Savage Tech / World Compendium / Languages / Grorzk · The orcs
Comprehensive Grammar Sketch and Lexicon
Pronounced [ˈɡʁoʁzk]
6,045 headwords · 6,102 meanings
The Orc-tongue, Grorzk, traces its lineage to the military speech of Uldren, the dwarven language. Centuries of war, capture, clan use and adaptation ground that inherited speech into something harsher and more direct. Grorzk has developed its own distinct phonetic characteristics and grammatical structures, shedding many complex inflections in favor of battlefield clarity.
| Letter(s) | IPA | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| p, t, k | [p t k] | unaspirated; word-finally often [p̚ t̚ k̚] |
| b, d, g | [b d ɡ] | voiced; devoiced at end of word |
| f, v | [f v] | |
| s, z | [s z] | |
| sh | [ʃ] | |
| zh | [ʒ] | |
| kh | [x] | voiceless velar fricative |
| gh | [ɣ] | voiced velar fricative |
| th | [θ] | |
| h | [h] | |
| j | [j] | |
| x | [ks] | |
| r, rh | [ʁ] | uvular; trilled when shouted |
| l, m, n | [l m n] |
The digraphs sh, zh, kh, gh, th and rh each spell a single sound.
| Letter | IPA | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| a, e, i, o, u | [a ɛ i o u] | short by default |
| â, ê, î, ô, û | [aː ɛː iː oː uː] | long vowels (marked with circumflex) |
Grorzk has no other vowel letters and no other diacritics.
Stress falls on the first syllable of a word. A circumflex marks a long vowel; in a single (non-compound) word it also marks the stressed syllable, overriding the default, so a single word never carries more than one circumflex (e.g., Grûg). In a compound, each element keeps its own spelling and marks; the main stress falls on the first element, and a circumflex in a later element marks vowel length only.
Native roots are mostly single syllables of the shape (C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C), with some two-syllable roots such as Orkok and Êzhar. Favored onsets include kr, gr, dr, vr, br, bl, gl, kl, sk, skr, shr, zg, zr, ghr, khr, thr; favored codas include k, g, kh, gh, zh, sh, zg, sk, rk, rg, rz, rn, lk, nk, x. A root never doubles the same letter.
Grorzk uses the Latin alphabet with only the letters, digraphs and circumflex vowels listed above. Compounds are written either hyphenated (e.g., Klen-vost) or solid (e.g., Grakvost); a compound listed in the lexicon is always written as listed.
Nouns and numerals begin with a capital letter; in a hyphenated compound only the first element is capitalized. All other words are written in lower case except at the start of a sentence.
Clan banners display angular black-on-red rune-glyphs; Grorzk is carved in jagged lines evocative of high-gravity stonework.
| Feature | Form |
|---|---|
| Genders | grax (strong; chiefly animate beings) brôk (weak; chiefly inanimate things) |
| Cases | shôk (nominative/subject) zân (objective/oblique) |
| Numbers | singular, plural |
Each noun has a fixed gender, given in the lexicon. A compound noun takes the gender of its final element (see 4.1).
Plural suffixes:
Definite articles:
| Gender/Number | shôk (Nom.) | zân (Obj./Obl.) |
|---|---|---|
| grax sg | kre | krum |
| grax pl | kran | krumug |
| brôk sg | kres | kresum |
| brôk pl | kresar | kresumar |
Indefinite articles:
| Person | shôk (Nom.) | zân (Obj./Obl.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 sg | ak | — |
| 2 sg | thû | — |
| 3 sg grax | ôr | ôrm |
| 3 sg brôk | eth | ethum |
| 1 pl | vek | — |
| 2 pl | îk | — |
| 3 pl | sa | saumer |
Where no zân form exists, the shôk form is used in both cases.
Adjectives are invariable in form. They are typically placed before the noun they modify:
As predicative adjectives, they follow the copula:
| Word | Gloss |
|---|---|
| shân | “his” |
| mâk | “my” |
| vekser | “our” |
| îkser | “your” (plural) |
| thûk | “your” (singular) |
| ethân | “its” |
| saser | “their” |
Grorzk employs a base-10 counting system with unique vocabulary.
| Numeral | Grorzk | Numeral | Grorzk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Nûgh | 6 | Skekh |
| 1 | Kre | 7 | Rat |
| 2 | Drax | 8 | Glukh |
| 3 | Grom | 9 | Bren |
| 4 | Fjorn | 10 | Trask |
| 5 | Vusk |
Counting beyond 10:
Ordinal numbers are formed by adding the suffix -t to the cardinal number (-st after a vowel): Krest (first), Draxt (second), Gromt (third), Fjornt (fourth), Vuskt (fifth), Skekht (sixth), Ratt (seventh), Glukht (eighth), Brent (ninth), Traskt (tenth).
