Thrukar (tʰru-kʰar)

The Orcish language, known to its native speakers as Thrukar (pronounced /tʰru-kʰar/), is a harsh and guttural tongue, with natural glottal stops and deep, resonating tones. Thrukar emphasizes strength and forcefulness in both its phonology and syntax, with sharp consonants and long vowels used for stress and intensity. Words are often clipped and delivered with precision, making the language efficient and direct, a reflection of the orcish culture it stems from.
Thrukar's consonant-heavy structure, along with the rolling "r" and the deep, guttural "kh" sounds, give it an imposing and primal quality. The vowel system adds depth and resonance, with long vowels used to convey emphasis or urgency. Spoken Thrukar can range from rapid, clipped conversation to drawn-out, dramatic declarations in battle. The use of glottal stops gives the language a rhythmic and broken cadence, often adding to its intimidating sound to outsiders.
This language embodies the Orcs’ values of resilience, power, and directness.

Writing System

• Script Type: Logophonetic (combines logograms and phonetic symbols)
• Direction: Top to bottom, left to right. Orcish runes are engraved on weapons, armor, and stones, so they prefer vertical lines, especially on weapons.
• Alphabet: Runic symbols, each representing a consonant or vowel. Some logograms represent core concepts like "war," "strength," or "tribe."

Phonology

Consonants

Orcish consonants are sharp, guttural, and forceful. Many of the sounds are produced in the back of the throat, lending the language a rough, commanding quality.

Sound	Example Representation	Description
/k/	k, kh	Hard "k" as in "kill," often aspirated with a strong exhalation.
/g/	g, gh	Guttural "g" sound, as in "growl," with a slight rasp at the back of the throat.
/t/	t	Sharp "t" sound, often clipped at the end of words.
/d/	d	A quick, forceful "d" sound, commonly at the start of words.
/r/	r	Rolled "r," akin to a strong Mongolian or Scottish "r."
/ʔ/	'	Glottal stop, used to break up syllables or emphasize abrupt stops in speech.
/kh/	kh	Guttural "kh" as in the back-of-the-throat sound in "Bach."
/gh/	gh	A voiced, breathy version of the "kh," with more vibration in the throat.
/q/	q	Velar "q," a deep throat sound, often marking intensity.
/n/	n	Nasal "n," usually at the beginning or middle of words.
/m/	m	Soft "m," often resonating through the nose, giving it a guttural hum.
/l/	l	Light "l," used for contrast in softer words.
/s/	s	Hissing "s," used sparingly but often elongated.
/z/	z	Z-like sound, used for emphasis and action.
/ts/	ts	As in "tsar," a sharp, quick burst.

Vowels

Vowels in Orcish tend to be short and sharp, often clipped at the end of syllables. Long vowels exist, but are typically rare and used for emphasis.

Sound	Example Representation	Description
/a/	a	Short "a" as in "cat" or "hat."
/aa/	aa	Long "a," often used for stress.
/e/	e	Short "e" as in "bet" or "set."
/i/	i	Short "i" as in "bit" or "sit."
/u/	u	Short "u" as in "cut" or "hut," often deep in the throat.
/uu/	uu	Long "u," pronounced deep in the throat, like "boot."
/o/	o	Rounded "o" as in "cot" or "hot."
/oo/	oo	Long "o," stretched for emphasis, as in "moor."

Syllable Structure

Orcish syllables are typically structured as (C)V(C), meaning they can start with a consonant or vowel and may or may not end in a consonant. Glottal stops often break up longer syllables.
Example syllables:

• Nar (war)
• Tok (battle)
• Gur (strength)
• 'Tak (to cut)
• Khaz (to defend)

Stress

Stress is placed heavily on the first syllable of words, particularly when giving commands or emphasizing strength. In multi-syllabic words, stress can also fall on the syllable before a glottal stop, adding intensity to the language.
Example:

• "NAR-gh'tok!" (Battle!)
• "GUR'thak!" (Power!)

Tonal Qualities

Orcish is not tonal in the way that some languages are, but it does rely heavily on vocal intensity. The language sounds aggressive by default due to its glottal stops, hard consonants, and clipped vowels. When speaking Orcish, there's a constant rise and fall in intensity, giving the language a rhythmic but forceful sound.

Morphology

The morphology of Thrukar is rich in both inflection and derivation, reflecting the Orcs’ focus on action, hierarchy, and survival. The language is predominantly agglutinative, meaning that words are often formed by stringing together roots, affixes, and inflectional morphemes.

