The Languages of World of Warcraft

A World Defined by Words

Azeroth is a land of endless conflict and wonder, but beneath every clash of blades and every triumph of magic lies something more profound: language. From the simplest greeting exchanged in Stormwind to the ancient runes carved deep in Ulduar, language is the invisible thread that binds this world together.

These tongues are more than just tools for communication. They are living reflections of history, culture, and identity—testaments to the resilience of peoples who have weathered war, cataclysm, and even the sundering of reality itself. Some languages are shared freely among allies. Others are jealously guarded, spoken only in ritual or whispered in the darkness. Still others are so old and potent that uttering a single word can alter the fabric of existence.

In this guide, we will explore every known language of Azeroth, from the Common speech of humanity to the sanity-shattering murmurs of the Void. Whether you are a scholar seeking knowledge, an adventurer chasing lost lore, or simply a curious soul eager to understand this world in all its complexity, you will find here a journey through words unlike any other.

Let us begin where most stories do: with the languages of the Alliance.

The Languages of the Alliance

The Common Tongue and the Unity of Diverse Peoples

The Alliance stands as one of Azeroth’s most storied coalitions—a union of humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes, draenei, and other noble peoples. Despite their many differences in culture and heritage, these races are bound together by shared purpose and, crucially, by language.

At the heart of this linguistic bond is Common, the most widely spoken language among the Alliance. Common serves as the diplomatic, military, and mercantile lingua franca, enabling disparate cultures to communicate effortlessly. Yet, behind this shared tongue lies a rich tapestry of unique languages—each carrying centuries of tradition, myth, and identity.

Below, we explore the primary Alliance languages, the peoples who speak them, and the role they play in shaping Azeroth’s cultural mosaic.

Common

Spoken by:

• Humans of Stormwind
• Gilnean worgen
• Kul Tiran humans

Overview:
Common is exactly what its name implies: the universal tongue of humanity and the baseline language of the Alliance. Its origins trace back to the Arathorian Empire, whose influence spread the language across the Eastern Kingdoms.

After the fall of Lordaeron and the rise of Stormwind, Common became the official language of the Alliance’s human kingdoms and was adopted by many allied peoples for diplomacy and trade. Today, Common is spoken fluently by almost all Alliance members, including non-human races who choose to learn it for practical reasons.

Interesting Notes:

• Common is written using a standardized script derived from ancient human runes.
• Gilnean worgen, once isolated behind the Greymane Wall, maintained their own dialects but quickly returned to Common when rejoining the Alliance.
• Kul Tirans use a maritime-inflected variation with nautical terminology and unique idioms.

Dwarven

Spoken by:

• Ironforge dwarves
• Dark Iron dwarves

Overview:
The Dwarven language, also known as Khaz Modan Dwarven, is as stout and enduring as the dwarves themselves. It features a runic script etched into stone tablets, weapons, and mighty halls beneath the mountains.

Dwarven has ancient ties to the Titans, reflecting the dwarves’ descent from the earthen. Over centuries, dialectal differences have arisen—particularly among the Dark Iron dwarves, whose isolation in Blackrock Mountain influenced their speech.

Interesting Notes:

• Dwarven inscriptions are often used to record genealogy and monumental events.
• The language includes specialized vocabulary for smithing, mining, and engineering.
• Dark Iron dwarves have retained archaic terms that other clans consider obsolete.

Gnomish

Spoken by:

• Gnomeregan gnomes
• Mechagon mechagnomes

Overview:
Gnomish is a rapid, highly technical language renowned for its enormous vocabulary of engineering terms and scientific expressions. Many words have no equivalents in other tongues, which makes translating gnomish inventions a notorious challenge.

Though Gnomish shares linguistic ancestry with Dwarven, it diverged long ago. Gnomish script is delicate and precise, typically rendered in compact columns designed to fit neatly into schematics and blueprints.

Interesting Notes:

• Gnomish includes over a hundred different words for “gear” alone.
• Mechagnomes have introduced new lexicon for cybernetic augmentations.
• Gnomes often code their plans using cryptographic variants of their language to protect proprietary inventions.

Darnassian

Spoken by:

• Night elves

Overview:
Darnassian is a melodic, flowing language that predates the Sundering. Ancient night elven civilization used Darnassian in ritual, governance, and daily life. It is still spoken widely among kaldorei communities and serves as a medium for the arcane and druidic traditions.

