Orc language is a system of communication used by orcs in the Gothic series. Orcs on Khorinis and the ones on the continent use different alphabets.
Description
This language has many digraphs (e.g., "ch," "sh"), double letters (e.g., "kk" or "rr," so-called geminations), and very primitive and barbarous names (e.g., "Ulu-Mulu"). Sound system is extremely chaotic, as the speakers have a very hoarse and unmelodious voice. The most common sounds are resonants ([r]), hushes ([ʃ]), unvoiced consonants ([t], [k]), middle and deep vowels ([a], [o], [u]). Orcs also hiss and grunt while speaking.
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Alphabet of orcs on Khorinis -
Orc language' numbers
The German edition of the book "The Art of Gothic 3" by Piranha Bytes revealed the orc alphabet, its numerals and the appearance of the question mark. The first alphabet was designed by Michael Hoge and Frank Kahlfuss, the original sketch was also presented on the page.
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Original sketch of orc' language on Khorinis. The sentence on the bottom says: "The Sleeper shall awaken. And thus the age of humans ends and the age of demons begins"
Orcs of the continent use completely different symbol system that reminds of arabic script.
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Alphabet of orcs on the continent
Gothic
Orcs that live in the Valley of Mines use their language everywhere. At their place, such as Orc Town and Orc Cemetery, they have a tradition to decorate religious items with writings. A lot of written monuments are situated in the Orc Town.
Humans don't learn orc language, but slaved orcs do learn human language, as seen on two examples:
- Ur-Shak – an orc shaman exiled from the city by his brothers. He learned human language while working as a slave in Free Mine, from which he managed to escape.
- Tarrok – like Ur-Shak, learned the human language while being a slave in the Free Mine.
The undead orcs who summoned the Sleeper also speak the human language when confronting the Nameless Hero.
In Chapter IV, Xardas mentions that he ordered his demons to interrogate a dying orc. This might mean that demons know the orc language or are able to communicate with orcs in other ways. Xardas is also the only person known to learn orc language[1].
Gothic II
In Gothic II, orc language is not so wide-spread as in the first game. Few phrases and sounds can be heard from orcs during fight. However, more orcs seem to know human language, such as orc leaders that speak to Nameless Hero if he becomes a paladin.
Gothic 3 and Forsaken Gods
Although orcs of the continent mostly speak human language, they mention some orc' words while talking, such as morra.
ArcaniA and the Fall of Setarrif
The orcs of the Argaan mostly speak human language, but much worse than their continent counterparts. For example, they often make mistakes while speaking, making it sound barbarian.
Trivia
- Morra is the German name for Groke from Moomins.
- The upper part of one of the Gothic game covers features a string of characters written in the orc language. One of the fragments means "Action adventure game".
- Some NPC's names in the series come from orc language (Nemrok, Karras). This may also be a coincidence.
References
- ↑ He mentions doing translations from orcs' books, which implies he knew the language he was translating from.