Nouns

Number: Thrukar marks singular and plural nouns, with the plural being marked by the suffix "-ghur" (/ɣur/).
Example:

1. Urukh (warrior) -> Urukhghur (warriors)
   

Case System: Thrukar utilizes an ergative-absolutive case system, meaning subjects of intransitive verbs and objects of transitive verbs are in the same case (absolutive), while the subject of a transitive verb is marked with an ergative case.

• Ergative: Marked by the suffix "-dak" (/dak/).
• Absolutive: Unmarked

Example:

1. Urukh dak vur (The warrior hit [him/her]).

Possession: Possessive nouns take a suffix based on the person and number of the possessor:

• First-person singular: "-ok"
• Second-person singular: "-hak"
• Third-person singular: "-nak"

Example:

1. Urukhok (my warrior)
2. Urukhnak (his/her warrior)

Pronouns

Pronouns in Thrukar follow a similar system, but often carry added weight due to the hierarchical nature of orcish society:

• First-person singular: Ek
• Second-person singular: Akh
• Third-person singular: Nuk
• First-person plural: Etaghur
• Second-person plural: Akhghur
• Third-person plural: Nukghur

Verbs

Verb Tense: Thrukar verbs are marked for tense through prefixes:

• Present: "Thr-" (/θr/)
• Past: "Ghul-" (/ɣul/)
• Future: "Zogh-" (/zoɣ/)

Example:

1. Thr-garak (I fight)
2. Ghul-garak (I fought)
3. Zogh-garak (I will fight)

Aspect: The language also marks aspect (completed action, ongoing action) using suffixes:

• Progressive: "-rakh" (/rɑx/)
• Perfective: "-or" (/ɔr/)

Example:

1. Ghul-garakor (I had fought)
2. Thr-garakrakh (I am fighting)

Adjectives

Adjectives follow the noun they modify and are not inflected for gender or number. They can, however, take on an intensifying or diminutive prefix, which alters the strength of the adjective:

• Intensifying Prefix: "Dur-" (Very)
• Diminutive Prefix: "Gha-" (Less)

Example:

1. Urukh dur-gar (The warrior is very strong)
2. Urukh gha-gar (The warrior is somewhat strong)

Derivational Morphology

Thrukar frequently uses derivational affixes to create new words from existing roots:

• Noun to verb: Add "-rak" (to make or become)

Gur (strength) -> Gurrak (to strengthen)

• Noun to adjective: Add "-ukh"

Ghor (tribe) -> Ghorukh (tribal)

Compounding

Many words in Thrukar are compound words, reflecting orcish culture’s tendency to place importance on multifaceted concepts, particularly those related to war and survival:
Example:

1. Durogghor (Durog-tribe, referring to a tribe known for their size and strength)
2. Thruk-vrak (War-singer, a title for orcish bards who inspire warriors in battle)

Syntax

The syntax of Thrukar mirrors the orcish values of clarity, hierarchy, and action. It favors direct, concise expression, often prioritizing verbs and action over descriptions. The language follows a primarily SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) word order, common in many agglutinative languages, with flexible structures depending on emphasis or urgency.

Basic Word Order

The default sentence structure in Thrukar is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV):
Example:

1. Ek urukh dak vur.

Ek (I) urukh dak (warrior [object, marked by ergative case]) vur (hit)
Translation: "I hit the warrior."

Intransitive Verbs: In the case of intransitive verbs, the structure becomes Subject-Verb:
Example:

1. Urukh thrak.

Urukh (The warrior) thrak (fights).
Translation: "The warrior fights."

Sentence Emphasis

Thrukar allows some flexibility for emphasis. When emphasizing a particular part of the sentence (usually the object or action), the sentence order can shift, though the verb usually remains at the end:
Example (Emphasizing the Object):

1. Dak urukh ek vur!

Dak urukh (The warrior) ek (I) vur (hit).
Translation: "The warrior, I hit!"

Negation

Negation is expressed by placing the particle "no-" before the verb:
Example:

1. Ek urukh dak no-vur.

Ek (I) urukh dak (warrior) no-vur (did not hit).
Translation: "I did not hit the warrior."

Questions

Questions are often indicated by adding the interrogative particle "-ak?" at the end of the sentence. There are no changes to word order for simple yes/no questions:
Example:

1. Ek urukh dak vurak?

Translation: "Did I hit the warrior?"
For wh-questions, the question word comes at the beginning of the sentence:

• Who: Var?
• What: Grok?
• Where: Shor?
• When: Naruk?
• Why: Naggor?

Example:

1. Var urukh dak vur?

Var (Who) urukh dak (warrior) vur (hit).
Translation: "Who hit the warrior?"