Written Darnassian employs graceful, looping scripts resembling flowing branches and leaves—a reflection of the night elves’ bond with nature.

Interesting Notes:

• Darnassian contains many words without direct translation into Common, particularly terms tied to druidic rites.
• Ritual incantations often remain in their original, archaic forms.
• The language’s musical qualities are said to have inspired many kaldorei songs and poems.

Draenei

Spoken by:

• Draenei of the Exodar
• Lightforged draenei

Overview:
Draenei is an ancient tongue evolved from Eredun, the language of their eredar ancestors. However, unlike Eredun, which later became synonymous with demonic corruption, Draenei remained pure—shaped by millennia of devotion to the Light.

Draenei features harmonious vowel sounds and ceremonial phrasing, often incorporated into their prayers and blessings. Their writing system uses stylized glyphs illuminated in crystalline blue or gold.

Interesting Notes:

• Certain Draenei words hold intrinsic holy power when invoked by a Lightforged.
• The language has been influenced by Naaru song and terminology.
• Many Draenei prefer speaking their own tongue in private, even when fluent in Common.

Thalassian (Alliance)

Spoken by:

• Void elves

Overview:
Thalassian is the elegant language of the highborne elves and the Sin’dorei. When the Void elves split from their blood elf kin, they retained Thalassian as their native language—although their exposure to the Void has introduced new vocabulary and intonations.

Thalassian remains almost unchanged since its Highborne origins. Its script uses sweeping, calligraphic symbols designed to channel arcane energies.

Interesting Notes:

• Thalassian is almost identical across high elf, blood elf, and void elf groups.
• Void elves have developed Void-influenced spell terminology.
• The language is closely related to Darnassian, though mutually unintelligible in practice.

A Tapestry of Tongues

From the rugged mountains of Khaz Modan to the shimmering halls of the Exodar, the languages of the Alliance tell the story of a coalition founded on unity in diversity. Whether it’s the crisp commands of Common or the ancient verses of Darnassian, these tongues reflect the heart of Azeroth’s greatest alliance—one that endures, in no small part, because its peoples can speak to each other.

The Languages of the Horde

Orcish: The Unifying Voice of the Horde

While the Alliance binds itself together through Common, the Horde finds its cohesion in Orcish—a tongue as blunt and forceful as the warriors who first brought it to Azeroth. Yet, like the Alliance, the Horde is anything but linguistically uniform. From the Zandalari’s resonant Zandali to the Nightborne’s graceful Shalassian, the Horde’s languages reflect its legacy of conquest, survival, and shared purpose.

Below, we explore each of these tongues in detail—highlighting their origins, unique qualities, and cultural significance.

Orcish

Spoken by:

• Orgrimmar orcs
• Mag’har orcs

Overview:
Orcish originated on the world of Draenor and once served as the language of the orcish clans. After the orcs came to Azeroth through the Dark Portal, their language spread quickly—first through war, then through alliance-building among the disparate peoples who would join the Horde.

Orcish is guttural and direct. It uses an angular runic script inscribed on banners, weapons, and clan tokens. Over time, it became the default working language of the Horde, spoken fluently by almost all its members regardless of race.

Interesting Notes:

• The language has ceremonial forms reserved for rites of honor or war.
• Mag’har orcs preserve older dialects untouched by demonic influence.
• Many Horde veterans deliberately avoid Common, regarding it as a language of past oppression.

Zandali

Spoken by:

• Darkspear jungle trolls
• Zandalari trolls

Overview:
Zandali is the mother tongue of all troll tribes, an ancient language predating the Sundering. Among the Zandalari—troll civilization’s oldest lineage—Zandali retains its most formal and elaborate forms. The Darkspear trolls speak a more simplified dialect adapted to their life in Kalimdor.

Zandali is known for its chanting cadence and vibrant oral tradition. Much troll history survives only as spoken recitation in Zandali verses and proverbs.

Interesting Notes:

• Zandali includes ritual words used exclusively by witch doctors.
• Troll berserkers employ special war cries in the language before battle.
• Its script is carved in spiraling motifs reflecting Loa symbolism.

Taur-ahe

Spoken by:

• Thunder Bluff tauren
• Highmountain tauren

Overview:
The tauren speak Taur-ahe, a sonorous language rooted in the oral traditions of their nomadic ancestors. Taur-ahe words often have layered meanings, referencing both the natural world and the spiritual heritage of the Earth Mother.

