by By Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
At one point, Paramount Pictures commissioned work on a Star Trek opera as part of the franchise’s 25th anniversary. Novelists Judy and Garwood Stevens were at work on a story when cooler heads prevailed and the project was shelved.
Now, Floris Schönfeld, from the Netherlands, has made it clear he’s at work on a Klingon Opera. The artist was recently profiled in The New York Times, one of 15 invited to come to Long Island for a two- to three-week residency at the Watermill Center.
“The Klingon opera Mr. Schönfeld is developing is called “ ’u’.” The apostrophes before and after the “u” are part of the title and are pronounced by Mr. Schönfeld like short coughs. The title, he said, stands for universe or universal.,” the Times wrote.
Part of his time in America will be spent on developing the opera’s storyline which the 26-year-old intends to write himself.
Now, Floris Schönfeld, from the Netherlands, has made it clear he’s at work on a Klingon Opera. The artist was recently profiled in The New York Times, one of 15 invited to come to Long Island for a two- to three-week residency at the Watermill Center.
“The Klingon opera Mr. Schönfeld is developing is called “ ’u’.” The apostrophes before and after the “u” are part of the title and are pronounced by Mr. Schönfeld like short coughs. The title, he said, stands for universe or universal.,” the Times wrote.
Part of his time in America will be spent on developing the opera’s storyline which the 26-year-old intends to write himself.
- 11/15/2008
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
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