Adjectives

Adjectives in Thrukar follow the noun they modify, adhering to the SOV structure of directness. There is no inflection of adjectives for gender or number:
Example:

1. Urukh gur.

Urukh (warrior) gur (strong).
Translation: "The strong warrior."

Multiple adjectives can be used, and their order of importance follows this structure:

• Opinion/quality (e.g., good, bad, weak, strong)
• Size/extent (e.g., big, small, tall)
• Physical state/condition (e.g., healthy, tired, dead)
• Color (e.g., red, black, green)
• Origin (e.g., Necaian, Orcish, foreign)
• Material (e.g., stone, wood, iron)

Example with multiple adjectives:

1. Urukh dur-gur thag vrot.

Urukh (warrior) dur-gur (very strong) thag (big) vrot (black).
Translation: "The very strong, big black warrior."

Possession

Possessive structures follow the possessed noun:
Example:

1. Urukh eknok throk.

Urukh (warrior) eknok (my) throk (sword).
Translation: "The warrior's sword."

Prepositions

Thrukar tends to use postpositions instead of prepositions, following the noun they modify:

• In: urukh dak ghar ("in the warrior's house")
• On: urukh dak khar ("on the warrior's land")

Imperatives

Imperative sentences (commands) use the base verb form with no subject needed. For polite requests, the verb is softened with "-tha" at the end:
Example:

1. Vur!
Translation: "Hit!"
2. Vurtha!
Translation: "Please hit."

Phonetics

Consonant Clusters:

Thrukar frequently uses harsh consonant clusters, especially with aspirated sounds like /tʰ/, /kʰ/, and /ɡʰ/. This gives the language its guttural and aggressive tone.
Example: Throk (/tʰɾok/) meaning "blade."

Vowel Harmony:

Thrukar tends to alternate between open vowels like /a/ and close vowels like /i/ or /ʊ/ for rhythmic chanting in war cries.
Example: Ghorak (/ɡʰo-ɾak/) meaning "Orcs (themselves)."

Syllable Structure: 

The basic syllable structure is CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) or CCV (consonant-consonant-vowel). This contributes to the short, punchy, and aggressive sound of the language.
Example: Nar (/naɾ/) meaning "war."

Stress and Intonation:

Stress usually falls on the first syllable of a word. This makes the beginning of the word more powerful and impactful, which reflects the Orcs' warrior nature.
Example: Khaz (/kʰaz/), meaning "to defend," is stressed on the first syllable.

• Intonation in Battle Cries: Orcish intonation is sharp and rises at the end of battle cries, similar to a call to action. In normal speech, the pitch falls at the end of statements.

Common Sound Changes:

Glottal Stops: The language frequently uses glottal stops (/ʔ/) at the end of syllables, especially after vowels. This gives the language a clipped and forceful rhythm, perfect for quick, emphatic speech in battle.
Example: Thrak' (/tʰɾakʔ/), meaning "battle."

Structural Markers

In Thrukar, the Orcish language, structural markers are key elements that indicate the relationships between words, phrases, and clauses within sentences. These markers help clarify meaning, indicate tense, and emphasize certain actions or subjects. Orcish grammar tends to prioritize simplicity, directness, and clarity, especially given the need for quick communication on the battlefield.

1. Tense Markers

Orcish has a simple system for marking tense, relying on prefixes or suffixes attached to verbs. There are three primary tenses: past, present, and future.
Tense | Marker | Example | Translation Past | '-ka' / '-uk' (suffix) | Urukh'tak ka tok. | The warrior fought in the battle. Present | Ø (no marker) | Urukh tok. | The warrior fights. Future | 'sha' / '-ur' (prefix/suffix) | Urukh’ sha'tok. | The warrior will fight.

2. Plurality Markers

Plurality in Thrukar is typically indicated by the suffix '-gor' or '-zar' (for larger groups). These markers are added to nouns and adjectives, particularly in references to war parties or tribal groups.
Singular | Plural Marker | Example | Translation Urukh | Urukh'gor | Urukh'gor tok. | The warriors fight in the battle. Thrak | Thrak’zar | Thrak’zar vor khar. | The great battles bring honor.

3. Negation

Negation in Thrukar is straightforward. The prefix "no-" or "nor-" is placed before verbs or nouns to indicate the opposite action or absence of something.
Positive | Negative Marker | Example | Translation Ghor (strength) | Nor-ghor | Nor-ghor urukh. | The warrior has no strength. Dok (to conquer) | No-dok | Urukh no-dok khar. | The warrior does not conquer honor.

