Klingonese Klingonese ( also known more commonly as " Klingon " ) was the language used throughout the Klingon Empire . It was boasted that half the quadrant was learning the language by the mid - 23rd century . ( ) The Klingon language contained eighty poly - guttural dialect s constructed on an adaptive syntax . The first Human to become fluent in it was Hoshi Sato , who learned from a linguistic database provided by the Vulcan s . ( ) Sato once remarked that a book given to her by Tarquin , written by a civilization over a thousand years dead , was in a language very similar to Medieval Klingon . ( ) The Klingon language was not an immutable language . It was constantly changing to meet the needs and aspirations of the people . In the mid - 24th century , the word " peacemaker " appeared for the first time in Klingonese after the negotiations mediated by Riva between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets took place . ( ) However , as of the late 24th century , there still did not seem to be a Klingon word for " jolly " . ( ) By the late - 23rd century , several Federation authors wrote books on learning the Klingon language . Uhura had several on hand aboard the " Enterprise " - A in 2293 , when she had to convince a Klingon patrol post that they were the Klingon freighter " Ursva " , including " Introduction to Klingon Grammar " . ( ) " In the alternate reality , described her mastery of Klingon as " rusty " , but she appeared fluent enough to negotiate with members of the Klingon Defense Force . " ( ) Montgomery Scott once stated that reading Klingon was hard compared to maintaining damage control aboard a Klingon Bird - of - Prey . ( ) The directory of the Promenade on Deep Space 9 was written in Klingonese , as well as English , Vulcan , Ferengi , Bajoran , and Cardassian . Kathryn Janeway stated to Arturis that , while Arturis could speak over 4 , 000 languages , she could barely speak basic Klingon . B ' Elanna Torres stated that she found the language a little too robust for her taste . Despite being half - Klingon herself , she was only able to speak a few phrases of Klingonese . ( ) In 2374 , Alexander Rozhenko admitted to Miles O ' Brien that he could barely even say his name in Klingon . ( ) In the Risan language , the Klingon language was still called " Klingon " . ( ) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Klingonese quotes . A Klingon drinking song : - - - - - - - - - - - - petaQ . One Klingon term used as an insult on numerous occasions was " petaQ " ( also spelled " " Pahtak " " , " " Pathak " " , " " p ' tahk " " , " " p ' takh " " , " " patahk " " , " " pahtk " " , or " " p ' tak " " ) . It was also used by the Klingons of the mirror universe . According to William T . Riker , petaQ was a curse word . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The Klingon language was originally called " Klingonese " in the episode ( by Korax ) and again in ( by Quark ) . The term was also used in the script of noted whenever the Klingons were speaking . Most later episodes refer to the language simply as " Klingon , " and non - canon names include Klingonaase and " tlhIngan Hol " . Some people assert that Michael Pataki actually said " Klingoni " in " The Trouble with Tribbles " , possibly a result of his character ' s drunken state , but this conflicts with the script and the . Michael Okuda , who led the - era art departments in creating the Klingon language as seen in graphics or script , starting from onward , has admitted they are randomly arranged symbols , which he based on the small number of Klingon writings visible in and the first three . The original script was designed by Matt Jefferies , also responsible for the very first visual representation of the definitive Klingon emblem , for use on the D7 class model as used in the " Original Series " . ( ) These graphics and writings do not reflect any possible spellings or translations in what Okrand ' s non - canon works call " pIqaD " , the native Klingon writing system . " ( NOTE : An unofficial guide to " pIqaD " is included on the box insert of the " Star Trek Klingon Edition Monopoly " game . ) " The Klingon language as spoken was originally developed by UCLA dialectician Hartmut Scharfe , James Doohan and Jon Povill for . Doohan , who had expertise with various dialects , became involved in developing the Klingon language after he had a discussion with Gene Roddenberry over lunch . Decades later , Doohan remembered , " " [ Roddenberry ] didn ' t like what [ the dialectician ] created . I said , ' Well , I ' ll do it for you after lunch . ' I was doing something close to Mongolian . " " Povill has related in more detail , " " When we switched from TV to motion picture , we had decided to make sure that the Klingons weren ' t speaking English , so we now asked our language expert , Hartmut , to help us construct a Klingon language . Whereas he had given us just what we needed for the Vulcan s , his Klingonese didn ' t sound alien enough . Hartmut is Indian " [ sic : Scharfe was of German descent , but a languages specialist as spoken on the Indian subcontinent ] " , and he was using it as a combination of Sanskrit and Germanic , it sounded in some ways recognizable , so we were not completely satisfied . Jimmy Doohan has always been good at just kind of making up dialects and languages , so he volunteered his services to help us . After Hartmut had done his thing and worked it all out logically , Jimmy and I just sat down one day and made up stuff . We created the Klingonese by using some of what Hartmut had done and then combining it with our own : we strung together nonsense syllables , basically , totally made up sounds with clicks , and grunts , and hisses . Jimmy actually taught it to Mark Lenard and the others just prior to the shooting of that scene , which didn ' t take place until many months later . " " At the time , Doohan told his co - workers , " " We have to cut out vowels as much as possible . " " ( " " , pp . 