This article is using Klingon symbols known as pIqaD. It is possible that some devices do not display them correctly.

pIqaD

pIqaD letters

A clock using Klingon digits:

The word pIqaD (pronunciation:

S) refers to the klingon letters. According to The Klingon Dictionary, it is a "native writing system for Klingon" and "is not yet well understood"(1). Meanwhile, it has become the name for a specific set of used Klingon letters. Many Klingonists use the name pIqaD to refer to an arbitrary correlation of Klingon style symbols fitting to the alphabet used in The Klingon Dictionary.

Contents of this page:

History
Appearance
Usage on computers
Criticism
- Resemblance to the latin alphabet
- Similar letters
See also
References
External Links

History

Mandel's Klingon letters

First known evidence of pIqaD, 1989

In 1989, the KLI received a new set of symbols which had been sent to a Klingon fan group "Mortas-Te-Kaase" from an unnamed Paramount source in 1989. (2) Before these letters appeared, the only known halfway official Klingon letters those referred to as the Mandel Script.

The Mortas-Te-Kaase document starts with some acknowledgments: "Thanks to Doug Drexler and Michael Okuda for the Klingon Alphanumerics". The document itself was created by Thomas Scheuer, the copyright notice also says "© - 1989 T.S.". It is not clear who did exactly what here, the story behind this set of symbols is obscure by intent. (3)

This is the set created and used by the KLI:
pIqaD KLI.jpg

In a thesis written by Yens Wahlgren, Marc Okrand commented pIqaD in this way (4):

The mapping is very cleverly done... I think it is great, it makes it so you can write the language... I wish I could read it, when I get something written in pIqaD I'm able to very slowly figure it out... I am glad someone really is doing it and has decided that it is an alphabet and not a syllabary. Now we know, cause Michael Okuda and I didn't know that.

Appearance

Through the years, this "KLI pIqaD" has been used by many people in many non-canon publications, and it even has been used in several canon sources. Marc Okrand brought the galleys of the Haynes manual to qep'a' in Chicago in order to ask a few people who could read it well to look over the pIqaD. One may qualify that as accepted by Okrand.

Canon use

2022 few words appeared in Star Trek: Prodigy
2020 pIqaD was used several times in Star Trek: Lower Decks
2017 For pIqaD used on screen in Star Trek: Discovery see pIqaD used in Discovery.
2017 The promotional posters for Star Trek: Discovery presented at Las Vegas Con showed the names of the Klingon characters using pIqaD.
2012 The Haynes Klingon Bird Of Prey Manual
2011 TalkNow learning software
2011 the Klingon edition of Monopoly

Non-canon printed usage

nearly all qep'a'-T-Shirts use pIqaD
In a YouTube video of Which is Nerdier, there is a word qamuSHa' displayed in pIqaD
2016 IDW Comic Manifest Destiny (Klingon title SachmoH San)
2016 advertisement in a page of Metro Ottawa for the Starfleet Gala
2013 the Misfit Shine has product details written in pIqaD
2012 the Klingon Wine - licensed by CBS - uses the words 'Iw HIq in pIqaD.
2011 a commercial ad of Gigaset used pIqaD
2009 a software company published a Klingon Keyboard
2004 During the Simpsons episode "My Big Fat Geek Wedding", the word LOVE is written on an altar using pIqaD symbols.
2002 in the episode "Seeing Red" of the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", a Klingon poem was shown in pIqaD.
2001 title page of the Klingon Hamlet
1992-2005: Front cover of HolQeD

Other usage

People have been playing Scrabble using pIqaD at least since 2004 (5)
2016 The Starfleet Gala Convention had their entire website in Klingon letters
Every day, a japanese Klingonist known as chaDQI posts pIqaD calligraphy on Instagram, normally tagged #klingonshodo: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/klingonshodo/
The Klingon Word of the day published by Chris Lipscombe is displayed using pIqaD since Summer 2016

Usage on computers

See main article ➞ fonts and ➞ Unicode and find out how to write pIqaD in this wiki.

Criticism

Resemblance to the latin alphabet

Some Klingonists do not like the fact that several symbols resemble their Terran counterpart quite well, such as D (d) looks like a Greek delta, l (l) looks like L, but even more that the apostrophe really looks like an apostrophe: z (6). From a Klingon point of view, the apostrophe is treated as a single letter, so it could be any kind of symbol.

Similar letters

With some of the fonts, q and Q are very hard to distinguish: compare k and q. This can sometimes also happen with ng and o (f and o) but these are easier to distinguish due to the Klingon phonology, as one is a consonant, the latter is a vowel.