![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khaosworks"Klingon Language Interpreter" Urban Legend (Media )
By Seth Finkelstein
Sun May 11th, 2003 at 03:12:23 PM EST
Frankly, I never reported the original because (a) it was silly, (b) it was mentioned on other journals, and (c) I was skeptical of the initial report anyway, for the simple reason that I doubted that the mental patient's psyche would be so accomodating as to speak proper Okrand tlhIngan Hol. More likely it would be a bunch of gibberish he claimed to be Klingon.
By Seth Finkelstein
Sun May 11th, 2003 at 03:12:23 PM EST
Every once in a while, in order to remind myself of the quality of information typically reported, I trace down the source of a particularly ridiculous story. The "Klingon Language Interpreter" myth, which is spawning now, provides an amusing case study of the process of pack journalism.Not much to say, except read the article. It shows how a lack of sense of humor - or reliance on a game of Chinese whispers, can create a legend.
We begin with the original story source , credited to Steve Woodward of The Oregonian , entitled "If you need someone to Klingon. . ." (sic). The need for a "Klingon interpreter" is presented as an obviously humorous purchasing request. It's a procedural joke arising from the "Klingon language" . That is, on a lark, purchasing officials in Multnomah County, Oregon, decided to make sure that Klingon-language interpreters could be paid by the county, just in case there ever was a need for one. So Klingon was granted official status as a language for the purpose of hiring an interpreter, on par with obscure foreign languages.
In the original article, it's very clear nobody every seriously expected to procure the services of a Klingon interpreter...
Frankly, I never reported the original because (a) it was silly, (b) it was mentioned on other journals, and (c) I was skeptical of the initial report anyway, for the simple reason that I doubted that the mental patient's psyche would be so accomodating as to speak proper Okrand tlhIngan Hol. More likely it would be a bunch of gibberish he claimed to be Klingon.