The Highmountain clans share this language but preserve archaic phrases and unique regional expressions. Taur-ahe is primarily spoken aloud, with few written records—most knowledge passes from elder to youth through storytelling.

Interesting Notes:

• Many Taur-ahe words relate to the cycles of the land and sky.
• Ritual chants are considered a form of communion with ancestors.
• The language contains no direct term for “possession,” reflecting the tauren’s communal worldview.

Gutterspeak

Spoken by:

• Forsaken undead

Overview:
Gutterspeak is a corruption of Common and Thalassian, adapted by the Forsaken after their liberation from the Lich King. It is rough, clipped, and filled with dark humor—a reflection of Forsaken defiance and isolation.

While many Forsaken still understand Common, they consider Gutterspeak a badge of identity, deliberately opaque to outsiders.

Interesting Notes:

• Gutterspeak evolved quickly after the Forsaken claimed Lordaeron.
• The language blends necromantic terminology with twisted street slang.
• Other Horde races generally understand it in basic form but prefer Orcish for clarity.

Thalassian (Horde)

Spoken by:

• Blood elves

Overview:
Thalassian is the refined tongue of the Sin’dorei, the blood elves who once called themselves high elves. After the Scourge destroyed their homeland, the Sin’dorei embraced Thalassian as a symbol of cultural survival.

Blood elves share this language with the void elves of the Alliance. However, the Sin’dorei accent and vocabulary have remained truer to Highborne forms. The script is elegant, filled with flourishes that channel arcane resonance.

Interesting Notes:

• Thalassian is one of the most ancient surviving languages of Azeroth.
• Blood elves have retained spell incantations in pure archaic Thalassian.
• Despite joining the Horde, many blood elves still maintain Thalassian as their primary language in daily life.

Goblin

Spoken by:

• Bilgewater goblins

Overview:
Goblin language is fast, clipped, and businesslike—mirroring the goblins themselves. It has extensive jargon for trade, engineering, and finance. Written Goblin is typically scrawled in compact runes designed for ledgers and contracts.

While goblins speak Orcish fluently for diplomacy, they prefer their native tongue when conducting deals or scheming.

Interesting Notes:

• Goblin includes hundreds of terms for different kinds of profit.
• Many goblin dialects developed in trade hubs like Kezan.
• Bilgewater goblins use distinct idioms reflecting their cartel’s personality.

Shalassian

Spoken by:

• Nightborne

Overview:
Shalassian is a sister language to Thalassian—both evolved from the Highborne language spoken before the Sundering. The Nightborne, having been isolated in Suramar for ten thousand years, preserved a unique dialect infused with ancient arcane vocabulary.

The script resembles Thalassian but features older symbols no longer in modern use. Shalassian is considered by many scholars to be closer to the original Highborne speech.

Interesting Notes:

• Nightborne mages recite spells in Shalassian to enhance their potency.
• The language was once spoken exclusively within the Nightwell-shielded city.
• Many Nightborne still favor Shalassian for formal ceremonies.

Vulpera

Spoken by:

• Voldunai vulpera

Overview:
The nomadic vulpera of Vol’dun speak a language that blends oral storytelling with practical desert terms. While it remains largely untranslated by scholars, it is known to include elaborate proverbs and survival wisdom.

As newcomers to the Horde, the vulpera have quickly adopted Orcish for trade and military communication while retaining their language among their own caravans.

Interesting Notes:

• Vulpera language has no known written form.
• Storytelling is the main vehicle for cultural preservation.
• Many vulpera incorporate loanwords from Zandali and Goblin.

A Brotherhood of Many Voices

From the guttural growl of Orcish to the refined cadence of Shalassian, the Horde’s languages reflect a coalition forged not by blood, but by shared purpose and mutual respect. Each tongue tells a story of resilience and adaptation—proof that in Azeroth, strength is found in diversity as much as unity.

Ancient, Elemental, and Forgotten Tongues

Languages Older Than History

While the factions of Azeroth have their everyday languages, countless more tongues predate any banner or kingdom. Some were spoken by the first beings to shape the world; others echo in the chambers of long-lost empires or drift on the winds and waves themselves.