Every verb is either zgax (weak) or strok (strong); the lexicon gives each verb’s class and lists verbs by their stem.
| Person | Ending | Example (vargh “move quickly/charge”) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 sg | -a | vargh-a |
| 2 sg | -s | vargh-s |
| 3 sg | -t | vargh-t |
| 1/3 pl | -ug | vargh-ug |
| 2 pl | -t | vargh-t |
Formed using an auxiliary verb (kab “to have” or zen “to be”) and a past participle. Kab is the default auxiliary; zen is used for verbs of motion or change of state.
Past participle formation:
A past participle may also be used as an adjective (e.g., brêzh-ûn “broken”).
Examples:
Adverbs are often identical in form to adjectives. They can also be derived by adding the optional suffix -lok:
Compounds ending in -ghî (lit. “how”) also form adverbs of manner: grôd-ghî (“greatly”), drax-ghî (“again”).
Prepositions govern the zân case exclusively: ûgh ôrm (“around him”), mînt ethum (“with it”).
Common prepositions: în (in), ogh (on/to), mînt (with), fu (for), gon (against), ôrn (without), ûgh (around), voz (from/of), zûn (to/at)
Grorzk favors blunt, head-final, left-branching compounds. The modifying element comes first and the head comes last; when the head is a noun, it determines the gender of the compound.
These patterns are productive; nouns they form take the gender shown.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ghar- + verb | result or completion | gharbrokh (“burn up/consume by burning”) |
| verb + -ukh (brôk) | the action or its result | Krahn-ukh (“combat”, from krahn “to fight”) |
| adjective + -ozg (brôk) | the quality of being so | Strok-ozg (“the quality of being strong”) |
| adjective + -lok | adverb of manner | kraklok (“quickly”) |
| verb/noun + -krûm (grax) | a person who does it or works with it | Zhâg-krûm (“hunter”), Êzhar-krûm (“smith”) |
| verb + -kror (brôk) | tool for the action | Grûb-kror (“pickaxe”) |
| verb + -orz (brôk) | place for the action | Zhêt-orz (“mess hall”) |
| noun + -pûl | adjective: full of | rax-pûl (“painful”) |
| nxit- + noun | adjective: without | nxit-rax (“painless”) |
| person noun in -krûm → -frak (grax) | female counterpart | Zhâg-frak (“female hunter”) |
| person/animal noun + -krûn (brôk) | band, pack or herd | Blâk-krûn (“band of warriors”) |
| person/animal noun + -glâd (grax) | young one | Orkok-glâd (“young orc”) |
| abstract noun + -mûgh | verb: to cause | Zârn-mûgh (“to cause fear”) |
| verb + -grôd | adjective: that can be done | fozk-grôd (“that can be found”) |
| verb + participle ending (-okh/-ûn) | adjective: done, affected | shrak-okh (“destroyed”), brêzh-ûn (“broken”) |
| adjective (ending in a stop or fricative) + -n | verb: to make or become | dûkn (“to darken”), strokn (“to make or become strong”) |
| klâ- / grôd- + noun | small / great form (gender of the noun) | Klâ-vrek (“hill”), Grôd-dron (“sea”) |
Ak ghrônk-a ogh shân Sûkh, tlan shân Vlezh-karn-mekn ost gharborb!
| Grorzk | Literal | Idiomatic |
|---|---|---|
| Grûg, shâ-vor ogh Trulk! | “Greeting, welcome aboard.” | Standard boarding salute |
| Grak-zhal vor, Zârn krun. | “Steel forward, fear back.” | “Advance with steel, leave fear behind.” |
| Ak ghrônk-a ogh îkser Sûkh. | “I drink to your victory.” | |
| Klôgh kresum Klôgh, or ak klôgh-a ethum fu thû! | “Shut the hatch, or I’ll shut it for you!” | |
| Brêzh-ûn Blû-vorgh hûzk-t Dôgh. | “A broken blood-oath means death.” |
Standard Oath of a Wandering Tribesman
Ak khvôr-a mînt Shlâm ur Grak-zhal:
krumug Orkokug ôgr-a ak, krumug Grakug mîzg-a ak,
kresum Krak-stôn-spêk ghûd-a ak,
ur înd Grim-blît gharbrokh-a ak,
bosk-zîd Trulk zûn Skôb vax-t ur Skarm zûn Âzh.
(“I swear with blood and steel: I honor the orcs, esteem the dwarves less, I guard the crystal-fire, and burn out every goblin stain, until ship turns to dust and star to ash.”)
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