Black Speech
Encyclopedia
The Black Speech is a fictional language created by J. R. R. Tolkien
.
One of the languages of Arda
in Tolkien's Middle-earth
legendarium
, it was spoken in the realm
of Mordor
. Tolkien describes the language as being created by Sauron
as an artificial language to be the sole language of all the servants of Mordor, thereby replacing the many different varieties of Orkish
and other languages used by his servants. Tolkien describes the language as existing in two forms, the ancient "pure" forms used by Sauron himself, the Nazgûl
, and the Olog-hai, and the more "debased" form used by the soldiery of the Barad-dûr
at the end of the Third Age
.
of Mordor), and several of Sauron's major lieutenants and officers (i.e. the Mouth of Sauron
) learned and used the Black Speech, but it never really caught on with the Orcs, or the various groups of Men from the east and south that Sauron conquered. The Orcs tended to corrupt and debase any language they were exposed to, so while Black Speech strongly influenced their vocabulary and perhaps grammar, it soon mutated into the myriad Orcish dialects, which are not mutually intelligible. By the end of the Third Age, while Orc vocabulary was peppered with certain terms from Black Speech, even they generally communicated using Westron
, albeit heavily debased.
The Elves refuse to utter Black Speech, as it attracts the attention of the Eye of Sauron.
:
When translated into English
, these words form the lines:
These are the first two lines from the end of a verse about the Rings of Power
. This corresponds to the following table as explained by J.R.R. Tolkien.
. These include Lugbúrz, meaning "Dark Tower" (Barad-dûr
), snaga, meaning "slave", and ghâsh "fire". Many Orkish dialects had adopted words from it. A substantial sample of debased Black Speech/Orkish can be found in The Two Towers
, where the Mordor Orc Grishnákh curses the Isengard
Uruk
Uglúk:
In The Peoples of Middle-earth
, Christopher Tolkien gives the translation: "Uglúk to the cesspool, sha! the dungfilth; the great Saruman
-fool, skai!". However, in a note published in the journal Vinyar Tengwar, this alternative translation is given: "Uglúk to the dung-pit with stinking Saruman-filth, pig-guts, gah!"
, the linguist
David Salo
used what little is known of the Black Speech to invent two phrases:
The word burzum-ishi ('in darkness') is taken from the Ring Verse, and three other abstract nouns are invented with the same ending –um. The word ashi, meaning 'only', is taken from ash ('one') in the Ring Verse. The other words were made up by D. Salo.
suffix: in durbatuluk, the suffix –tuluk means "them all", relating to the verb's object rather than to its subject. Verb forms related to object are specific to ergative languages. Nemirovski claimed a "strong lexical similarity" to Hurrian
(also an ergative language),http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/orkish.htm which had recently been deciphered at the time of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, E. A. Speiser's Introduction to Hurrian appearing in 1941.
and dark, demonic or diabolical themes, some black metal
bands have taken their names and occasionally song and album titles from Black Speech or invented their own Pseudo-Black Speech:
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
.
One of the languages of Arda
Languages of Arda
The languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien are a set of constructed languages, of which most but not all were created for his fictional universe, often called Middle-earth...
in Tolkien's Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
legendarium
Tolkien's legendarium
The phrase Tolkien's legendarium is used in the literary discipline of Tolkien studiesto refer to the part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy fiction being concerned with his Elven legends; that is, historic events that have become legendary from the perspective of the characters of The Lord of the...
, it was spoken in the realm
Realm
A realm is a dominion of a monarch or other sovereign ruler.The Old French word reaume, modern French royaume, was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century...
of Mordor
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
. Tolkien describes the language as being created by Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
as an artificial language to be the sole language of all the servants of Mordor, thereby replacing the many different varieties of Orkish
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
and other languages used by his servants. Tolkien describes the language as existing in two forms, the ancient "pure" forms used by Sauron himself, the Nazgûl
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
, and the Olog-hai, and the more "debased" form used by the soldiery of the Barad-dûr
Barad-dûr
Barad-dûr is the fortress of Sauron in the heart of the black land of Mordor and close to Mount Doom in the fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
at the end of the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
.
