Common (language)

Common (or the Common tongue) is the native language of the humans. It is mostly spoken by the members of the Alliance. Dwarves and gnomes learned it for trade purposes with the humans. Their children learn Common alongside their respective native languages. Gutterspeak is derived from Common. It is assumed that when Horde and Alliance figures speak with one another, they speak in Common. In-game, all Alliance characters understand Common, and its counterpart for the Horde is the Orcish language.

Murlocs can understand Common. The arakkoa Grizzik could speak Common, having learned it after watching the Alliance Expedition for only a short time. The furbolg Unng Ak could speak a broken form of Common as far back as during the War of the Ancients. Garrosh Hellscream and Perith Stormhoof too can speak Common.

Some blood elves find Common to be a crude language, and Conqueror Krenna calls it a "pig-tongue".

Official translations

 * Esarus thar no'Darador = "By blood and honor we serve."
 * Dragon = Great, winged reptilian creatures.
 * O Laras, soranok agar'nethal no shalas ve'ran ardor. = "O Light, bless your son on this joyous day." Part of a song that was performed during the Lordaeron king's coronation ceremony.
 * Thrall = "Slave"
 * Trol'kalar = "Troll slayer" in the ancient tongue of Arathor.

Untranslated words or phrases

 * Alterac - Former human nation in central Lordaeron.
 * Arathor - Former human nation in southeastern Lordaeron.
 * Arevass - River in Silverpine Forest.
 * Andorhal - Former human town in Western Plaguelands.
 * Azotha - Name of primitive race of humans from which the current race descended.
 * Balor - Former island colony of the kingdom of Azeroth.
 * Bur - "Lol" and many other unknown words in common, translated back to what horde hear is "bur".
 * Caer Darrow - Former human city on the island of Darrowmere.
 * Dalaran - Human nation and city of the same name.
 * Durnholde - Human fortress in Hillsbrad Foothills.
 * Elwynn - Wooded region that envelops the heart of Stormwind kingdom.
 * Gilneas - Human nation in southwestern Lordaeron.
 * Kirin Tor - Human organization based out of Dalaran.
 * Kul Tiras - Human island nation in the seas south of Lordaeron.
 * Mardenholde - The fortress of Hearthglen in Western Plaguelands.
 * Strahnbrad - Human town, now in ruins.
 * Stratholme - Former human town in Eastern Plaguelands.
 * Strom - Capital of Arathor where Stromgarde exists today.
 * Strom'kar - Famous greatsword wielded by King Thoradin.
 * Stromgarde - Human kingdom and city in Arathi Highlands.
 * Theramore - Human nation in Dustwallow Marsh.
 * Tiragarde - Human fortress in Durotar and zone in Kul Tiras.
 * Tol Barad - Former human-populated island south of Lordaeron.
 * Chant - Said in the mage tower in Warcraft II.



In-game parser
This is the list of words created by the in-game language parser for the Common language, which is listed as language number seven (word range 423-546) in the Language text file. In the in-game translator, the language parser for Common shares similar words with Gutterspeak and Gnomish. The parser is used to mask both npc and players that speak "Common" when encountered by the Horde.

Note: The language algorithm used by the in-game "translator" merely makes the words look like Common. It does not actually use a specific dictionary. Therefore, translated in-game speech isn't true Common.



In the RPG
Dialects or languages derived or related to Common include Low Common, Gutterspeak, and Nerglish. Common is known by many races, and it is used as a universal language by most members of the races of Azeroth and Draenor. Most if not all races have at least some understanding and speak some dialect of Common.

Because Common is a universal language known by many races, characters that have never had contact with other races are often able communicate with each other on their first meeting. Other racial languages (Orcish, Taur-ahe, Gnomish, etc,) are normally limited to their specific races, but are often learned by races that are most likely to encounter those races or read their language.

The modern "Common" seems to share words with the English language, mixed with words from an ancient tongue (actually some Welsh, Latin, and other historical languages). For example, half-ogre is the Common term for the race that is a mixture of ogre and orc ancestry, whereas mok'nathal (lower-case) is the Orcish term for the same race. At least two known dialects of true Common exist, a modern dialect, which relies more on English, and the "ancient tongue", from which the modern Common is derived.