4. Case Markers

Thrukar employs postpositions rather than prepositions, meaning that case markers are placed at the end of the noun or pronoun they modify.
Case | Marker | Example | Translation Possession | -khar | Urukh’khar throk. | The warrior’s blade. Location | -zar | Urukh'gor zar throk. | The warriors at the blade (battle). Direction | -dar | Urukh dar rak. | The warrior goes to the tribe.

5. Emphasis Markers

Orcish uses '-azh' to emphasize certain words or phrases, often in contexts related to honor, strength, or leadership.
Basic | Emphasized | Example | Translation Khar (honor) | Khar’azh | Urukh vor khar’azh! | The warrior fights for great honor! Gur (strength) | Gur’azh | Ghorak gur’azh dok! | The Orcs’ mighty strength conquers!

6. Question Markers

To indicate that a sentence is a question, Orcish attaches '-mak' to the verb or pronoun at the end of the sentence.
Declarative | Interrogative Marker | Example | Translation Urukh vor throk. | Urukh vor throk’mak? | Urukh vor throk'mak? | Does the warrior handle the blade? Nar vor’tok. | Nar vor’tok’mak? | Nar vor’tok’mak? | Will the battle bring victory?

7. Honorifics & Social Markers

Social standing is important in Orcish culture. '-dar' is a marker used to address a chief or leader. It can also be applied as a sign of deep respect for an elder or war hero. Alternatively, '-gul' is a marker for addressing peers or equals in combat.
Basic Title | Honorific Marker | Example | Translation Warchief | Dar | Thrak’dar vor nar. | The warchief leads the battle. Warrior | Gul | Urukh'gul vor throk. | The warrior handles the blade.

8. Pronoun Markers

Some personal pronouns may be marked with '-kar' to indicate formality or deference in formal settings.
Pronoun | Formal Marker | Example | Translation Ek (I) | Ek’kar | Ek'kar vor throk. | I (formally) handle the blade. Var (who) | Var’kar | Var’kar dok nar? | Who brings the war?

Sample Sentence with Markers

Basic Sentence: Urukh vor throk nar. Translation: The warrior handles the blade in war.
With Markers: Urukh’gor vor’azh throk’mak nar. Translation: Do the warriors handle the mighty blade in the battle?

Dictionary

55 Words.

Common Phrases

Greetings:

• Thrakka dor: "Strength to you"
• Ghorak zhor thrak: "May the Orcs thrive"
• Urukh vor khar: "Warrior, wield your honor"
• Nar'thak vor: "Prepare for battle!"
• Mor'dor loktar: "Go forth with victory"
• Vur thrak: "Strike strong"
• Thag vor'rak: "Big strength to the tribe"
• Khar zhor urukh: "Honor thrives with the warrior"

Insults:

• Thrakka urghash: "Weakling Orc"
• Vrot urukh: "Cowardly warrior"
• Vor'nar zhrok: "You bring shame"
• Khazrukh: "Honorless dog"
• Thag mar vor: "Big but useless"
• Urak vor grak: "Your blood is weak"
• Naggor gur vorn: "Why do you act without strength?"
• Supak urakh: "Arrogant fool of a warrior"
• Zhor'thak grak: "Thrive in shame"
• Dahar krak: "Eternal disgrace"

Common Female Names

• Rakha – Strength
• Dazhka – Battle spirit
• Ghuna – Fierce warrior
• Throna – Victory
• Morukha – Daughter of strength
• Urzha – Flame of war
• Karzha – Honor-bound
• Shorga – Blade singer
• Zhalka – Hunter of blood
• Nakkra – Battle-born

Common Male Names

• Ghron – Power
• Throkor – Blade-wielder
• Urakhan – Bloodlord
• Varrak – Battlemaster
• Khoruk – Honor-bound warrior
• Zrakh – Conqueror
• Dokhan – The victorious
• Thragor – Born of war
• Ghurgan – Mighty warrior
• Nakkar – Swordbringer

Common Unisex Names

• Tharak – Blade
• Urath – Warrior's honor
• Mor'ka – War spirit
• Zhorok – To thrive
• Narak – War-born
• Dhorak – Strength in war
• Vrukar – Enduring warrior
• Ghorak – Tribe's strength
• Lokra – The victorious
• Khorga – Honor-bound blade

Common Family Names

• Thrak'mar – Battleborn
• Vor'thak – Bringers of strength
• Kharnor – Honor above all
• Ghorak – Tribe of strength
• Zhorvak – Thrivers in battle
• Urukhmar – Descendants of warriors
• Nar'zul – Born of war and conquest
• Rakh'dor – Keepers of honor
• Dahar'gor – Eternal strength
• Vornak – Victorious tribe