Meaning of Black Speech | Babel Free

Definitions

A constructed language designed by J. R. R. Tolkien, intended to be associated with evil.

Examples

“Generally speaking, the articulation in Black Speech is quite violent. Diphthongs are practically absent and due to the relatively small number of sonorants, the transitions between particular sounds are sharp and abrupt.”

“Many later scholars have agreed with Tolkien on his general declarations about his languages (for example, that the Elvish languages are ‘beautiful’, while the Black Speech is cacophonous or that the languages originated Tolkien’s mythology) and skipped the whole issue of the role of the langauges in his fiction by treating them as a fanciful accessory unworthy of independent study.”

“Accepting Alexander Nemirovski’s theory that Tolkien’s Black Speech was based on the long-extinct Hurrian language, the group felt this was an appropriate starting point.”

CEFR level