SUDBURY -- Star Trek fans, here's your chance to learn one of science fiction's most sought after, made-up languages: Klingon.
Earlier this week Contact North began offering Manitoulin Islanders the opportunity to learn 'Klingon.'
"I was even talking about it with someone in my personal life and she said 'oh my goodness, I know so many people who would like it to take that', so it's pretty incredible how many people have people in their lives that want to take Klingon," said Leigh Kitlar, Contact North's director of recruitment and partnerships.
Contact North is an organization that helps to promote courses people can take without having to leave their community.
Kitlar, who has already tried the first few Klingon lessons herself, said it might be the most fun course they offer all year.
Learning language skills
"You're learning another language, so the skills are still there as learning goes, but you're doing something really fun and different, so I think it will appeal to all the Star Trek fans out there," she said.
Gore Bay resident Keith Finnila and his girlfriend saw the Facebook post and decided to give it a shot.
"She ended up getting a streak and doing well at it, so she may learn Klingon faster than I do," Finnila said. "But yeah, I'm still going to do it and learn all about the Klingon language and it's just something entertaining."
Finnila said he's been a big fan of the science fiction series since he was a child, when he'd watch the show with his father.
His love of Klingons was built around Worf, a character from the Star Trek, The Next Generation series.
"There probably won't be a lot of practical use for it on the Island, but me and my girlfriend will probably learn it and start talking to the dogs in it - that'll entertain us and them," he laughed.
Klingon expert
It's safe to say Neil Stephen may be a Sudbury expert on the matter of Klingons, as he's also a Klingon in his spare time.
A member of IVF Crimson Fox, Stephen said the course is all in good fun.
CTV News asked him if there might be any useful words we could use in Klingon in our pursuit of the news.
"A common word that you would say -- because Klingons don't really say 'hi,' that's very normal or human interaction -- they would just say something like 'nuqneH,' which literally means 'what do you want'," he laughed.
"It's something silly, something where we can all de-stress with over the next little bit," Stephen added.
The course certainly promises to be an eye-opener and maybe a bit of a tongue-twister, elevating those linguistic skills where no one has gone before.
