Mary Chieffo Will Teach You How to Speak (Some) Klingon

Mary Chieffo as L’Rell in Star Trek: Discovery

Yesterday, November 7th, was Mary Chieffo’s birthday. The Mother of Klingons and all-round awesome lady turned 27. To celebrate her birthday, why not learn a little Klingon?

StarTrek.com recently posted a video with Chieffo, giving a little lesson on how to say a common phrase in Klingon. “Today is a good day to die” - it’s one of the most common Klingon sayings, and it’s even spun a few memes...I’m sure you’ve heard the Thanksgiving-themed “Today is a good day for pie”.

The Klingon language is in a category of what’s called “constructed languages” - languages that are consciously derived, rather than evolving naturally. There’s a great TED talk about constructed languages in fandoms - like Klingon, Elvish, Dothraki and Na’vi. You can even take Duolingo courses in Klingon and High Valyrian, if you’re feeling adventurous.

In Chieffo’s video, she breaks down the sounds of the Klingon phrase, step by step, so you can put it together yourself. Fancy having a go? You can watch the whole thing on StarTrek.com now.