Translations

 * Azeroth = Word derived from the name of the ancient human ancestors; Azotha.
 * Daer = "People". (Has English roots.)
 * Dwarf = "Diminutive"
 * Half- (or Half) = A prefix that denotes the mixed ancestry regardless of percentage of ancestry the individual has, see also Half-breed.
 * Half-ogre = A race that is born of mixed ogre and orc blood, or in some cases, mixed human and ogre blood, see Half-human half-ogre.
 * Rain Dance = The term in Common for a festival held in Darkshore (the elves have a different name for it).
 * Trol'kalar = "Troll slayer" in the ancient tongue, the ancient dialect of Common used in the Arathorian Empire based in Strom.

Human names
Human parents grant a child its given name at birth, while its family name has a long history and usually speaks something of its bearer’s ancestry. Some humans change their family names to emphasize their own accomplishments.
 * Male names: Merander, Gyram, Darrick, Hebry.
 * Female names: Lilla, Merian, Richelle, Ammi.
 * Family names: Renn, Townguard, Silversmith, Runetouch.

Speculation
Common may be a universal language as a variety of races speak it with one another in-game, and the language was used to communicate between the tauren and night elves as early as 10,000 years ago.

Word speculation

 * A'l = In.
 * An karanir thanagor = Long live the king.
 * Bur = lol (When an Alliance player says "Lol" it will appear as "Bur" to Horde players. This is similar to how "Lol" in Orcish translates to "Kek" for Alliance players. When a horde talking in Orcish tells an Alliance player "bur", they get back "lok". Regardless, it has now been referenced as an official term.
 * Deo Gracias = The church building's sound in Warcraft II is "Deo Gracias," a transliteration of the Latin term "Deo Gratias" meaning "Thanks be to God," which is also the name for several different traditional cathedral hymns. The reason for using pseudo-Latin as a spoken language is not clear. It is possibly a use of stock sound effects, an easter egg for those who know of the hymn, or an attempt to include a foreign sounding language for the humans.
 * Goibon uden lo = Guards help me!
 * Kalar = Killer.
 * Landowar = Alliance.
 * Lordaeron = Peaceful land of the people (rough translation).
 * Mere = Lake. Lordamere and Darrowmere both contain "," a term in British English that refers to a wide, shallow lake.
 * Mor = May.
 * Na = In.
 * Ok = His.
 * Or = Orc.
 * Or'Kalar = Orc Killer. Like Trol'kalar, the name shares the word kalar, implying it's from the same ancient tongue used in the Arathorian Empire and Strom.
 * Spiritus Mundi = Spirit of the world.
 * Thanagor = King.
 * Trol = Troll.
 * Uden = Help!

Alphabet speculation
The monument behind Lion's Rest has Common carvings in it, utilizing a variant of the runic alphabet from ancient Scandinavia. Taking time to match letters with one another and translate the entire tablet showcases a full alphabet. This translation was completed by Cannibal.


 * ᚫ - A
 * ᛒ - B
 * ᚲ - C (Same as K. C can also be represented with an S when making that sound)
 * ᛞ - D
 * ᛖ - E
 * ᚠ - F
 * ᚷ - G
 * ᚺ - H
 * ᛁ - I
 * ᛜ - J (ᛃ is used when making the Y sound)
 * ᚲ - K
 * ᛚ - L
 * ᛗ - M
 * ᛅ - N
 * ᛟ - O
 * ᛈ - P
 * ᚲᚹ - Q (Represented with KW)
 * ᚱ - R
 * ᛋ - S
 * ᛏ - T
 * ᚳ - U
 * ᚹ - V (Both V and W have the same symbol)
 * ᚹ - W (Both V and W have the same symbol)
 * ᚲᛋ - X (Represented with KS, ᚲᛋ)
 * ᛃ - Y
 * ᛉ - Z
 * ᚦ - TH

Trivia

 * Four different alphabets have been used to write Common in-game. Elder Futhark, Faux Cyrillic, Latin, and an unknown original alphabet.
 * In pre-release World of Warcraft, all races could speak Common but many players in the game's beta phase showed a lack of maturity in communication during battles. This caused Common to be the primary Alliance language and Orcish to be the primary Horde language. The Forsaken were given Common as a secondary language, but again, players showed a lack of maturity and this was taken away.
 * In the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game, the Common tongue is a lingua franca, or a universal language, spoken natively by humans, and bilingually by other races. It is the language of humans, halflings, half-elves, and half-orcs. The Common tongue also has great hints of the Icelandic tongue. The concept is derived from Westron, the "common tongue" of Tolkien's Middle Earth, hence the name.
 * "Deo Gracias", from the hymn sung in the church in Warcraft II, is Latin for "Thanks [be] to God".