Dad spoke only Klingon to child for three years

[homer13j]

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2...town_dad_s.php

Local dad spoke only Klingon to child for three years
By Hart Van Denburg
Wed., Nov. 18 2009 @ 6:57AM

​ Is this taking the whole Star Trek thing a teensie weensie bit too far? d'Armond Speers spoke only Klingon to his child for the first three years of its life.

Klingon? Not Spanish, French, Mandarin? Not some gutteral genuflecting concoction from the deepest recesses of Borneo? Klingon? You heard it right. (And if you don't know about the Klingon Empire, look it up.)

"I was interested in the question of whether my son, going through his first language acquisition process, would acquire it like any human language," Speers told the Minnesota Daily. "He was definitely starting to learn it."

And get this, Speers says he isn't really a huge Star Trek fan.

We'll take his word for it.

Does the fact that Speers has a doctorate in computational linguistics explain anything -- or excuse anything -- here? Maybe. His child-rearing habits were part of a larger story on the company he advises, Ultralingua, which develops language and translation software. Including Klingon.

OK. We're playing light here with some serious stuff. Ultralingua sounds like an interesting company. And Speers sounds like a really smart guy. Successful, too. May they live long and prosper.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Child = Toy
Evidently. Didn't the Kinks or some such have a line to that effect?

[kleinma]

Well it doesn't say if the child was exposed to any other languages. Unless he had no interaction with any other people for the first 3 years of his life, it sounds like he was at least being raised for those 3 years in a bi-lingual setting. That isn't to say the dad isn't an idiot though.

[capsulecorpjx]

Child = Toy
Evidently. Didn't the Kinks or some such have a line to that effect?

Wait when did Roddenberry even develop Klingon into a full language? I thought he just made up a few phrases.

And this is a terrible parent. Even if you teach the kid a normal language, now his kid will have a Klingon accent and will mess with his life forever.

[Nicelydone]

according to the article posted the guy's got a doctorate in computational linguistics. Idiot with his kid, maybe, at least hes smart somewhere.

[penagate]

Even if you teach the kid a normal language, now his kid will have a Klingon accent and will mess with his life forever.

Assuming the child was not completely isolated from English-speaking people, he ought to be bilingual. Multilingual people tend not to project accents across languages. Speech therapy can also eliminate accents altogether.

Is there even such a thing as a 'Klingon accent'?

[Nicelydone]

Yeah the accent think kinda throws me. Ive seen star trek...Once ... And I dont recall the accent. Sounds like an american speaking klingon.

[Nightwalker83]

Lol! I love the caption under the pic!

This is not d'Armond Speers

That despite right above it has the link to the official starwars blog. Were there Klingons in Star Wars or do they mean Star Trek?

[EntityX]

Wait when did Roddenberry even develop Klingon into a full language? I thought he just made up a few phrases.

That's what doesn't make sense to me. Can you buy a book on Klingon and learn it? How many words does Klingon have in it? Sounds like someone looking for attention.

[kleinma]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klingon_language

[EntityX]

Interesting. Didn't know. According to the wikipedia article the number that speak it : unknown. Around 12 fluent. It's regulated by the Klingon Language Institute. Imagine putting on your resume that you worked at the Klingon Language Institute.

[mendhak]

Is there even such a thing as a 'Klingon accent'?

Scream at the other person and ensure that the appropriate amount of spittle lands on their face.

[wossname]

If they guy works for a company that makes Universal Translators, then what difference does it make what language he speaks to the kid in?

Doy!!!