These ancient and elemental languages are often secretive—known only to scholars, cults, or the creatures who have outlasted every cataclysm. They hold the keys to forgotten lore, primordial magic, and the hidden origins of Azeroth itself.

Let’s explore these mysterious languages and their enigmatic speakers.

Ancient Earthen

Spoken by:

• The Earthen

Overview:
This ancient tongue was used by the Titan-forged Earthen, ancestors of modern dwarves. While little survives of its vocabulary, fragments have been uncovered in Uldaman and Ulduar—etched into stone tablets describing the shaping of Azeroth.

Interesting Notes:

• Ancient Earthen inscriptions predate any known mortal civilization.
• Modern Dwarven retains a few words derived from this language.
• Some Titan constructs still respond to commands given in Ancient Earthen.

Ancient Unknown Language

Spoken by:

• Tortolla

Overview:
The colossal turtle demigod Tortolla speaks an unrecorded, ancient language. Only fragments are understood—mainly through druidic communion and partial translations by Cenarion Circle scholars. It is thought to be as old as the elemental lords themselves.

Interesting Notes:

• Tortolla’s speech can shatter stone simply by its resonance.
• No complete written record of this language exists.
• It may share roots with the tongues of other Wild Gods.

Apexis

Spoken by:

• The Apexis

Overview:
The Apexis were an advanced avian civilization in Outland who communicated through sophisticated crystal matrices. Their language combines optical glyphs, radiant pulses, and harmonic resonance—making it nearly impossible for organic beings to reproduce.

Interesting Notes:

• Apexis “texts” require specially attuned prisms to decipher.
• The language is also used to power ancient Apexis artifacts.
• Only a handful of scholars have managed partial translations.

Kalimag

Spoken by:

• Elementals

Overview:
Kalimag is the primal language of Azeroth’s elemental spirits—fire, earth, air, and water. Each elemental plane has its dialect, but all share a foundation of resonant syllables and energetic vibrations. Shamans learn Kalimag to commune with elemental forces.

Interesting Notes:

• Kalimag has no written form—spoken words manifest as elemental effects.
• Shamans often incorporate Kalimag words into ritual invocations.
• The language is so old it predates the Titans’ ordering of Azeroth.

Runic Language Similar to Kalimag

Spoken by:

• Burning Blade clan shamans
• Draenor elementals

Overview:
Among the Burning Blade, shamans developed a runic script resembling Kalimag, used to bind elemental spirits and empower weapons. On Draenor, similar runes appear etched into elemental stones.

Interesting Notes:

• The language is part magical cipher, part true speech.
• Only initiated shamans can safely study or inscribe the runes.
• Mispronouncing these incantations can summon hostile elementals.

Cypher of the First Ones

Spoken by:

• The First Ones
• Automa

Overview:
The Cypher of the First Ones is perhaps the most ancient language known—older than reality as mortals understand it. Spoken by the First Ones, creators of the Shadowlands and cosmic order, it is an impossibly complex system of sigils, harmonics, and logic threads.

Interesting Notes:

• The Cypher requires specially attuned relics to comprehend.
• It encodes not just meaning but intention and cosmic function.
• Even the most powerful beings—like the Jailer—only partly understood it.

Language of the First Ones

Spoken by:

• The First Ones

Overview:
Distinct from their Cypher, the spoken language of the First Ones was used among themselves and their automa servants. It weaves sound, light, and essence into unified messages. Very little is known, as even the most ancient records only hint at its nature.

Interesting Notes:

• Fragments were discovered in Zereth Mortis.
• Scholars debate whether this language shaped reality itself.
• Some believe it influenced other cosmic tongues.

Titan

Spoken by:

• The Titans
• Titan-forged

Overview:
The language of the Titans is the foundation for many others—Ancient Earthen, Eredun, and Kalimag all trace roots here. Titan is precise, vast in vocabulary, and built to convey cosmic concepts. Scripts are etched in monumental runes.

Interesting Notes:

• Titan speech can activate or disable ancient machinery.
• The Keepers of Ulduar and other constructs retain perfect knowledge of it.
• Some Titan relics require spoken commands to unlock.

Drust

Spoken by:

• The Drust

Overview:
The Drust, ancient practitioners of death magic in Kul Tiras, spoke a harsh, guttural tongue preserved in wicker effigies and bone totems. When Gorak Tul’s followers returned, they revived Drust incantations to empower their rituals.