Two timelines
For Black Speech, as for all the languages invented by Tolkien, we must distinguish two timelines of evolution:- the external one, concern the evolving conceptions of the language, its actual development done by Tolkien;
- the internal one, deals with the fictional historical evolution of the language inside the imaginary world of "Middle-earth".
External story
From a fan, Tolkien received a goblet with the Ring inscription on it in Black Speech. He used it only as an ashtray. The Black Speech is one of the more fragmentary languages in the novels. Unlike Elvish, Tolkien did not write songs or poems in the Black Speech, apart from the One Ring inscription.Internal story
Sauron attempted to impose Black Speech as the official language of the lands he dominated (ultimately, to include all of Middle-earth) and all his servants, but he was only partially successful. The Nazgûl, the Olog-hai (the elite Battle TrollsTroll (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Trolls are large humanoids of great strength and poor intellect.While in Norse mythology, the Troll was a magical creature with special skills, in Tolkien's writings they are portrayed as evil, stupid, with crude habits, although still intelligent enough to...
of Mordor), and several of Sauron's major lieutenants and officers (i.e. the Mouth of Sauron
Mouth of Sauron
The Mouth of Sauron is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings — specifically in the chapter "The Black Gate Opens" in the third volume, The Return of the King — as the chief emissary of Sauron.He belonged to the race of the Black...
) learned and used the Black Speech, but it never really caught on with the Orcs, or the various groups of Men from the east and south that Sauron conquered. The Orcs tended to corrupt and debase any language they were exposed to, so while Black Speech strongly influenced their vocabulary and perhaps grammar, it soon mutated into the myriad Orcish dialects, which are not mutually intelligible. By the end of the Third Age, while Orc vocabulary was peppered with certain terms from Black Speech, even they generally communicated using Westron
Westron
Westron, or the Common Speech, is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.Westron is the closest thing to a lingua franca in Middle-earth, at least at the time during which The Lord of the Rings is set. "Westron" is an invented English word, derived from West...
, albeit heavily debased.
The Elves refuse to utter Black Speech, as it attracts the attention of the Eye of Sauron.
The One Ring Inscription
The only example of "pure" Black Speech is the inscription upon the One RingOne Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
:
- Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul,
- ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.
When translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, these words form the lines:
- One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
- One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
These are the first two lines from the end of a verse about the Rings of Power
Rings of Power
The Rings of Power in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium are magical rings created by Sauron or by the Elves of Eregion under Sauron's tutelage...
. This corresponds to the following table as explained by J.R.R. Tolkien.
| Black Speech | English |
|---|---|
| ash | one |
| nazg | finger ring |
| durb- | constrain, force, dominate |
| at | verb ending, like a participle |
| ulûk | verbal ending expressing object 3rd person pl. "them" (ul) (sic) in completive or total form "them-all". |
| gimb- | seek out, discover |
| thrak- | bring by force, hale, drag |
| agh | and |
| burzum | darkness |
| ishi | in, inside |
| krimp- | bind, tie |
Other examples
Some other Black Speech words are known, given by Tolkien in Appendix F of The Return of the KingThe Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
. These include Lugbúrz, meaning "Dark Tower" (Barad-dûr
Barad-dûr
Barad-dûr is the fortress of Sauron in the heart of the black land of Mordor and close to Mount Doom in the fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
), snaga, meaning "slave", and ghâsh "fire". Many Orkish dialects had adopted words from it. A substantial sample of debased Black Speech/Orkish can be found in The Two Towers
The Two Towers
The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King.-Title:...
, where the Mordor Orc Grishnákh curses the Isengard
Isengard
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress. Both names mean "Iron fortress" In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress....
Uruk
Uruk-hai
The Uruk-hai are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth. They are introduced in The Lord of the Rings as an advanced breed or breeds of Orcs that serve Sauron and Saruman...
