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If you’ve been desperate for more Trekkie action since the Star Trek: Discovery finale in February, Duolingo is about to blow your mind: the language-learning site is now offering classes in Klingon, the most common alien language in the Star Trek universe.
Duolingo’s Klingon course is a full-service program required to teach die hard fans everything they need to know about the language. The course’s website says that it only takes 5 minutes of training a day to start picking up the language, and if you follow Duolingo’s lessons in vocabulary, sentence structure, common phrases, and proper grammar, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a Klingon master — a title that very few humans can claim as their own.
According to Mashable, participants in the course will learn common phrases, including:
- The Klingon does not understand English. – Dlvl’ Hol yajbe’ tlhIngan.
- What do you want? Speak! – nuqneH? yIjatlh!
- Success and honor! – Qapla’ batlh je!
- A Klingon will die. – Hegh tlhIngan
- The ship is big. – tln Duj.
- Mara is brave. – yoH mara.
- You are as incompetent as a topah. – bItlhIb; toppa’ Darur.
- That Klingon is drinking bloodwine. – ‘Iw Hlq tlhutlhtaH tlhInganvetlh
Like many languages, things don’t always translate exactly from English to Klingon. “The language itself is centered around spacecraft, warfare, and weaponry — but it also reflects the directness and sense of humor of the Klingon culture,” says Duolingo’s website. As such, “the closest word you can use to express ‘hello’ is ‘nuqneH,’ which actually means ‘What do you want?'” By learning from the Klingon masters, you’ll be able to appreciate the many nuances of the language and speak like an intergalactic local.
Duolingo’s Klingon course is still in beta mode and has a hefty waiting list of over 170,000 people, so if you’re looking to learn the language a little bit quicker, you can join the Klingon Language Institute, which was formed in 1992 to bring “together individuals interested in the study of Klingon linguistics and culture.”
The future is here, people.
