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This has been anouying me since I first started Playing orks.
In some black libary novels (like Ryns World) they speak a weird jumbeled up launghige
were as the evidenc sugests differntly like how wold the orks tell the humans what to make in ork controled Imperial Factorus
or how would the blood Axes work as mercinarys?


Face my qestions or face my Army!!!

No. In fact, there's no evidence anyone speaks English(dialects of Low Gothic are the most common language in the Imperium).

Many Ork bosses do learn(or instinctively know) Low Gothic, though.

What Platuan4th said. Orkish is not english, though it is often translated as such for the benefit of the reader.

But many orks know low gothic for the same reason most of the world knows english: it is the most spoken language in the galaxy. If an Ork is going to talk to a Tau, it's going to be in low gothic.

If an Ork is going to talk to a tau he's just going to scream WWAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and try to rip his head off!


Warning geting your head ripped off is not good for your Health

Don't forget, orks act as mercenaries and trade for tech from other races. It's not all kill on sight.

riplikash wrote:Don't forget, orks act as mercenaries and trade for tech from other races. It's not all kill on sight.

It is when the orks get bored!
And besides Orks never get along with tau,
Just look at there long bloody history with each other.
Pick a better example next time!


My arguements are just as long and bloody as my wars!

There is no long bloody history in the case of the tau. The IoM discovered them just 5000 years ago. Compare this to the REALLY long and bloody history between the Orks and the humans.

No one in M41 speaks English. A lot of people do speak Low Gothic, however.

Orks speak in the greatest languageof all

...............Ork

Orks speak Orkish, Imperial Guard and what have you always refer to the Orks as speaking a "guttural language"

This is something that's really annoyed me about Orks. They should have their own language.

And their units and vehicles should be either named in their own language, or in Imperial designations. Not in bad english.

Kaldor wrote:This is something that's really annoyed me about Orks. They should have their own language.

And their units and vehicles should be either named in their own language, or in Imperial designations. Not in bad english.

They do have their own language. The Ork language isn't entirely spoken though, so most non-Orks can't speak it, and certainly most non-Orks can't survive being the target of this language (it actually involves violence).

Orks are commonly encountered by the Imperium, like 100 to 1 or more versus encounters with any other xenos. The Imperium understands what Orks call each other and their things because of that familiarity.

DarknessEternal wrote:

Kaldor wrote:This is something that's really annoyed me about Orks. They should have their own language.

And their units and vehicles should be either named in their own language, or in Imperial designations. Not in bad english.

They do have their own language. The Ork language isn't entirely spoken though, so most non-Orks can't speak it, and certainly most non-Orks can't survive being the target of this language (it actually involves violence).

Orks are commonly encountered by the Imperium, like 100 to 1 or more versus encounters with any other xenos. The Imperium understands what Orks call each other and their things because of that familiarity.

Yes, but Imperial forces wouldn't refer to Ork units by the Ork name, replete with crappy spelling and poor pronunciation. Burna boyz would, at best, be burner boys. And more likely just 'flamethrowers'. They'd certainly never say 'meganob' or 'dakkajet' or 'killa kan'.

There is no such thing as english or any other language. All humans speak High Gothic or Low Gothic. Orks speak a lower form of Low Gothic.

Ork have combined rudimentary signs and glyphs and parts of words and combined it with gothic.

Look at the extensive page on it in your current rulebook.
It went into greater detail on the first one also.

As many have said, they speak Orkish and Low Gothic (albiet a really distorted form)

Blood Axe mercenaries and Free Booterz would inevitabley learn the native language of other races after a while


For the same reason Tau, Eldar (including Dark Eldar), Demons and many other intellegent xenos with the ability to speak (not make bestial sounds) learn Low Gothic or, in the Eldar's and Tau's case, even High Gothic to communicate with humans, the most common spieces in the galaxy in the 41M.

Kaldor wrote:This is something that's really annoyed me about Orks. They should have their own language.

And their units and vehicles should be either named in their own language, or in Imperial designations. Not in bad english.

My Boomgun wagon has Boom on one side and Gun on the other in Ork. I feel the same way TBH

Everything in the codices is named from the Imperial point-of-view. The Tau vehicles like the Hammerhead and the Devilfish are Imperial names for these things, not a translation from Tau to English. The various classifications of Chaos ships and such are, again, Imperial designations for them. The "Damnation-class Cruiser" is what the Imperials call that model of ship after it is taken and repurposed by the Arch-Enemy, and also probably what name is taken by newly-turned Imperial officials to their new masters.

