Talk:Language

Demonic and Eredun
Demonic and Eredun may not necessarily be the same language (especially in light that we now know that Eredar did not start out as demons). More facts are needed.Baggins 18:29, 11 May 2006 (EDT)

Also, the Draenei were Eredar, so they probably have not abandoned their native tongue. What else could their language possibly be? Abbert 21:18, 11 May 2006 (EDT)


 * Most likely Eredar, but probably not, "Demonic"(or we would have a race that could understand use of Demonic in the game, and would not be affected by Curse of Tongues).


 * Those are most likely two seperate languages. But then again blizzard could give us "Draenei" as its own language.Baggins 19:52, 11 May 2006 (EDT)


 * That would be kinda cool, because then the dranei would also understand the random demonic gibberish of imps, although they might not be warlocks. Is there any other way to see what those crazy imps are saying? Abbert 19:51, 24 May 2006 (EDT)


 * Something to consider when asking if the Draenei speak the same language as the Eredar, is that languages change. The Eredar joined the burning legion several thousand years ago, so odds are, while some of their words would still be the same, changes would have occurred, causing them to speak very different dialects (sort of like the difference between modern English and Olde English)  Moreover, with the seperation, the Eredar language would have also changed while it was apart from the Draenei Dialect.  It might be compared to differences between Spanish, French, and Latin.  Same root language for them all, but taken different directions by time, space, and cultural events. NocturnalKaos 21:03, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Just translate by some random funny curse and shit talking like "if I wasn't enslaved I'd kick your ass". Well, that's what they mean even while speaking common/orcish--Kirochi 18:32, 24 May 2006 (EDT)


 * Can anyone give a source for Eredun being the Draenei language and Eredic being the alphabet? Or is this just reasonable speculation? --Fandyllic 5:43 PM PDT 24 May 2006


 * Well, here's for Eredun, sixth paragraph : Deeply relieved, Velen gathered the other eredar who had thus far refused to join Sargeras. Naming themselves the draenei, or "exiled ones" in the Eredun language, the renegades barely escaped from Argus, with the Burning Legion only moments behind. Kil'jaeden was furious with what he felt was Velen's betrayal, and the demon vowed to hunt Velen and the rest of the draenei to the ends of the cosmos if need be..

Abyssal, Undercommon, Draenei, Old Darnassian and Idran
Those languages are mentioned in the RPG... Other than that there isn't much information on the languages.

The "Draenei" language is used only by those from Outland and Swamp of Sorrows. Old Darnassian, or as its described, "old dialect of Darnassian" is mentioned in one of the short stories in one of the books. Idran and Abyssal are mentioned in chapter 3 within some character synopses.

Baggins 09:50, 3 September 2006 (EDT)

Seeing as Draenei speak Draenei in BC, I've decided to remove the redundant information from lower section. Because Blood Elves speak Thalassian in BC, I've noted that, and I've moved the Sindassi/Blood Elves info down to lower section.Baggins 20:04, 2 November 2006 (EST)

Do we need all these languages ?
Yeah, Bookkeeper speaking here. Can you imagine Wikipedia listing Dog (language), Insect (language), Potato (language) ? This seems preposterous, as languages aren't given a great importance at all in the Warcraft universe but the impersonation of a game barrier to trans-faction communicating. I'm not denying the importance of writing here what the RPG books tells us ; I'm just expressing what I've thought after I experienced the bogus feeling of a "wasted page".-- K )  (talk) 17:06, 21 November 2006 (EST)


 * I agree with your sentiment, except that lately I have started to deny the importance of writing what the RPG books tell us. While I was excited about the prospect of the wiki being a comprehensive Warcraft resource in the past, I've slowly been coming to hold the opinion that the broad scope we've been aiming for is having significant negative consequences for the quality of the articles.
 * Creating a site that integrates all sources of Warcraft lore is a noble goal, but in practice creates a site that isn't of much practical use for someone interested in the lore as it appears in WoW, and not the substantially different version that appears in the RPG. While the creators have said they were intent on creating a comprehensive, consistent universe in all of its diverse expressions, the unavoidable fact is that the medium affects the message.  The expression of the Warcraft universe between the MMORPG and the RPG is very different, and while it's an interesting exercise to try to create an integrated repository of lore, I think it significantly lowers the utility and understandability of the articles for people coming from a WoW background.
 * More critically, by reducing the accessibility to the reader, we also greatly reduce the pool of qualified potential editors, limiting it to only those who are very familiar with the RPG. I've seen other fan-based wikis with a narrower scope, and correspondingly higher quality of articles, and I don't think that's a coincidence.
 * Basically, I think this article is a good example that WoWWiki could be a much stronger as WoW resource than it could ever be as a Warcraft resource.--Aeleas 20:53, 21 November 2006 (EST)


 * Quote: "Can you imagine Wikipedia listing Dog (language), Insect (language), Potato (language) ? This seems preposterous..."
 * What on earth can you mean? Wikipedia has numerous articles on such things.
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_official_languages
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_language
 * Etc, etc, etc.
 * The languages in the wowwiki article are spoken by sentient creatures, not animals and plants. And if we were to limit the information on the site to WoW, we'd have to remove previous Warcraft games, books, comics, etc as well. The RPG is as valid a source of info as any other official Blizzard-released material. Varghedin 12:37, 22 November 2006 (CET)


