A general term for the jumble of languages used by the Orcs, composed from corrupted borrowings from other languages of Middle-earth. The variations in Orkish between different tribes and types of Orc were so great that it was often useless for communication, and so a standard language was necessary. Sauron devised his Black Speech for this purpose in Mordor, but in practice the Common Tongue was more widely used.
Notes
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In some older editions of The Lord of the Rings, the spelling Orcish appears in Appendix E. This is an error; Tolkien recommended the form Orkish, and later editions have corrected the Appendix to use this preferred spelling.
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- Updated 21 March 2011
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