Original CSM: "Peon! You stand aboard the bridge of the almighty Planetsmasher! This ship was rescued from the navies of the False Emperor five thousand years ago! It has countless battles to its name! A thousand victories! It has seen gak that will turn you white! It has- (and so forth and so on)"

Peon: "Er, right. We call it a Damnation-class Heavy Cruiser."

Original CSM: "Damnation... class? By the Dark Gods, that's brilliant!"

What the hell is a codice?
Its spelled codex (I think?).
Although I can't realy blame you, my spelling is terrible as well!

Psienesis wrote:Everything in the codices is named from the Imperial point-of-view.

Everything except Ork stuff, evidently.

A codex (Latin caudex for "trunk of a tree" or block of wood, book; plural codices)

DeffDred wrote:A codex (Latin caudex for "trunk of a tree" or block of wood, book; plural codices)

Thanks for leting me know.
Sorry Psienesis.

True, though "Deffrolla" might simply be the Low Gothic transcription done by a East End Adept? Local dialect has crept into the protocols of transcription.

Kaldor wrote:Burna boyz would, at best, be burner boys. And more likely just 'flamethrowers'. They'd certainly never say 'meganob' or 'dakkajet' or 'killa kan'.

I look at those as just English-ised representations of the Orkish names.

DeffDred wrote:A codex (Latin caudex for "trunk of a tree" or block of wood, book; plural codices)

Although in GW-land (and commonly accepted modern usage), the plural is codexes.

DA SPEED FREEK wrote:... they speak a weird jumbeled up launghige...

Inadvertent or deliberate irony?

insaniak wrote:

Kaldor wrote:Burna boyz would, at best, be burner boys. And more likely just 'flamethrowers'. They'd certainly never say 'meganob' or 'dakkajet' or 'killa kan'.

I look at those as just English-ised representations of the Orkish names.

Even with the bad spelling and pronunciation? It's just one step too silly for me. Like the Orks took the proper name (killer can) and 'orkified' it (killa kan) but who on earth was calling it a killer can in the first place? Certainly no self-respecting Imperial commander.

Kaldor wrote:Even with the bad spelling and pronunciation?

Yes, specifically with the bad spelling and pronunciation. Its there for flavour, to make it clear that it is a piece of Ork equipment.


Ultimately, you're not supposed to think about the whole language issue too hard, or all sorts of stuff starts to seem a little out of whack. Just like in Star Trek with their clever little universal translators... and someone says a specific word in their 'native' tongue, completely overlooking the fact that everything they just said was actually in their native tongue to begin with.

Kaldor wrote:

Psienesis wrote:Everything in the codices is named from the Imperial point-of-view.

Everything except Ork stuff, evidently.

Yeah cause they are the orks. Plus it sounds better!!!!

Kaldor wrote:

DarknessEternal wrote:

Kaldor wrote:This is something that's really annoyed me about Orks. They should have their own language.

And their units and vehicles should be either named in their own language, or in Imperial designations. Not in bad english.

They do have their own language. The Ork language isn't entirely spoken though, so most non-Orks can't speak it, and certainly most non-Orks can't survive being the target of this language (it actually involves violence).

Orks are commonly encountered by the Imperium, like 100 to 1 or more versus encounters with any other xenos. The Imperium understands what Orks call each other and their things because of that familiarity.

Yes, but Imperial forces wouldn't refer to Ork units by the Ork name, replete with crappy spelling and poor pronunciation. Burna boyz would, at best, be burner boys. And more likely just 'flamethrowers'. They'd certainly never say 'meganob' or 'dakkajet' or 'killa kan'.

This is really just for the sake of humor that translates into the tabletop and narrative. In the fluff, you aren't going to have Imperial Thunderbolt pilots say "WE HAVE 3 DAKKAJETS ON YOUR 6". They'd just call them Ork fighters. The Orks have their own language, and regularly in fluff material you have Guardsmen not understanding what Orks are saying to one another.

I wonder how big the Ork dictionary would be ?? Yet again i bet they dont get past W, actually why the **** would an Ork have a Dictionary, we will never know.....