The word qepHom (,

Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon language, Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' ('' ...

for ''small gathering'') is generally used for any kind of gathering where people may talk about or in

, a

fictional language Fictional languages are the subset of constructed languages (conlangs) that have been created as part of a fictional setting (e.g. for use in a book, movie, television show, or video game). Typically they are the creation of one individual, while ...

created for ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...

''. In Germany, the word has become commonly used for a specific annual meeting in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is ...

, because it is the largest meeting of its kind.

Background

The annual world conference of the

Klingon Language Institute The Klingon Language Institute (KLI) is an independent organization originally founded in Flourtown, Pennsylvania and now located in Kentucky. Its goal is to promote the Klingon language and culture. General The KLI has members from all over t ...

is called ''qepʼaʼ'', the Klingon word for "major meeting" (using ''qep'' "meeting" plus the augmentative suffix -ʼaʼ). The opposite of that word is ''qepHom'', literally "minor meeting". This was intended as an informal gathering for two or three people who might meet frequently to talk about Klingon. Since the number of Klingon speakers in Europe is too small for such a frequent meeting, the Klingon expert Lieven Litaer set up an all-weekend language camp, which is therefore called ''qepHom''.

qepHom Saarbrücken

Participants

The Klingon meeting in Germany usually has about 20 to 25 Klingonists, mostly from Europe although there have also been visitors from Canada and the United States. European members come from countries like Sweden,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. As most of the Klingonists are from Germany, the main teaching language is German. A major part of the participants are Star Trek fans, but there are also many students who focus only on the language.

Schedule

The meeting starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday. Because of the different arrival times of the participants, there is no official schedule on the first day, but Klingonists use that spare time to talk about Klingon. During the meeting there are several lectures and games to learn Klingon for the beginners while the advanced speakers chat in Klingon by themselves in separate groups. At the last evening, there is a traditional party where some of the participants enjoy dressing up as

History

{, class="wikitable" , - !No. !Date !motto !special , - , 1. , 29.11-01.12.2002 , - , - , - , 2. , 05.-07.12.2003 , - , - , - , 3. , 26.-28.11.2004 , Do is immer ebbes los , TV-documentary about the meeting by a local TV-station , - , 4. , 25.-27.11.2005 , - , - , - , 5. , 17.-19.11.2006 , Nummer 5 lebt! , - , - , 6. , 16.-18.11.2007 , Lernst du noch oder sprichst du schon? , - , - , 7. , 14.-16.11.2008 , - , - , - , 8. , 20.-22.11.2009 , qepHom 8 - Die Wörterschlacht , Guest lecture by Hubert Zitt , - , 9. , 19.-21.11.2010 , qepHom Hut , - , - , 10. , 10.-13.11.2011 , the anniversary , Participation of Klingon creator

Marc Okrand Marc Okrand (; born July 3, 1948) is an American linguist. His professional work is in Native American languages, and he is well known as the creator of the Klingon language in the ''Star Trek'' science fiction franchise. Linguistics As a lin ...

,SOL.de: Großes Klingonen-Treffen in Saarbrücken
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113153237/http://www.sol.de/titelseite/topnews/Saarbruecken-Dudweiler-Klingonen-Symposium-Erfinder-Sprache-Grosses-Klingonen-Treffen-in-Saarbruecken;art26205,3659080,0 , date=2014-01-13 Release of the Klingon book ''paqʼbatlh'' , - , 11. , 15.-18.11.2012 , Alarm für qepHom 11 , Guest lecture by Hubert Zitt , - , 12 , 07.-10.11.2013 , qepHom wa'maH cha' ''dt.: qepHom 12'' , Guest lecture by Markus Groß , - , 13 , 13.-16.2014 , - , Guest lecture by Hubert Zitt, additional talks by Ernst Buchberger and David Yonge-Mallo , - , 14 , 29.10- 1.11.2015 , - , -

Other locations

During the past years, there have been several other qepHommey in Germany that were literally "minor meetings". These were not regular and happened at different places.

References

External links

official website of qepHom Saarbrücken
*
English website
Klingon language