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Why do orks and tau speak english? They are from the other sides of the galaxy and speak english? Isnt there something wrong with that?
And another thing: Where did the GK learn Latin? Its 39000 years since it was stamped out of existance!!!!

actually tau speak there own language. it is only in the video games that they speak English. the Taus language is so complex that humans can only pronounce the most simple of words

It's like when your watching an American Hollywood movie where the history of the movie go down in France or Italy they still speak English.

It can't be explained they just do!

Universal translaters have moved on from subtitling.
So, orks still have a British accent, but you just hear them speaking English, while they're really speaking Ork.

Or, I watch too much Dr Who and Star Trek.

Orks, Tau, Eldar, etc all have their own native languages, in fact the fluff in the codeci etc even describe in brief some of the languages. Also not that most species are in some way capable of communicating in 'gothic' (the generic human language) so they can communicate with the imperium.

However, if all the ork fluff was written in orkish, the tau fluff in tauese and the eldar fluff in eldarian, then:
a) we wouldn't understand what any of it was
b) GW would just try and make more money out of us by selling 'Learn: [xenos language]' books at a absurd price!

So for the benefit of the players, everything is in english.

Skinnereal wrote:
So, orks still have a British accent,

Never would of though Orks would be speaking Queens english

Tau can speak forms of low Gothic (English)
Kroot can also, but because of their beaks its full of clicks and stuff
Eldar can speak low and high gothic(Latin)
Necrons really shouldnt speak at all
Daemons can speak in any language
Tyranids dont speak at all

The inspiration for Orks was based on English soccer hooligans. But as others have said, the races have their own language. Even some Imperial worlds have their own language. But that would make really crap reading.

Neverknew that.
How come no one in england calls them hooligans, ever, but everyone else seems too

perhaps they have found the elusive babblefish at that point. a fish that when slid into the ear canal eats only the sound of the words it hears and excretes the though behind it directly into your head.

douglas adams had it figured out all along!

GreyKnightful wrote:actually tau speak there own language. it is only in the video games that they speak English. the Taus language is so complex that humans can only pronounce the most simple of words

That's not necessarily true (Certainly, in the books, humans are very capable of speaking with the Tau in their own tongue), it's more that it's very difficult to get all of the nuances of the Tau language without also being Tau.

I would argue the same about Low and High Gothic and being Human.

Toastedandy wrote:

Skinnereal wrote:
So, orks still have a British accent,

Never would of though Orks would be speaking Queens english

I should have said "So, Orks are often hear to have a rough British accent,".

As mentioned, it's the hooliganism that fits them best.
Especially when they were first released, with the football riots.

The inspiration for Orks was based on English soccer hooligans.

The idea behind computer game Orks no?
GWs Orks were based of Tolkien et al surely, just modified to make them sci-fi and more comical in places.

I should have said "So, Orks are often hear to have a rough British accent,".

Mainly cockney ain tit guv'nor?

Ork "language" is a series of grunts, gestures and repeated blows to the head, but they do cannibalise gothic words - as with "Humiez", this being as close as an ork can get to the word "humans".

No one in 40K speaks English. Everyone, it seems, speaks Low Gothic, however.

They don't speak English. It's called a translation...
And high gothic is psuedo-latin rather than actual latin.

Dark Apostle 666 wrote:Ork "language" is a series of grunts, gestures and repeated blows to the head, but they do cannibalise gothic words - as with "Humiez", this being as close as an ork can get to the word "humans".

Not so. Ork language is, to quote the codex, "Sparse, brutal and straight to the point," but it is undeniably speech of some complexity. An example would be Orkish names - they all actually mean something. "Skargrim," for example, could either mean ruthless veteran or wounded face depending on how you look at it. Generally speaking, the fluff where orks speak to humans is meant to be the closest, as you say, that orks can get to speaking Gothic.

No. Not computer game orks. GW Orks were based on soccer hooligans. Find any 40k player that's been playing 10 years + and they'll confirm it.

CadianCommander wrote:No. Not computer game orks. GW Orks were based on soccer hooligans. Find any 40k player that's been playing 10 years + and they'll confirm it.

I haven't been playing for 10+ years but i easily agree with you.

purplefood wrote:

CadianCommander wrote:No. Not computer game orks. GW Orks were based on soccer hooligans. Find any 40k player that's been playing 10 years + and they'll confirm it.

I haven't been playing for 10+ years but i easily agree with you.

Fact confirmed. GW Orks were also the first ones to have green skin - before that, it was brown all the way. Or so I'm told.

CadianCommander wrote:No. Not computer game orks. GW Orks were based on soccer hooligans. Find any 40k player that's been playing 10 years + and they'll confirm it.

Since mid 2nd edition for me and they've always sounded Scouse in my imagination.

Psienesis wrote:No one in 40K speaks English. Everyone, it seems, speaks Low Gothic, however.

Good point. I forgot that games are voiced for various languages. We just hear them in our languages
Low Gothic it is, often with an accent.