The first bedtime story in Klingon to be released
dpa
SAARBRUECKEN, GERMANY (dpa)- Following on from his translation of the French children's classic "The Little Prince," Star Trek language expert Lieven L Litaer has now also translated a famous German bedtime story into Klingon.
The book "Sleep Tight, Little Wolf" has just been released in the language of the aliens, the Klingon teacher recently told dpa.
It is also available as an audiobook: "It gives me the proof that Klingon can also sound pleasant," Litaer said.
The bedtime story by Ulrich Renz and Barbara Brinkmann has already been published in more than 50 languages. In Klingon, the title is "Qongchu', ngavyaw' mach."
Litaer said he wanted to "emphasize all aspects of the Klingon language."
He wanted to show "that it is not just a language that can be used for Star Trek to explain any warlike situations." It also works with literature and even with bedtime stories, he said.
Recently, Litaer was awarded the German Fantasy Prize 2019 in the Best German-Language Translation category at the Berlin Book Fair for his translation of the children's classic "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
This was a great honour, said Litaer, who has been involved in the development of the Klingon language for about 20 years.
The inventor of the artificial language is the US linguist Marc Okrand.
According to Litaer, the Klingon language made famous in the sci-fi series now has around 4,000 words, with new ones added every year.
Each year, Litaer offers a language course in Klingon in the western city of Saarbruecken, on the French border. His course has participants from all over the world.
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