The Black Speech (S. Morbeth; Or. Murmog) was a language devised by Sauron during the Dark Years to be the sole language of the servants of Mordor, intended for replacing the many different varieties of Orcish and other languages, though in practice it was only used as a language of ritual. It was loosely based on the older Melkian and closely related to the oldest angbandian-orcish which in turn were derived from Valarin and debased Primitive kwendian[1].
Abbreviation used in this wiki: B.S. (sometimes just BS)
Glossary[]
- agh - and
- akha - here
- [verb]ân - past tense (ex : onguk nakhân - "your end has come")
- anakh - emerge (v.)
- apakur - follow (v.)
- argu - others (n.)
- armu - gift (n.)
- ash - one
- [verb]ash - 3rdp singular (ex : kutmu nakhash = "war comes")
- ashi - only
- [verb]at - to [infinitive verb] (ex : durbat = "to rule" in durbatulûk)
- azgu - bone
- bad - beat (v.)
- bagu - stone (n.)
- bard - doomed
- bug - auxiliary verb (v.) (ex : bugash obzidân = "be forgotten")
- burz - dark / black (adj.)
- burzum - darkness / blackness (n.)
- burzuruk - Black Uruk / Greater Orcs
- burzhûr - Black Lord
- busht - embarrass (v.)
- buzb - maggot / worm (n.)
- dagalush - imp / orc child
- dagh - land
- daghburz - mordor
- dar - lie / stay (v.)
- darz - iron
- Darzbandu - Angmar
- darz-ghûrum - "iron-height" fortress
- dash - earth
- dûg - someone lacking competence / filth
- durb - rule / command (v.)
- durbag-ghâr - bright-lord
- durbagu - lord (n.)
- foshan - child
- gan - again
- garz - have (v.)
- ghar - other (adj.)
- ghâr - bright (adj.)
- ghâsh - fire (n.) / burn (v.)
- ghâshgôr - "fire-heart" fortress
- ghûr - tall
- ghuramu - sacrifice
- ghûrum - height (n.)
- gimb - find (v.)
- gir - bury (v.)
- glizd - dust
- glob - fool
- gôr - heart
- grakh - devour (v.)
- [verb]gu - agentive suffix (ex : badgu = "beater" / "whip")
- gû - no
- gûl - wraith / wise one
- gulshu - the Shadows
- gûm - void
- gundum - halls (n.)
- gur - death / cease
- gurkar - bane / slayer (n.)
- guru - die (v.)
- gurun - mortal
- hai - people / folk
- hiz - want / will (v.)
- hu[...] - near demonstrative pronoun (ex : humi = "this time" / "now")
- [verb]ik - 2ndp (ex : girân bugizik = "you will be buried")
- [verb]im - 1stp plural (ex : apakurim = "we follow")
- [verb]in - 1stp singular (ex : armu-nu garzin = "I have a gift")
- [...]-ishi - in [...]
- [verb]iz - future tense (ex : guriz = "will die")
- kalparinkar - Celebrimbor / Silver-Fist
- kar - make (feel) (v.)
- kay - wake (v.)
- khargu - ice / frozen
- khargukôr - "ice-fist" fortress
- khot - army (n.)
- khur - make (v.)
- kîbum - life-ness (n.)
- kilmi - sky (n.)
- kilu - men (n.)
- kiri - life
- kiyu - 2ndp dative form "to / for you"
- ko[...] - far demonstrative pronoun (ex : ko-mi = "that time" / "when")
- kôr - fist
- krimp - bind (v.)
- kû - old
- kutmu - war
- kuzd / kuzd-hai - Dwarves / Dwarven (n. & adj.)
- lakh - rise (v.)
- lug - tower
- lugburz - barad-dûr
- mak - feel / touch (v).
- makha - where
- marna - flesh (n.)
- mat - eat (v.)
- mi - time
- mor - friend (n.)
- mûb - fool
- na - be (v.)
- nakh - come (v.)
- nazg - ring (n.)
- nazgûl - Ringwraiths or Ring-servants (nazg + gûl)
- [...]nu - accusative suffix (ex : umbrunu-hu grakhin = "I devour this world")
- nub - smell (v.)
- [...]-nudu - under [...]
- nugu - nine
- ob - of (partitive (ex : ash ob shre = "one of three"))
- obzid - forget (v.)
- olog / olog-hai - Trolls
- ombi - seven
- ong - end (v. & n.)
- pak - agree (v.)
- pashk - vermin / rat (n.)
- push - dung
- rakh - save (v.)
- ranu - kings (n.)
- ro[...] - negative prefix (ex : mor ronam = "we are not friends")
- rogurrun - imperishable / immortal (adj.)
- shara / shara-hai - Men / Hildor / Mannish
- sharkh - claw (n.)
- sharkhburz - "dark-claw" fortress
- shar-kû - old-man / Saruman
- shirku - blood
- [...]shu - of (genative suffix (ex : durbgu nazgshu = "lord of the rings"))
- skai - interjection of contempt
- snaga / snaga-hai - slave / smallest orc breed
- srag - everything
- tag - stand (v.)
- thrak - bring (v.)
- [...]u - to (dative suffix (ex : Albaiu = "for elves" / "to elves")
- [...]uk - your (ex : umbruk = "your world")
- [...]ûk - all [...] (complete suffix (ex : durbatulûk = "to rule them all")
- [verb]ul - 3rdp plural object (ex : gimbatul = "to find them")
- [...]um - [...]ness / the [...] (abstract suffix(ex : burzum = "darkness")
- umbru - world
- ur[...] - honorific prefix
- ûru - sun
- uruk / uruk-hai - Orcs / Black Orcs
- urush - flame
- ya - relative pronoun ("that" / "which" / "who")
- yam - language (n.)
- yamburz - black-speech
- za - I
- zad - fall (v.)
- zant - bridge
- zid - know (v.)
- zil - light
See also[]
Notes[]
- Black Speech and Mordorian Orcish seem to have lacked the letters c, ch, e, j, and s. In B.S., c turns to k, ch to kh, j to y, and s to sh or zh except in compounds such as sn. It is unknown if e was omitted or replaced by a different syllable, possibly ai. It is also not entirely clear if the letters f, q, v, and x existed in B.S., as only Fh is attested and q seems to have been replaced by ku, v by w or fh, and x by ks, though it is not known if this was true for all mordorean and derived dialects.
- Black Speech's main source, Melkian, seems to have still known the letters s, v, and x.
References[]
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "On Translation"