Duolingo launches Klingon language-learning course

Outside of Kronos, the Klingon home world, it's rare to bump into someone fluent in the native tongue.

Duolingo , makers of the popular language learning app, are setting out to change that.

The Pittsburgh company released its Klingon course Thursday.

Klingons are a humanoid warrior species in the Star Trek universe. Worf, a Klingon who served as a lieutenant on the USS Enterprise and other ships, is among the longest-running characters in the franchise.

Duolingo, which is headquartered in East Liberty, has more than 200 million users worldwide and has courses in 30 languages. The company launched a course for Mandarin Chinese in November; High Valyrian, the language spoken by Daenerys Targaryen on “Game of Thrones” in July; and Japanese in May.

More than 170,000 people had expressed interest in a Duolingo course on Klingon, according to the company.

Felix Malmenbeck, a Swede fluent in Klingon and the lead course creator for Duolingo's Klingon course, said many Star Trek fans are interested in learning Klingon but often lose energy once they dive in.

“The Duolingo course should help lower that barrier to entry by giving people a simple way to get regular exercise with the language,” Malmenbeck said in a statement. “I suspect that this will lead to an increased number of Star Trek fans continuing their studies of Klingon.”

In the course, you'll learn key Klingon phrases such as “Qup ‘ej Qlp,” which means “He is young and stupid,” and “BItlhIb; toppa' Darur,” which translates into “You are as incompetent as a topah.”

If you see a Klingon drinking bloodwine, simply say, “ ‘Iw Hlq tlhutlhtaH tlhInganvetlh.”

Good luck pronouncing that last one.

The course will be available on Duolingo's website to start and will eventually make its way to the app.

Aaron Aupperlee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at aaupperlee@tribweb.com, 412-336-8448 or via Twitter @tinynotebook.