 * There's no reason why each source couldn't be evaluated on its own merits. I agree that the RPG is a valid source of information and canon lore, but I think we should be aware of the drawbacks to its inclusion.--Aeleas 11:15, 22 November 2006 (EST)

Alphabet
So all the writing systems in WoW are alphabet based? --Voidvector 22:00, 1 January 2007 (EST)


 * Hmm, old question but I'll bite... I don't think WoW goes much into what form of writing each language is using, although a few quests might describe the script being used. The RPG defines individual types for each language on some tables in the Warcraft RPG, and World of Warcraft RPG main rule books (these are listed on the tables here), as well as further descriptions within the main text (these are also listed on the tables where applicable). Some of the other listings on the tables are likely speculation, if not picked up from the WoW itself.Baggins 08:22, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

Ogres
Is there any source that names the Ogre language? Is it simply called 'Ogre'? It should have its own entry, given the relative prominence of Ogre names around the world. -- 09:28, 18 April 2007 (EDT)

Its' Low Common. There is no "ogre" language, as of yet. Although Ogres have been known to learn Orc, and Common as well. Their names probably come from Orcish words most likely. Although thow it could be from certain dialects of Low Common.Baggins 09:43, 18 April 2007 (EDT)

how to translate any language
Have two computers that have WoW downloaded to them, have two accounts (they don't both have to belong to you), have two characters (different speicies is manditory) within "say" range,turn language to language you wish to translate, say something you know is in the launguage (For when I translate dwarfven, I use city names) go to their computer or have them say in coomon what you said, it should be gibberish but you aren't done yet, put it in your language again, and it will come out in real words of whatever langauge your Wow is set to  for the other person(in my case, English.) Dun modr comes out as "red stone".
 * Some Alliance member said this to me "me lo ve you" as I was running away from them. I think the method you just said is the way to translate. Allies also say "uden" alot. I'm assuming its a curse word, because in battlegrounds I always kill some alliance members and that's what they say to me before they die. extremedeath

Armory lists languages!
Just wanted to make a note here that the WoW Armory lists "Languages" as one of the statistics you can view on a per-character basis. So Blizzard obviously still sees that as a valuable part of the game, because they took the time to put that section into the Armory. It is a bit pointless really, because you can say straightaway from a character's race what their language statistics are. But maybe Blizzard are going to do something with languages after all...Kidburla 20:40, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

...or maybe the way the way Armory takes data from the game it has to take language data as well. Language has always been a statistical data in game even if it doesn't actually function (you can't learn new languages or improve known languages).Baggins 20:47, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

Known words on foreign tongues
Some of the NPC (and PC) voices speak the languages of their people, some of the examples from the Blood Elves are "Anaria shola," when you initiate interaction with one of them (a vendor, for example), from the Night Elves, you can use "Ishnu-alah," in the same circumstances. Thanks to the official WoW site, I know that the Blood Elf is telling me to "Speak your business," while the Night Elf is greeting me by saying, "Good fortune to you." What I'd like to know are the translations of the Orcish for similar things, for example, the words/phrases:

Lok'Ra! Lok'Tar! Thrallhal! Zug,Zug

These in particular are commonly used by the orcs I've encountered. I haven't noticed too much with other races (NPC or otherwise) if they have specific words or phrases, but I'd be equally interested in them as well. Does anyone know more about this sort of thing? Am I even asking in the right area?

I also wondered if the translated phrases of Darnassian and Thalassian should be included on the language page, as it's some of the few examples we have of actual translations from the native tongue to the common. I found it quite interesting that Dun Modr translated to Red Stone! Makes me wish I could try that out with other dwarven words. NocturnalKaos 21:33, 23 April 2008 (UTC)


 * See Orcish.-- 21:38, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Grammar on languages?
Would it be possible to make sense out of the phrases we have on languages and make some form of rules on it (highly speculated of course)? If we could have knowledge of grammar on the languages the benefits would be quite alot I suppose, especially for a roleplaying community or even for players with increased curiosity. And over all, a way to further enhance this world of Azeroth.

Zombie
Right, should this be language or just considerd a lower form of comon?

This is from the Zombie invation invent, Example:"... .. ... Brains.. . ... ..Brains" TerrorBlades (talk) 10:13, 20 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I don't think "zombie" should be considered a language or a lower form of Common unless there is a source. We could point to the quote "Every so often, a zombie retains its intellect..." to explain why they said a few understandable words. Some individual zombies have retained their ability to speak whichever language they knew before undeath though. Rolandius [[Image:Paladin.gif|25px]] ( talk -  contr ) 10:38, 20 December 2008 (UTC)


 * But hay Intellect shouldent have any thing to do with it, i mean Look at the Ghoul stats (DK ghoul) and that is basicly a Zombie and the usaly have more Intellect then the DK, unless you mean something else, and i dont know any source other then that during the invation you as a zombie could pick it as a language. And you could speak with other Zombies and understand eacother allience and horde.TerrorBlades (talk) 14:35, 20 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Intellect as an in-game stat and intellect as a measure of intelligence aren't the same thing. A rogue for instance would have to be smart in order to successfully perform robberies and assassinations, but the Intellect statistic has no use for them whatsoever.


