Orc Languages

[silverdraco]

Hi everyone,

I wanna play an half-orc. And i'm working on his background and everything. I already got it in my head but it needs to be put on paper. or something like it.

I was wondering if there is a language that orcs use? Just like there is a language of the elves and many other races.
Do orcs have a language of there own, or is it that they just talk common in a not so inteligent way. Like: "Me wanna smash some heads." Or "Me be hungry, me want food."

nowing the awnser to this question will help me create my character. because he wil be half-orc without him knowing about the orc part.

Thanks for your awnsers.

[Acacea]

Orcs speak orc or "orcish" or "Growly smashy language" or whatever you want to call it. So yes, they have their own language.

[Dorganath]

*chuckles at Acacea*
  The answer is yes, and if in you character bio you request and have a plausible reason for knowing how to speak orcish, then you'll be given an "ear" that will let you speak it and understand it.

[Faldred]

silverdraco - 4/11/2006  4:04 AM

he wil be half-orc without him knowing about the orc part.

In this case, he probably will only know common -- his ability to speak it "correctly" as opposed to "broken" will be based on INT score (I believe INT less than 9 indicates an inability to speak properly).  Languages aren't "innate" -- he doesn't know Orcish just because he has orc blood, he would have had to live with orcs or spent considerable time around them to have an ear for the language.

[Ar7]

Knowing how to speak proper common should not always be tied directly to the INT score. It might be the case with humans and common, but with other races it should also depend on their background. For example, if a half-orc has an INT of 12, he can't automatically speak very good common, it should depend on how much time he has spent with humans, was he born and raised within orcs etc.

So a high INT will make him speak better or learn faster, but in most cases he will still speak in a retarded way, unless he was raised by humans from day one.

[Faldred]

You're right and I didn't mean to imply otherwise... I think I came across a little wrong above.  I was making some assumptions and comments about the specific character in question -- a half-orc who doesn't know about his orc heritage.  I made the assumption that he was therefore raised by humans, and that Common would be his native language.

Of course, if he were raised by wood elves or something, he'd probably know Elven, but may have trouble with Common unless it was widely used around where he grew up.

[silverdraco]

thanks guys this helps alot.
In the case of the character I'm creating. It's going to be an half-orc that was raised by his half-elf mother. in his child hood he lived in a human village.
I guess this means he knows common very wel and has trouble with the language of the elves.
I don't know that language miselff so that easy to rolplay.

Thanks again.