Dark Tongue

The Dark Tongue, sometimes called the Black Speech, is the language of Chaos, spoken by its servants and followers. It is the only language that can adequately express the mysteries of Chaos, capturing the mystical and the arcane in ways that no other language can. While similar in some ways to Daemonic — the magical language used for casting Chaos spells and rituals—Black Speech lacks the magical weight found in the other more blasphemous tongue. Speaking the Dark Tongue does not (always) attract the attention of the Dark Gods, nor can it be used to speak the incantations needed to cast a spell or recite a ritual. The Dark Tongue is also a root language for others spoken in Aiandell and beyond.   Squeekish is ultimately a bastardisation of the Black Speech, polluted by mispronunciations and injected with squeaks, trills, and other sounds, since the Ratmen lack the mouth structure to enunciate the words properly. Also, the Dark Elves of Naggaroth speak a related language called Black Elven (or sometimes Druhir), which blends the lexicons of Eltharin (the tongue of High Elves) and Black Speech, though they use pure Dark Tongue when discussing matters related to sorcery. Beastmen speak a mix of the Dark Tongue and crude grunts, roars and gestures, as their bestial faces, in a myriad of different forms, often have a difficult time conjugating pure Dark Tongue.   As mentioned, the Dark Tongue is rich in phrases and words that express the complex nature of Chaos. Many make the mistake of attributing basic meanings to the words, but each holds far greater meaning and significance than a translation can supply. Each word encompasses a broad range of concepts, each with a different connotation depending on their arrangement with other words in the language and the addition of prefixes and suffixes, revealing different and deeper meanings held within the root. And, of course, mutating the root yields even more meanings.   Though the individual words have incredible depth, there are far fewer words in the Black Speech than in many other languages, though the root mutations as well as the addition of prefixes and suffixes allow innumerable variations. Thus, few speakers of the Dark Tongue know the language fluently or learn the many secrets it hides. As a result, this tongue is an effective means of expression for occult lore