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"Orkish" was the general term for the languages used by the Orcs, composed of corrupted borrowings from other languages of Middle-earth such as Sauron's Black Speech and later Westron.

When they were originally bred in the First Age, the Orcs had little more language than beasts, but borrowed what they could from other languages and corrupted it to their liking. In the Second Age, Sauron corrupted and combined Valarin and Quenya to create Black Speech, which he intended to make the official language of all who served him. He ultimately failed in this purpose, although several generations of Orcs were probably bred in Mordor and raised on this language before the War of the Last Alliance.

Portrayal in adaptations[]

The Hobbit film trilogy[]

In The Hobbit movie trilogy Gundabad Orkish is spoken by Orc characters amongst each other, unlike in the prior trilogy The Lord of the Rings, in which Orcs speak primarily the Common Tongue.

External links[]

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