Uglúk:
- Uglúk u bagronk sha pushdug Saruman-glob búbhosh skai!
In The Peoples of Middle-earth
The Peoples of Middle-earth
The Peoples of Middle-earth is the 12th and final volume of The History of Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien from the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. Some characters only appear here...
, Christopher Tolkien gives the translation: "Uglúk to the cesspool, sha! the dungfilth; the great Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
-fool, skai!". However, in a note published in the journal Vinyar Tengwar, this alternative translation is given: "Uglúk to the dung-pit with stinking Saruman-filth, pig-guts, gah!"
Film use
For The Lord of the Rings movie trilogyThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, the linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
David Salo
David Salo
David I. Salo is a linguist who worked on the languages of J. R. R. Tolkien for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, expanding the Elvish languages by building on vocabulary already known from published works, and defining some languages that previously had a very small published vocabulary...
used what little is known of the Black Speech to invent two phrases:
- Gu kibum kelkum-ishi, burzum-ishi. Akha-gum-ishi ashi gurum.
- ("No life in coldness, in darkness. Here in void, only death.")
The word burzum-ishi ('in darkness') is taken from the Ring Verse, and three other abstract nouns are invented with the same ending –um. The word ashi, meaning 'only', is taken from ash ('one') in the Ring Verse. The other words were made up by D. Salo.
Parallels to natural languages
Russian historian Alexander Nemirovski identified an ergativeErgative
The term ergative is used in grammar in three different meanings:* Ergative case* Ergative-absolutive language* Ergative verb...
suffix: in durbatuluk, the suffix –tuluk means "them all", relating to the verb's object rather than to its subject. Verb forms related to object are specific to ergative languages. Nemirovski claimed a "strong lexical similarity" to Hurrian
Hurrian language
Hurrian is a conventional name for the language of the Hurrians , a people who entered northern Mesopotamia around 2300 BC and had mostly vanished by 1000 BC. Hurrian was the language of the Mitanni kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, and was likely spoken at least initially in Hurrian settlements in...
(also an ergative language),http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/orkish.htm which had recently been deciphered at the time of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, E. A. Speiser's Introduction to Hurrian appearing in 1941.
In music
As its more common subject matter includes fantasyFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and dark, demonic or diabolical themes, some black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
bands have taken their names and occasionally song and album titles from Black Speech or invented their own Pseudo-Black Speech:
- BurzumBurzumBurzum is a musical project by Varg Vikernes . It began during 1991 in Bergen, Norway and quickly became prominent within the early Norwegian black metal scene...
, is Black Speech for 'darkness', as seen on the One RingOne RingThe One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
. - SummoningSummoning (band)Summoning is an Austrian black metal band. They are known in part due to their extensive use of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology as lyrical subject.-Biography:...
, particularly the song "Mirdautas Vras" from Oath BoundOath Bound-Notes:*The name Oath Bound was selected because of its relationship with the Silmarillion theme the album has, which is in reference to the Oath of Fëanor....
, the first song not part of the Lord of the Rings soundtrack written entirely in their Pseudo-Black Speech. - Za FrûmiZa FrûmiZa Frûmi is a Swedish music group that was formed in 2000. The Group creates dark, fantasy inspired music.-History:Za Frûmi came about in 2000 and was formed by Simon Heath, Donald Persson, Simon Kölle; Donald Persson left in 2001. This kind of fantasy/dark waves/neo folk music, the Za Frûmi...
have numerous concept albums centred around the exploits of a tribe of Uruk-hai. All lyrics are in a Pseudo-Black Speech created by the band and the translations are included in each album. - Nazgul, an Italian black metal duo influenced by medieval folk music, are named after the Nazgûl.
See also
- Fictional languageFictional languageFictional languages are by far the largest group of artistic languages. Fictional languages are intended to be the languages of a fictional world and are often designed with the intent of giving more depth and an appearance of plausibility to the fictional worlds with which they are associated, and...
s - Constructed languageConstructed languageA planned or constructed language—known colloquially as a conlang—is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary has been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally...
s - Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien