Hospital seeks Klingon Interpreter - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

Lonewolf89 · 11th May 2003, 10:07 PM

A friend of mine found this on CNN last night:

The language created for the "Star Trek" TV series and movies is one of about 55 needed by the office that treats mental health patients in metropolitan Multnomah County.

"We have to provide information in all the languages our clients speak," said Jerry Jelusich, a procurement specialist for the county Department of Human Services, which serves about 60,000 mental health clients.

Although created for works of fiction, Klingon was designed to have a consistent grammar, syntax and vocabulary.

And now Multnomah County research has found that many people -- and not just fans -- consider it a complete language.

"There are some cases where we've had mental health patients where this was all they would speak," said the county's purchasing administrator, Franna Hathaway.

County officials said that obligates them to respond with a Klingon-English interpreter, putting the language of starship Enterprise officer Worf and other Klingon characters on a par with common languages such as Russian and Vietnamese, and less common tongues including Dari and Tongan.

Dave · 12th May 2003, 12:36 AM

buy' nquop, qatlh tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh'e'?

(I think that's correct!)

It should mean "that's great, why not speak Klingon?"

Quote:

"There are some cases where we've had mental health patients where this was all they would speak,"

So, it is more than one person -- that seems unlikely to me.

Wasn't this the plot of 'K-PAX' the film starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges?

Lonewolf89 · 12th May 2003, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave
Wasn't this the plot of 'K-PAX' the film starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges?

Nope, that was different. Prot (Spacey's characater) was either and alien inhabiting this man's body, or an insane guy. You were never told which.

Dave · 12th May 2003, 10:46 PM

OK, You can tell I haven't seen 'K-PAX'. But I thought that someone who can ONLY speak in Klingon WAS insane.

Also, I've since learnt that Klingon is spoken in the new Eddie Murphy movie 'Daddy Day Care', in which a child thought to have a disorder actually proves to be speaking the Star Trek language. The film is on screens in the U.S. and Canada. Seems that someone has used real-life events as a story idea already.

EDIT:

Scifi Wire reports that Multnomah County has rescinded its call for Klingon interpreters, stressing that it hasn't spent a penny of public money on Klingon interpretation, the AP reported. Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn told the wire service that the inclusion of Klingon was "a mistake, and a result of an overzealous attempt to ensure that our safety net systems can respond to all customers and clients."

I think someone read about that Eddie Murphy film and included it as a joke. Now they'll be on the carpet. It's a shame really as people who had never heard of Multnomah County before, thought the local government might have a sense of humour, and now realise that, as usual, they don't.

Dave · 20th September 2004, 11:18 PM

CNN must like these stories, because this one just appeared:

Quote:

from CNN News
And now the news ... in Klingon
Wednesday, September 15, 2004 Posted: 8:54 PM EDT (0054 GMT)

Klingons have fans across the globe.

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- German broadcaster Deutsche Welle has added Klingon, spoken by the bumpy-headed aliens of the "Star Trek" television series, to the 30 languages used on its Web site, the network has said.

The pages, at
http://klingon.dw-world.de/klingon/index.php were added to celebrate the site's 10th anniversary.

"The dialogue of cultures does not end at the edge of our solar system," Deutsche Welle director Erik Bettermann said in a statement.

Deutsche Welle is a government-funded radio and television network that broadcasts mainly for German expatriates and Germany enthusiasts.

Klingon was invented for use in Star Trek" and has found fans worldwide.

The Deutsche Welle site aims to make brushing up on Klingon "qay'be"' or "no problem."

11th May 2003, 10:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
Lonewolf89 Fear is the mind killer. Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Flatplanet Cafe Posts: 1,608	Hospital seeks Klingon Interpreter A friend of mine found this on CNN last night: The language created for the "Star Trek" TV series and movies is one of about 55 needed by the office that treats mental health patients in metropolitan Multnomah County. "We have to provide information in all the languages our clients speak," said Jerry Jelusich, a procurement specialist for the county Department of Human Services, which serves about 60,000 mental health clients. Although created for works of fiction, Klingon was designed to have a consistent grammar, syntax and vocabulary. And now Multnomah County research has found that many people -- and not just fans -- consider it a complete language. "There are some cases where we've had mental health patients where this was all they would speak," said the county's purchasing administrator, Franna Hathaway. County officials said that obligates them to respond with a Klingon-English interpreter, putting the language of starship Enterprise officer Worf and other Klingon characters on a par with common languages such as Russian and Vietnamese, and less common tongues including Dari and Tongan.

12th May 2003, 10:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dave Wherever I Am, I'm There Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Greater London Posts: 11,429	OK, You can tell I haven't seen 'K-PAX'. But I thought that someone who can ONLY speak in Klingon WAS insane. Also, I've since learnt that Klingon is spoken in the new Eddie Murphy movie 'Daddy Day Care', in which a child thought to have a disorder actually proves to be speaking the Star Trek language. The film is on screens in the U.S. and Canada. Seems that someone has used real-life events as a story idea already. EDIT: Scifi Wire reports that Multnomah County has rescinded its call for Klingon interpreters, stressing that it hasn't spent a penny of public money on Klingon interpretation, the AP reported. Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn told the wire service that the inclusion of Klingon was "a mistake, and a result of an overzealous attempt to ensure that our safety net systems can respond to all customers and clients." I think someone read about that Eddie Murphy film and included it as a joke. Now they'll be on the carpet. It's a shame really as people who had never heard of Multnomah County before, thought the local government might have a sense of humour, and now realise that, as usual, they don't.