[#DuolingoForumGems post originally published on Dec 20 2019 on the Duolingo Klingon for English speakers forum by @Tortitudette]
tlhIngan Hol ghojwI’pu’vaD (To students of Klingon): If you find this course even half as fun and rewarding as I do, you’ll have a great experience working through the Duolingo exercises. Below is a collection of external resources that you may find useful.
Electronic Resources
HOL ‘AMPAS HTTPS://HOL.KAG.ORG
The Hol 'ampaS is a fantastic resource of first resort for vocabulary with robust definitions and etymology. It also has a bunch of helpful guides, including basic Klingon grammar and lessons for beginners, as well as games, flashcards and other fun activities. I find this site particularly helpful when I’m trying to understand the difference between related Klingon words.
THE BOQWI’ APP
The boQwI’ app is available in the iOS and Android app stores. The definitions aren’t always as detailed as the ones you’ll find on Hol ‘ampaS, but it’s a really fast and convenient way to look up words, and the side bar charts are very helpful. For reference on a mobile device, this is a great place to start.
THE KLINGON LANGUAGE INSTITUTE HTTPS://WWW.KLI.ORG
The KLI provides a community of Klingon speakers and offers an Introduction to Klingon course with paid membership. It also has resources for local Klingon activities, as well as a store that offers classic texts in Klingon such as Sun Tzu’s Art of War (translated by Agniezska Solska), compendiums of original work in Klingon called jetmey, and HolQed, the institute's quarterly journal.
FLASHCARD COLLECTIONS
There are many wonderful resources for learning Klingon vocabulary online, including courses on Memrise, Anki, and Quizlet. Of those, I'm most familiar with the resources available on Memrise:
Perhaps most relevant for Duolingo learners is @thaigomato11's course based on Michael Lubetsky's Duolingo vocabulary decks, available at: https://www.memrise.com/course/5754992/ ... o-klingon/
Another excellent starting point for newer learners is the KLCP 1 deck, available at: https://www.memrise.com/course/5754992/ ... o-klingon/. This course contains the roughly 500 words tested in the first level of the KLI's Klingon Language Certification Program. There is some overlap with Duolingo vocabulary, but Duo learners will encounter new words here as well.
For intermediate learners, the KLCP 2 deck may be useful. It contains roughly 1100 of the words that are included in the second KLCP exam, excepting those that students have already learned in the first level: https://app.memrise.com/course/1314909/klcp2/.
FACEBOOK GROUPS
Among the most active corners of the Klingon Internet are the Learn Klingon Facebook Groups, run by the KLI. The English group is the most active, followed by German (which consists of two groups), French, and then Spanish.
English: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LearnKlingon/
German: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KlingonischLernen/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/126423874645875/
French: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2075805242678735/
Spanish: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AprendaKlingon/
KLI DISCORD SERVER HTTPS://WWW.KLI.ORG/MEMBERS-ONLY/DISCORD-CHAT-SERVER/
Available only to registered guests and members, the KLI discord server can be a great place for tlhIngan Hol chats and discussion.
KLINGON WIKI HTTP://WWW.KLINGONWIKI.NET
The Klingon Wiki is a broadly sourced and wide ranging collection of articles contributed in English, German, Dutch, French, and Spanish. Like the Facebook Groups, the English and German pages are the most active, comprising roughly 1300 articles each as of November 2019, followed by Dutch with 168 pages, French with 127, and Spanish with 66. I find the unofficial compendium of Klingon language puns to be particularly helpful for studying vocabulary: http://klingon.wiki/En/Puns
KLINGONSKA AKADEMIEN HTTP://KLINGONSKA.ORG/
It's no longer updated and may lack recent developments, but the Klingonska Akademien is a helpful compendium of resources, including the Klingon canon, an introduction to pIqaD (the Klingon writing system), and basic grammar guides. Two of my favorite pages on this site are the suffix guide at http://klingonska.org/dict/suffix.html, and the guide to colors at http://klingonska.org/ref/color.html
DUOLINGO SENTENCE DISCUSSIONS
There’s a ton of accumulated knowledge in the sentence discussions. For example, I’m pretty sure the leading Klingonists explained the use of the suffix -‘e’ in several different ways before it finally clicked for me. If something is giving you trouble, consider searching the sentence discussions to see different ways that students have asked about it.
KEYBOARDS
There are two types of keyboards for Klingon learners. The pIqaD apps or extensions allow you to work with the Klingon writing system, while the quja' is a latin-based keyboard that is optimized for Klingon (for example, by maintaining proper capitalization, and providing keys for di- and tri-glyphs).
On Android, there are pIqaD and quja’ keyboards available via the AnySoftKeyboard extension.
On iOS, the App Store offers a pIqaD app, but I’m not aware of any quja’ options.
Print Resources
ORIGINAL CANON BY DR. OKRAND
The Klingon Dictionary (TKD)
Klingon for the Galactic Traveler (KGT)
The Klingon Way (TKW)
These are the original texts for Klingon learners. TKD lays out the basics and contains many very useful tables, though it can be a bit dense for new learners, so reading it cover to cover isn't necessary at first. KGT provides more cultural context, as well as an introduction to regional dialectic differences. TKW is a fun and engaging collection of Klingon Proverbs, and provides a lot of cultural context for the use of Klingon language. All of these books are widely available from booksellers including Amazon.
KLI BOOKS HTTPS://WWW.KLI.ORG/ACTIVITIES/MERCHANDISE/
The KLI store is another great resource for Klingon texts. Leading speakers here suggest starting with the Tao Te Ching or the Art of War (both translated by Agniezska Solska), while intermediate learners might enjoy Gilgamesh (translated by Roger Cheesbro).