Interesting Notes:

• Drust phrases still linger in Kul Tiran folklore.
• Scholars from the Order of Embers study the language to counter Drust magic.
• The language is considered cursed by some druids.

Mogu

Spoken by:

• The Mogu
• Other ancient Pandarian races

Overview:
Mogu language once dominated Pandaria’s empire. Brutal and authoritative, it was used in decrees, commands, and enslavement rituals. Though nearly extinct, some saurok and mogu remnants continue to speak it.

Interesting Notes:

• Mogu characters are carved in vertical columns on stone monuments.
• The script includes logograms denoting social hierarchy.
• Many pandaren still avoid speaking it out of ancestral resentment.

Tol’vir

Spoken by:

• The Tol’vir

Overview:
The feline Tol’vir of Uldum speak a language linked to Titan speech. Their script decorates obelisks and temples in the deserts—preserving stories of their creation and wars against the Curse of Flesh.

Interesting Notes:

• Tol’vir glyphs combine logographic and pictographic elements.
• Only a few Tol’vir enclaves still maintain oral traditions.
• Archaeologists risk Titan traps when studying these inscriptions.

Qiraji

Spoken by:

• The Qiraji

Overview:
Qiraji is a clicking, chittering language spoken by the insectoid race beneath Ahn’Qiraj. Its sounds are physically impossible for humanoids to reproduce. Only a few warlocks and cultists have documented fragments.

Interesting Notes:

• The language includes pheromone components for meaning.
• It has no formal script—Qiraji communicate largely through scent and sound.
• N’Zoth’s minions sometimes echo Qiraji phrases in whispers.

Echoes from Time Before Memory

From Titan-forged runes to the resonant words of elementals, Azeroth’s oldest languages are reminders that the world’s past is far deeper—and stranger—than most mortals can imagine. Each of these tongues is a puzzle piece in the vast, unfinished mosaic of creation, waiting for scholars and heroes alike to decipher their secrets.

Languages of Creatures, Spirits, and Other Beings

Voices of the Wild and the Arcane

While the Alliance and the Horde boast formal, structured languages, countless other tongues flow through Azeroth’s wild places, hidden communities, and supernatural realms. Some of these languages are spoken by intelligent non-humanoids—others by primal spirits and beings older than memory.

These are the voices of the natural world and the strange creatures that walk its shadowed paths. Many mortals dismiss them as mere sounds of the wilderness, but for those who listen closely, they carry profound wisdom—and sometimes deadly secrets.

Bee Dancing Language

Spoken by:

• Bees
• Beekeepers (interpretive)

Overview:
Bees in Azeroth communicate using an intricate dance language that conveys directions, distances, and hive status. Skilled beekeepers have learned to interpret these motions to guide hives or harvest honey safely.

Interesting Notes:

• This is the only known language combining movement with pheromonal cues.
• Druids studying pollinators often record the patterns as diagrams.
• Some believe the bees use a rudimentary form of elemental speech.

Centaur Sign Language

Spoken by:

• Maruuk centaur

Overview:
The Maruuk centaur of the Dragon Isles have preserved a sign language used for silent hunting and communication across great distances. Unlike many gestural systems, it is a complete language with its own grammar.

Interesting Notes:

• Gestures can be combined fluidly for rapid storytelling.
• It developed in part to avoid alerting prey during hunts.
• Elders teach the signs to children alongside spoken Maruuk speech.

Language of the Trees

Spoken by:

• Trees
• Other plants
• Druids attuned to nature

Overview:
The Language of the Trees is a slow, resonant form of communication understood by those with deep druidic training. Sentient trees, like the Ancients, use it to share memories of seasons, battles, and lifetimes.

Interesting Notes:

• Each “word” can take hours to fully express.
• Spring is a central metaphor meaning hope and renewal.
• Druids often commune through dreams to hear this language.

Language of the Winds

Spoken by:

• Creatures of the sky
• Druids of the Talon

Overview:
This ethereal tongue rides on gusts and breezes. Wind elemental spirits and Druids of the Talon interpret its patterns to predict weather, navigate, or call upon aerial allies.

Interesting Notes:

• The language includes whistled tones only audible at high altitudes.
• Many druids record these sounds with enchanted feathers.
• Some believe it is a fragment of Kalimag.

