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Most Onomotopoeia (words that indicate a sound by being similar in structure to the sound like "haha" or "meow") for laughing in human languages are some variation on "haha" or "hehe" or something similar perhaps transliterated with a j or a k.

I've done a fair bit of googling but I've found no answer as to what the Klingon version of this is if there even is one. While Worf might have us believe that Klingons do not laugh, his own examples and others, provide mountains of evidence to the contrary. If there is not an official construction, what would a likely construction be?

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For what it's worth, the Klingon word for "to laugh" is Hagh. That's onomotopoeic enough, I would think.

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  • @anaranjada "hagh" might be pronounced "ha". – user40790 May 2 '16 at 22:17
  • @anaranjada That would be the crux to the argument. – user40790 May 2 '16 at 22:35
  • You can listen to the pronunciation of Hagh here. – dlyongemallo May 3 '16 at 13:36
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Alexander Rozhenko is a Klingon. In the script for TNG: Cost of Living, he laughs repeatedly:

ALEXANDER: Ha! It's my laughing hour. Ha! Ha!

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    I'm not sure this is a useful answer. That's just how they chose to write it in the script. IOW, it's the out-of-universe English onomatopoeia for laughing. – Kevin Jul 12 '15 at 22:46
  • @Kevin - He's a klingon, he's laughing, it's described how he's laughing in an official script treatment. I'm not sure how much more useful it could possibly get :-) – Valorum Jul 12 '15 at 22:52
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    I can't speak for the OP, but I was wondering how other klingons would describe his laughing, not humans writing a TV script. – Kevin Jul 12 '15 at 22:57
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    Despite Alexander's lineage - his first language is English since he was educated within the Federation, and so would likely be using "HA" like other English speaking people - this wouldn't support its use in Klingon. – HorusKol Jul 13 '15 at 1:36
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    Potentially the most annoying scene in all of TNG – Often Right Jul 13 '15 at 7:32

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