 * In addition, saying a few understandable words sounds like a pretty good description of a lower form of Common to me.


 * Low Comon then? should "Zombie" be places as a form of lower comon? sins we dont realy have any thing on it? TerrorBlades (talk) 15:04, 20 December 2008 (UTC)


 * First, a Ghoul is not a Zombie. Second, there is not a source, unless you have one, that I have seen stating zombies have a language. For all we know, the zombies could have communicated with each other via the Lich King's powers. Rolandius [[Image:Paladin.gif|25px]] ( talk -  contr ) 04:58, 21 December 2008 (UTC)


 * fine ok. TerrorBlades (talk) 08:22, 21 December 2008 (UTC)


 * It existed. It was a thing. It needs a page and/or it can be added that Ghouls spoke it. WoWWiki does not decide what is lore and what is not. If there is a contradiction, state it, do not throw out the half you do not like.-- 23:46, 21 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I don't think there was a thing that existed called zombie language. By the way, why does everyone keep saying ghoul? It was the Zombie Infestation, not the Ghoul Infestation. You might as well say geist or shade if you are going to say ghoul instead of zombie. Rolandius [[Image:Paladin.gif|25px]] ( talk -  contr ) 03:27, 22 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I know its been a long time since anyone wrote anything in this section, but i just wanted to poiny out that a Ghoul is kind of zombie; |"These lumbering, rotting corpses were once Zombies that have made the final transition into true 'undeath'."] Aedror42 (talk) 13:01, September 15, 2009 (UTC)

Learning languages?
The article says that PCs can't currently learn languages. But I just noticed that my level 59 night elf rogue has the ability to speak Titan. I don't think I had that originally. Does anybody know how I might have gained it? --Peristarkawan (talk) 06:28, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Common... not so Common?
Okay, so they call it common but it seems to me that it's really only "common" to the races of the alliance. I have seen in WC3 that it was more a common language spoken by all but since WoW it baffles me that all the Horde characters cannot speak or even understand common at all so it stands to question why the language is called common if only the Alliance & some choice Horde individuals can speak or understand it? Why not call it Human or hell English & leave common as the language of NPCs? It makes no sense to have a "Common" language that only 1 side can speak & understand. Kupo! (talk) 22:12, March 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * It's called common cause Blizzard made the game and they chose to call it common. It's not English. And I believe its explained on the Common (language) article. 22:21, March 10, 2010 (UTC)

Names and Titles
When it comes to the name of a creature, typically around Draenor, Outland or in heavily one-cultured zones (like Loch Modan for dwarves, Duskwood for humans, etc.) it's usually a given that if a creature has an abnormal name, such as Kili'ua, the title is considered a direct translation because of the quotations (in this case, <"Two Huge Pincers">). However, we also see translations being used without the quotations, such as Gar'mak  and Lak'tuk . Would this mean that it's safe to assume that if a creature has an odd, non-english or non-compounded word, with a title in the same format, that it should be considered a translation? Cannibeans (talk) 00:55, 1 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Probably.-- 01:41, 1 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Noted. I'll add a few here and there as I come across them. Cannibeans (talk) 03:12, 1 March 2017 (UTC)


 * So far: Amaukwa means "Breath of Moon" in Orcish, Arru means "Terror" in Taur-ahe, Karoma means "Wolf Spirit" in Dwarven (could also possibly be orcish) and Kri'chon means "Corpse-Reaver" in Mantid (language). Yay or nay? Cannibeans (talk) 03:43, 1 March 2017 (UTC)


 * I don't know. Karoma meaning "the wolf spirit" is the least likely, because it is one. Maybe the same for the scorpion.-- 03:59, 1 March 2017 (UTC)


 * I actually feel that assuming their title is a translation of their name is an extremely terrible assumption to make. The only real exception I would say is for something like Kili'ua, and then only because its title is in quotes. Otherwise, there's literally no way of knowing whether it's simply the orcish equivalent of Bob . -- Dark T Zeratul (talk) 04:58, 1 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Curious on why other examples remain, then? Lak'tuk, Gar'mak, Nok-Karosh, Arikara, Isha Awak, etc. etc. Cannibeans (talk) 06:51, 1 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Agreed with Zeratul. It could be added to speculation section but not to the official primer as there is no confirmation about this. --Mordecay (talk) 19:31, 2 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Again, I have to ask why the other examples remain, then, since they operate under the same assumption but are assumed to be direct translations. Cannibeans (talk) 01:20, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
 * They remain because people in the past thought that was a good assumption to make. My personal feeling would be to remove them as well. -- Dark T Zeratul (talk) 01:34, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
 * I think that at least the tauren ones are correct assumptions.-- 02:59, 3 March 2017 (UTC)