Common pronunciation errors

These are some common pronunciation errors committed by students but also actors who haven't had much speaking practice. There are many videos and voice recordings on the internet that get Klingon pronunciation consistently wrong. There is a lot of really bad Klingon out there. This list gives some clues to identify bad Klingon.

consonants

• Pronouncing j as zh
• Pronouncing H as h
• Pronouncing Q or q as k
• Pronouncing S as s
• Pronouncing I as eye
• Pronouncing gh as g
• Pronouncing ng or tlh as separate sounds, so that tlhIngan turns out as "tell-hing-gun""
• Ignoring the apostrophe completely, especially at the ends of words

vowels

• Trying to pronounce the vowels too far back in the mouth, to the point of practically choking on them
• Speaking o like the final sound of English "bow" or "glow"

general

• Trying to growl or roar when speaking, because they think that's what Klingon is
• Holding syllables too long
• Pronouncing unstressed syllables with a schwa vowel instead of the given vowel
• Shifting consonants across syllable boundaries
• Just giving up completely and making up syllables

See also

• Pronunciation for how to do it right
• Language identification - how to recognize written Klingon
• Freeloader, dishonorable examples of Klingon done bad

References

The first version of this list was compiled by David Trimboli and sent to the mailing list on 14 October 2018