Translation of Personal Names in Klingon “Hamlet”

Abstract

The translation of literary classics into constructed languages (ConLangs), particularly artificial languages (ArtLangs) like Klingon, offers unique insights into the interplay between language, culture, and translation theory. This paper focuses on the Klingon adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, with a particular emphasis on the treatment of proper names. Through detailed analysis, the study explores how linguistic and cultural constraints of Klingon phonology influenced the adaptation of English names while maintaining their recognisability for readers.

The adaptation process exemplifies a dual objective: conforming to Klingon phonological rules while preserving the familiarity of character names from the source text. For instance, adaptations like Gertrude becoming ghertlhuD demonstrate phonological transformation, where Klingon’s alveolar lateral affricates replace English consonant clusters to align with Klingon phonotactics. Similarly, vowel epenthesis and consonant substitutions ensure Klingon phonological compatibility, balancing “alienness” with reader accessibility. The analysis also reveals how names retained key phonetic features, such as syllable count and nuclear vowels, to maintain their recognisability.

This work situates the Klingon Hamlet within broader sociolinguistic and sociocultural contexts, emphasizing the importance of audience reception in translation. Ultimately, the Klingon adaptation of Hamlet highlights the imaginative potential of ArtLangs, transcending their fictional origins to become vehicles for scholarly inquiry and cultural expression. This study contributes to translation studies by illuminating how adaptations in ConLangs navigate between linguistic fidelity and cultural resonance, enriching our understanding of language as a dynamic and multifaceted medium.