260 – 261 ; ) At that time the language was first featured , it essentially consisted of only a few exclamations , and the Klingon language was expanded for by Marc Okrand , who enlarged the lexicon and created a grammar around the original dozen words Doohan had created . It has spawned several reference works , beginning with " The Klingon Dictionary " . Scotty once remarked , " " Reading Klingon , that ' s hard . " " ( ) One of the questions raised by a lawsuit against the creators of the fan film " Star Trek : Axanar " involved specifally identifying who owned the Klingon language and could therefore use it in that production and other unofficial films . To aid the Klingon - playing actors in to learn Klingonese , a tape of the language was prepared by a speaker of Klingon , and two voice coaches also assisted the performers . ( ) Robyn Stewart oversaw the Klingonese on the show . One of the actors who found these provisions especially helpful was T ' Kuvma actor Chris Obi , who was at first worried that he would struggle to learn all of his character ' s Klingon lines but was helped to overcome his anxiety regarding the language . He recalled , " " Immediately , we were told , ' Make it your own , ' because it ' s not just making it Human , because you don ' t want it to be Human . You want it to represent the relationship with the word , with the sound . " " In addition to the other helpers , Obi was helped by Sonequa Martin - Green , who advised him that the Klingon language was deep inside the person speaking it , which he subsequently found to be true . ( ) Specific words . The word for sex in Klingonese was " seloh " . It appeared in the for and was mentioned in the " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( 3rd ed . , p . 436 ) . Another phrase in the script , but not heard in the episode , was " tam " ( " be quiet ! " ) The term for " well done " in Klingonese was " maj - Kkah " , according to the " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( 4th ed . , vol . 2 , p . 13 ) . The reference work stated that this term came from the episode . The term for " no problem " in Klingonese was " Qay ' be " , according to the " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( 4th ed . , vol . 2 , p . 192 ) . The reference work stated that this term came from the episode and explained , " " The expression was devised by Klingon language consultant Marc Okrand at the request of visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston , and was subesquently incorporated into the Klingon lexicon . It became a catchphrase for Ralston and his ILM crew , whenever they faced an unexpected problem or a last - minute change during the production of the movie . No matter how difficult the problem or how unusual the request might be , the proper warrior ' s response was a firm " Qay ' be " ! " " Klingonese in deleted scenes . The Klingon language is spoken in two deleted scene s from the film . As translated into English in subtitle s which accompany those scenes , the following statements are said : Sounds . The sounds of the Klingon language as developed by Marc Okrand are harsh and guttural . This transliteration system was used in preparing scripts and phrases when Okrand supplied dialogue and coached pronunciation . Below is a table providing a rough guide on how to pronounce Klingon and the standard transliteration of the sounds of Klingon . Please note that this table corresponds to the sounds of the standard dialect used when Okrand created the language ; other writers have introduced other sounds and concepts into the language . Basic phrases . Below is a short list of some useful basic phrases in the " tlhIngan Hol " dialect , the most commonly - heard dialect used in the Empire . Inconsistencies . The " tlhIngan Hol " dialect is featured most prominently in the " Star Trek " movies and intermittently in the series . Some writers on the television series followed " The Klingon Dictionary " fairly closely , while others did not . Ronald D . Moore , noted for his major contributions to developing the Klingon culture , commented " " Whether or not we use the language as spelled out in Marc ' s dictionary is up to the individual writer . I personally find the dictionary cumbersome and usually find it easier to make it up phonetically . " " Marc Okrand noted that despite these departures , " " [ A ] ny Klingon spoken during TNG counts as legitimate Klingon , whether I made it up or not , and I ' ve incorporated all of it into the language . " " Such departures from Okrand ' s version included the following : Lyrics . Composers have also used Klingon lyrics in their leitmotifs for the films . Cliff Eidelman , who composed used " < nowiki > taH pagh taHbe ' < / nowiki > " , a translation of " to be or not to be " , for the choral parts for the score on Rura Penthe , in reference to Chang ' s love of William Shakespeare . For , music editor Alex Levy incorporated Klingon lyrics into Michael Giacchino ' s score , mainly using Klingon insults to represent their fury at ' s intrusion of their planet . Netflix . Netflix offered Klingonese subtitles for their broadcast of . As well , they put out a press release about the show written in Klingonese .