Sprite

Spoken by:

• Sprites

Overview:
Sprites speak a high-pitched, musical language filled with laughter and trills. Though seemingly playful, it is complex and can convey layered meanings about magic, territory, and danger.

Interesting Notes:

• Some words have no equivalent in mortal tongues.
• Sprites can mimic sounds from other languages for trickery.
• Scholars have recorded only partial vocabularies.

Wildkin

Spoken by:

• Wildkin

Overview:
Wildkin utter deep, resonant calls and rhythmic hoots. While some druidic circles have deciphered basic phrases, much of the language remains a mystery—particularly the songs sung during lunar rites.

Interesting Notes:

• Certain Wildkin calls are said to soothe or enrage nearby creatures.
• The language is best understood in moonlit groves.
• Wildkin can recognize familiar voices across great distances.

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Ravenspeech

Spoken by:

• Arakkoa

Overview:
Ravenspeech is the language of the Arakkoa, combining croaking syllables with chittering consonants. High Arakkoa castes employ a more formal version rich in arcane terminology.

Interesting Notes:

• Lower-caste outcasts often speak a simplified dialect.
• Ravenspeech scrolls detail ancient Arakkoa prophecies.
• The language has words for shadow magics unknown to other races.

Draconic

Spoken by:

• Dragons
• Dracthyr
• Dragonkin

Overview:
Draconic is as old as the Aspects themselves. It has a sonorous, echoing quality that resonates with magic. Most dragonflight rituals, treaties, and histories are recorded in Draconic script.

Interesting Notes:

• Even a single Draconic word can carry immense magical power.
• The Dracthyr retained this tongue after their long stasis.
• Draconic runes appear in ancient titan facilities.

Mantid

Spoken by:

• Mantid

Overview:
Mantid speech blends chittering sounds, vibrations, and pheromones. Klaxxi Paragons can communicate complex ideas instantly using these modalities. The language is nearly impossible for other races to parse unaided.

Interesting Notes:

• Each caste has unique honorifics.
• Mantid music incorporates elements of their spoken language.
• The language was unchanged for millennia under the Empress’s rule.

Nerubian

Spoken by:

• Nerubians

Overview:
The Nerubians’ chitinous speech sounds like scratching and hissing to outsiders. Despite its alien quality, it is a fully developed language used for philosophy, warfare, and religion.

Interesting Notes:

• Scourge forces corrupted many Nerubian words.
• Written Nerubian uses raised glyphs etched in chitin.
• Some call it the “Language of Burrows.”

Nerglish

Spoken by:

• Murlocs
• Makrura
• Other aquatic races

Overview:
Nerglish is the famously gurgling, burbling language of murlocs and related creatures. While it seems chaotic, experienced listeners can discern consistent grammar and vocabulary.

Interesting Notes:

• Murloc warbands employ unique dialects.
• Makrura speak a more guttural variant.
• Some goblins have created phrasebooks for trade purposes.

Nazja

Spoken by:

• Naga

Overview:
Nazja is the refined but menacing language of the naga, with fluid, sibilant syllables reminiscent of flowing water. It retains echoes of ancient Elvish, reflecting the naga’s highborne origins.

Interesting Notes:

• Nazja is used to power naga enchantments.
• Certain syllables are considered cursed to outsiders.
• Naga often combine Nazja and arcane gestures in battle.

Ogre

Spoken by:

• Ogres

Overview:
Ogre language is blunt and booming, with a limited but expressive vocabulary. Though simple, it can convey nuance through repetition and volume.

Interesting Notes:

• Ogres often borrow words from Orcish.
• Written Ogre script uses crude pictographs.
• Gorian empire ogres once maintained a more elaborate dialect.

Quilboar

Spoken by:

• Quilboar

Overview:
The Quilboar’s language is guttural and harsh, spoken deep within their thorn-choked dens. It incorporates growls and clicks used to coordinate hunts and rituals.

Interesting Notes:

• Quilboar elders preserve ancient oral histories.
• Certain warcries are believed to carry druidic corruption.
• The language is passed to initiates during rite-of-passage ceremonies.

Tuskarr

Spoken by:

• Tuskarr

Overview:
The Tuskarr speak a warm, rolling language suited to their storytelling traditions. It is rich with metaphors about the sea, family, and the hunt.

Interesting Notes:

• Tuskarr songs preserve generations of knowledge.
• Their language includes words for every type of ice and snow.
• Tuskarr fishermen teach children to speak while mending nets.

