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Dates
Said to have been devised 'in the Dark Years'1 (that is, some time in the Second Age). It would presumably have fallen out of use after the War of the Ring.
Origins
An artificial language created by Sauron for use by his servants.

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About this entry:

  • Updated 24 January 1999
  • Updates planned: 2

Black Speech

The tongue of the servants of Sauron

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"Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul
ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul"
The Ring inscription, in its original ancient Black Speech
From The Fellowship of the Ring II 2 The Council of Elrond

The tongue devised by Sauron for the use of his minions in place of the Common Speech.


Notes

1

This reference is in The Lord of the Rings Appendix F I, Of Other Races. In fact, the Black Speech must have existed before II 1600, because the One Ring, which bears an inscription in this tongue, was forged on about that date.

See also...

Great Orcs, Lugbúrz, Nazgûl, Orkish, Snaga, Torog

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Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1999, 2001. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.