Thread:Hiromichi/@comment-5802826-20140329155211/@comment-1471931-20140329173619

The Klingons are a humanoid warrior species that originated from the planet Qo'noS (pronounced Kronos), an M-class planet. One of the major powers of the galaxy, the Klingons were a proud, tradition-bound people who valued honor and combat. The aggressive Klingon culture had made them an interstellar military power to be respected and feared.

The most distinctive feature of Klingon anatomy (except in those individuals afflicted with the Augment virus) was a sagittal crest, beginning on the forehead and often continuing over the skull. The cranium was encased in an exoskeleton, which possessed a feature known as the tricipital lobe.

On average, Klingons were larger and physically stronger than Humans, though they possessed a much lower tolerance for cold weather. (VOY: "Displaced"; DS9: "Change of Heart") Spock said, once, that Klingons lacked tear ducts; however, Klingon myth states that Kahless once filled the ocean with his tears, and at least one Klingon, Kurn, produced tears.

Internally, Klingon anatomy was markedly different from that of Humans. There was a great deal more multiple redundancy in their organs, a principle they called brak'lul. This allowed Klingons to survive severe injuries in battle. They had twenty-three ribs, two livers, an eight-chambered heart, three lungs, and even redundant neural function as well as multiple stomachs. Some geneticists believed that the extra organs, notably the third lung, evolved to give Klingons greater stamina on the battlefield. Klingons had relatively little knowledge of their own biology and their medicine was very poorly developed. This was largely due to their warrior traditions – a Klingon who was wounded was expected to be left to either survive through his own strength, die, or undergo the hegh'bat, a form of ritual suicide.

Despite the anatomical and physiological differences between Klingons and Humans, the two species had very similar nutritional requirements. Dr. Pulaski once noted that, while most Humans find Klingon food unpalatable, usually, "what kills us, kills them." (TNG: "A Matter Of Honor") However, the "tea" used in the Klingon tea ceremony seems to be an exception. (TNG: "Up The Long Ladder") Apparently, the tea concentrated some (unknown) toxic heavy elements found in the soil in which its plant of origin grew, synthesizing a poison deadly to Humans, and capable of seriously sickening Klingons, as it does.

Klingon pregnancies normally ran thirty weeks, but with mixed species, gestation times were shorter. The odds against Klingon-Human conceptions were rather high; however, when successful, Klingon and Human metabolisms sometimes clashed, causing biochemical fluctuations in the mother, which may lead to fainting. Klingon traits remained dominant for several generations, even with a single ancestor; therefore, a child even ¼ Klingon still possessed forehead ridges, if he or she carried the gene. (VOY: "Lineage")

Klingons had ridged spines, chests and feet. (TNG: "Ethics"; DS9: "Sons of Mogh"; ENT: "Broken Bow") After birth, some Klingon infants experienced a pronounced curvature to the spine, a form of scoliosis, which was correctable by surgery. This "defect" tended to run in Klingon families, especially among females. Federation medicine, fortunately, advanced beyond that, allowing an additional choice of treatment involving genetic modification. (VOY: "Lineage")

The Klingon language

Klingonese (also known more commonly as "Klingon") was the language used throughout the Klingon Empire. It was boasted that half the quadrant was learning the language by the mid-23rd century. (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles")

The Klingon language contained eighty poly-guttural dialects constructed on an adaptive syntax. The first Human to become fluent in it was Hoshi Sato, who learned from a linguistic database provided by the Vulcans. (ENT: "Broken Bow") Sato once remarked that a book given to her by Tarquin, written by a civilization over a thousand years dead, was in a language very similar to medieval Klingon. (ENT: "Exile")

The Klingon language was not an immutable language. It was constantly changing to meet the needs and aspirations of the people. In the mid-24th century, the word peacemaker appeared for the first time in Klingonese after the negotiations mediated by Riva between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets took place. (TNG: "Loud As A Whisper") However, as of the late 24th century, there still did not seem to be a Klingon word for jolly. (TNG: "Parallels")

By the late-23rd century, several Federation authors wrote books on learning the Klingon language. Uhura had several on hand aboard the Enterprise in 2293, when she had to convince a Klingon patrol post that they were the Klingon freighter Ursva, including Introduction to Klingon Grammar. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

Oh, and when Nameless Shura, announcer says "Nameless Shura!"