Vrykul

Spoken by:

• Vrykul

Overview:
Vrykul is a deep, resonant language reminiscent of Old Norse, used for oaths, sagas, and the commands of battle. Its script is carved in runestones still scattered across Northrend.

Interesting Notes:

• Vrykul names carry ancestral weight.
• Some humans retain distant echoes of the language.
• Vrykul war chants are said to terrify even seasoned adventurers.

Pygmy

Spoken by:

• Pygmies

Overview:
Pygmy speech is fast-paced and filled with exclamations. While it seems chaotic, it enables rapid negotiation and coordination among their tribes.

Interesting Notes:

• The language borrows words from neighboring cultures.
• Pygmies often use song as part of communication.
• Very few outsiders have mastered it.

Pandaren

Spoken by:

• Pandaren

Overview:
Pandaren is melodic and balanced, reflecting the harmony of their culture. It uses pictographic characters to record histories, recipes, and philosophies.

Interesting Notes:

• Pandaren calligraphy is considered an art form.
• Brewmasters preserve ancient drinking songs in Pandaren.
• Some words carry subtle spiritual resonance.

The Many Songs of Azeroth’s Living World

These languages—of spirits, creatures, and nomadic peoples—form a chorus as old as Azeroth itself. To hear them is to glimpse the world through other eyes, reminding all who walk its surface that life is far more diverse and wondrous than any single tongue can express.

Shadow, Demonic, and Forgotten Horrors

Languages of the Void and the Legion

Not all languages in Azeroth were born in the light of civilization. Some echo from the deepest pits of the Twisting Nether, the cold silence of undeath, or the maddening whisper of Old Gods. These tongues are rarely studied—often at terrible cost to the mind and spirit.

To speak them is to court ruin. Yet to understand them is sometimes necessary, for they hold the secrets of Azeroth’s greatest threats—and the keys to resisting them.

Eredun (Demonic)

Spoken by:

• Demons

Overview:
Eredun, also called Demonic, is the primary language of the Burning Legion. It originated among the eredar of Argus, who twisted it into a tongue of domination and corruption. Eredun is harsh and guttural, laced with power that can warp reality itself.

Interesting Notes:

• Gul’dan and other warlocks used Eredun in fel rituals.
• Some words are so potent they can shatter wards or enslave lesser beings.
• The Legion’s incantations and commands are almost always in Eredun.

Non-Eredun Demonic

Spoken by:

• Other demonic races

Overview:
Not all demons speak Eredun. Some lesser demons retain older dialects, predating Sargeras’ dominion. These tongues are fragmentary and region-specific, passed orally among infernal legions.

Interesting Notes:

• Impish chatter is a variant unrelated to Eredun.
• Certain succubi employ dialects adapted for mental manipulation.
• Most warlocks only study Eredun; these other forms remain obscure.

Nathrezim

Spoken by:

• Nathrezim (Dreadlords)

Overview:
The Nathrezim, or dreadlords, possess their own cunning, sibilant language used to plot and corrupt. Even demons fear Nathrezim words, for they encode binding contracts and secrets that can unravel mortal minds.

Interesting Notes:

• The language is said to hide meanings between syllables.
• Some phrases can manifest illusions or compel obedience.
• Few mortals have heard it and survived sane.

Shath’Yar

Spoken by:

• Old Gods and their minions

Overview:
Shath’Yar is the language of the Old Gods—a whispering, maddening tongue that defies logic. It infects the dreams of the unwary and compels listeners toward despair or violence.

Interesting Notes:

• No complete record of Shath’Yar exists—scribes go mad transcribing it.
• Its script shifts when observed.
• The Twilight’s Hammer cult uses fragments in rituals to commune with the Void.

Language of Death

Spoken by:

• The Scourge

Overview:
The Scourge communicate in a guttural language of necromancy, blending corrupted Common, Nerubian, and echoes of Eredun. It is used to control undead armies and share commands instantly across vast distances.

Interesting Notes:

• Kel’Thuzad’s texts record partial grammar.
• Some necromancers learn it to dominate lesser undead.
• Whispered incantations can paralyze living creatures with dread.

Zombie

Spoken by:

• Zombies
• Some ghouls

Overview:
Zombies possess a crude, instinctive language—moans and growls layered with necromantic resonance. While not fully sapient, it enables them to coordinate attacks and identify intruders.

