From hobbits my mind has drifted off to orcs. Or orks, uruks, orchs, as known in some of Middle-Earth’s other languages.
Tolkien never described the orcs too deeply and when he did, unfortunately, it was with language one would use for non-white humans: broad noses, sallow complexions, slanted eyes. I could go into this more as one of the books I’m reading now is White, by Richard Dyer, a scholarly work about how white (Caucasian/European) people see themselves from a place of privilege, specifically in art; but other fantasy critics have gone down that path.
I think it’s clear, though, that Tolkien intended orcs to be everything elves were not. In The Silmarillion, he hints that orcs were created from elven stock: those elves who, after The Awakening, were frightened by Oromë when he came to fetch them and ran away, and so stumbled into Melkor’s, that is Morgoth’s, clutches. If you are a fantasy reader and of Gen X, you will remember that this was how the evil dragon soldiers of the Dragonlance series were created — by the bad guys stealing the good dragons’ hatchlings and eggs!
I think this was clearer to Tolkien when he wrote LOTR than it was to the reader. But it is also clear that the language(s) of the orcs were very different from the elven ones, and this also signals their inherent deformity and evil. Any being that spits off “uglúk u bagronk sha pushdug Saruman-glob búbhosh skai” is going to be different from one who warbles in dulcet tones “laurië lantar lassi súrinen, yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron.” That is the most important division for Tolkien.
In LOTR orcs use the Black Speech originally devised by Sauron to unify his forces, as well as Common. But Tolkien says that each tribe also had its own language, picking up words here and there from other races, and that all of them sounded awful. In contrast, the elves preserved and venerated both their high tongue (Quenya) and everyday derivative of it (Sindarin). Bad orcs, good elves!
The Orkish tongue was rounded out by linguist David Salo for Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy. There’s a word list here courtesy of Wayback. Has it been this long?
I also created some words myself, suitable for fanfics or roleplaying. In these words I inserted my own speculations on orc society.
A Few Orkish Words, Part 1
| Azndâg | A feeling of awe and respect and mixed with abject fear. Orcs see this as a positive, not negative feeling and pursue it whenever they can, whether it means being in subject to a powerful ruler, or running into battle with an overwhelming opponent. It is a vital aspect of their psychology. It means orcs will take risks other races see as suicidal. |
| Bif | Female, specifically an orc female, but used with amendments for different races. For example, Bif-oghor means human female. |
| Bifta-hai | An Orkish matriarch, a term of respect. |
| Bôgkhar | A term meaning “getting too full of oneself” or reaching above one’s station. Orcs have a hierarchical society like chimpanzees, but that also means superiors can be challenged by those beneath them. Given that orcs also value azndag, this means lots of conflict. |
| Ghandgá | Literally, “shiny things.” This means treasure of any kind, e.g. gold, gems. However in some contexts it can mean treasures of the mind or of the spirit. |
| Gnarj | Hunger. Can also mean thirst or greed, depending on the context. Orcs have a high metabolism so they are always hungry. A similar word, gnarjkiksh, means hunger for knowledge or enlightenment. |
| Grurg | Animal. Mostly orcs don’t distinguish between animal types. A grurg ki (little animal) can mean a sparrow as well as a snake or a squirrel. However, orcs do group animals into classes of prey (to eat) and non-prey. |
| Hjaaz | The Orcish draught forced on Merry and Pippin to get them moving and forget their pain after being captured in The Two Towers. Hjaaz is brewed by the orc tribe’s Bifta-hai. |
| Ighek | “Keep it up” or “keep going.” |
