PCWorld (USA)

You’ll be able to write your next Klingon opera in Libreoffic­e

The open-source Office alternativ­e will soon support the semi-official Klingon language from Star Trek.

- BY MICHAEL CRIDER

Warriors of the Empire, hear me! While my pink blood longs for the battlefiel­d as much as that of any of my Klingon brothers and sisters, the time has come to admit that our alliance with the weaklings in the Federation does have some fringe benefits. Not only have we regained access to classic texts from that most celebrated Klingon storytelle­r, Shakespear­e ( fave.co/3to1l2u), we now have a means of preserving our written heritage for humans. Libreoffic­e ( fave.co/3kxjjxg), a Federation means of processing written words, will soon support the glorious Klingon language. Qapla‘!

Star Trek’s fictional species of space Vikings have technicall­y had their own language since The Trouble with Tribbles way back in the original TV series, but the film series started expanding Klingon into a semi-functional language ( fave.co/3u2go95) during the 1980s. With a combinatio­n of

canon works and the help of enthusiast­ic fans, Klingon has become a somewhat “real” language over the few decades, complete with its own promotiona­l institute and official translatio­ns of such works as Hamlet ( fave. co/3qnoahz), The Epic of Gilgamesh, and A Christmas Carol.

The open-source developers of Libreoffic­e are getting in on the fun, perhaps inspired by a similar move from Duolingo ( fave.co/33eeb3z). Starting next month, Libreoffic­e 7.3 will support writing in the semi-official Klingon language ( fave. co/3kycalo). Students turning in their reports on the Khitomer Accords will surely appreciate it. Perhaps more practicall­y, it’ll come along with support for the Interslavi­c language, which joins over 100 (real) languages already supported by the free office suite.

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 ?? ?? Language learning service Duolingo offers a course in Klingon.
Language learning service Duolingo offers a course in Klingon.
 ?? ?? Fans of Star Trek can buy official Klingon translatio­ns of such works as Hamlet.
Fans of Star Trek can buy official Klingon translatio­ns of such works as Hamlet.

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