Interesting Notes:

• Necromancers sometimes mimic these sounds to direct ghouls.
• Scourge lieutenants can amplify it to rally hordes.
• Scholars debate whether it is a language or reflex.

Furbolg

Spoken by:

• Furbolgs

Overview:
The Furbolg tongue is an old forest language, rich in spiritual and elemental references. Though not inherently evil, many corrupted Furbolg tribes now chant twisted prayers in a blighted dialect infused with shadow magic.

Interesting Notes:

• Corrupted Furbolg speech carries a rasping undertone.
• Druids can sometimes restore sanity by invoking ancient Furbolg words.
• The language uses pictographic carvings on totems.

Hozen

Spoken by:

• Hozen

Overview:
The Hozen’s language is fast, filled with slang and crude humor. Corrupted Hozen warbands sometimes incorporate demonic or Sha influences into their speech, making it even more erratic and aggressive.

Interesting Notes:

• Sha-tainted Hozen add guttural screams to intimidate foes.
• Some Hozen warlords blend their language with Pandaren for tactical advantage.
• Scholars have collected only partial dictionaries due to constant insults.

Jinyu Written Language (Extinct)

Spoken by:

• Ancient Jinyu (before the first mogu dynasty)

Overview:
Once a flourishing written language, it preserved Jinyu culture and governance. After the Mogu empire’s rise, much was lost or destroyed, leaving behind only inscriptions on ruined tablets.

Interesting Notes:

• Modern Jinyu have largely abandoned the script.
• Surviving texts document early Pandaria’s aquatic civilizations.
• Efforts are underway to reconstruct it.

Coded Language of the Kirin Tor

Spoken by:

• Kirin Tor mages

Overview:
This code blends Common, Thalassian, and ciphered symbols to conceal arcane knowledge. Used to secure magical secrets and transmit instructions among archmages, it changes periodically to prevent discovery.

Interesting Notes:

• Certain phrases activate wards or illusions.
• Deciphering it requires advanced spellcraft.
• Dalaran archives hold thousands of encoded scrolls.

Sisterhood of Elune Liturgical Language

Spoken by:

• Sisterhood of Elune

Overview:
A sacred tongue used in rituals honoring Elune, this language is closely guarded within the Sisterhood. It carries spiritual resonance believed to empower prayers and blessings.

Interesting Notes:

• Moon Priestesses preserve hymns in this tongue.
• The language is never spoken casually.
• Some believe it predates Darnassian.

The Dark Tongues of Azeroth

From the fel-laced syllables of Eredun to the sanity-shattering whispers of Shath’Yar, these languages remind all who dwell in Azeroth that darkness is never far. Yet knowledge of these tongues can also be a weapon—one that heroes, scholars, and outcasts alike must sometimes wield.

Final Thoughts: The Endless Voices of Azeroth

From the crowded streets of Stormwind to the shadowed halls of Ahn’Qiraj, Azeroth is a world defined by language. Every word, chant, and whispered incantation weaves together the stories of races and cultures older than recorded history.

We have journeyed through the Common speech of the Alliance, the Orcish heart of the Horde, and the countless dialects of ancient civilizations and elemental forces. We’ve listened to the songs of bees and trees, the runic commands of Titans, and the insidious whispers of demons and Old Gods.

Each tongue tells a part of Azeroth’s story:

• The Alliance languages remind us that unity is built on mutual respect and the sharing of knowledge.
• The Horde languages show that strength is born from embracing diversity and honoring heritage.
• The Ancient tongues carry the weight of cosmic creation—and the mysteries still hidden beneath our feet.
• The Languages of creatures and spirits reveal that life itself speaks in a thousand voices, if we dare to listen.
• The Shadowed and demonic languages warn us that power and corruption often walk hand in hand.

For scholars, adventurers, and dreamers, these languages are more than tools—they are keys to understanding a world forever in flux. Whether you study them to deepen your knowledge, to forge alliances, or to defend your people, remember that every phrase holds echoes of the past and seeds of the future.

In Azeroth, words are never just words. They are weapons, bonds, and the living memory of all who have come before.

What language will you choose to learn? What story will you help to tell? Thank you for exploring the Tongues of Azeroth. May your travels be guided by wisdom—and your words shape the legends to come.

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