Pronunciation
| Consonants Phonetics | Vowel Phonetics |
The following list includes all the Klingon sounds in one list rather than separating out the vowels, consonants and <vowel-consonant> variations. For a separate listing and full explanation the reader should refer to Marc Okrand’s Dictionary.
a
|
A
|
as ar in party |
<aw>
|
<AW>
|
as ow in brown |
<ay>
|
<AY>
|
as y in pry |
b
|
B
|
as b in battle |
ch
|
C
|
as ch in child |
D
|
D
|
more palletised than the Federation d and with the tip of the tongue touching the roof of mouth |
e
|
E
|
as e in less |
<ew>
|
<EW>
|
resembles the sound of Klingon e and u run together |
<ey>
|
<EY>
|
as ay in day |
gh
|
G
|
similar to H but hum while saying it |
H
|
H
|
always a glottural sound like ch in Scottish loch (no vocalisation) |
I
|
I
|
as i in sit |
<Iw>
|
<IW>
|
sounds like a merged Klingon I-u |
<Iy>
|
<IY>
|
as ey in key |
j
|
J
|
as in jest |
l
|
L
|
as in last |
m
|
M
|
as in must |
n
|
N
|
as in never |
ng
|
F
|
as ng in sing (completely nasal with tongue in Federation k position) NB: never a separate g sound at the end as with Terran Liverpool accent. |
o
|
O
|
as o on motive |
<oy>
|
<OY>
|
as oy in boy |
p
|
P
|
as in pet |
q
|
K
|
similar to kh in the Terran Egyptian word Ankh. Formed with the tongue in a similar position to the Federation k but with as much of the tongue behind that point touching the roof of the mouth. Also produced with a puff of air (try holding a H until the pressure builds up a bit then let it out) SPITTAL WARNING. |
Q
|
Q
|
this sound is articulated by starting with a strong q and finishing with an H |
r
|
R
|
as in Federation but rolled of the tongue |
S
|
S
|
sounds like sh but is an s with the tongue in the Klingon D position |
t
|
T
|
as in tent |
tlh
|
X
|
similar to tl in spittle (not when pronounced spit-all) but with the tip of the tongue in the same position as for the Federation d and with a small puff of air (Authors note: The nearest Terran sound I’ve found is in the Navaho word for ‘oil’ represented as àh when using the Terran IPA system = tlh) |
u
|
U
|
as u in Sue |
<uy>
|
<UY>
|
as oui in Louis |
v
|
V
|
as in very |
w
|
W
|
as in what, so that on occasions it sounds like hw |
y
|
Y
|
as in yeti (but never as in only) |
’
|
'
|
indicates a glottal stop (catch in the throat) like used after each letter when reciting the Terran phonetic alphabet. Alternatively like the break in the middle of uh-oh |
![](http://www.housevampyr.com/language/qesan/images/Image63.gif)
Table 1a. Consonant Phonetics*
![](http://www.housevampyr.com/language/qesan/images/Consonant.jpg)
Arrows in the chart above are not sliding e.g. tlh starts as plosive build up releasing air at the sides of tongue.
For details on whether sounds are voiced or not see Pronunciation chart on preceding page.
Table 1b. Vowel Phonetics*
![](http://www.housevampyr.com/language/qesan/images/Vowel.jpg)
*(Based on a system created by the Terran IPA)
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