The language of any given society is a complex and beautiful thing. Here you will find a study of the Gorean Language in many facades. A girl hopes that you will find it pleasing and enjoyable.

On Gorean Language

Priest Kings of Gor, page 52

My Chamber Slave's accent had been pure High Caste Gorean though I could not place the city. Probably her caste has been that of the Builders or Physicians, for had her people been Scribes I would have expected a greater subtlety of inflections, the use of less common grammatical cases; and had her people been of the Warriors I would have expected a blunter speech, rather belligerently simple, expressed in great reliance on the indicative mood and, habitually, a rather arrogant refusal to venture beyond the most straightforward of sentence structures. On the other hand these generalizations are imperfect, for Gorean speech is no less complex than that of any of the great natural language communities of the Earth nor are its speakers any the less diverse. It is, incidentally, a beautiful language; it can be as subtle as Greek; as direct as Latin; as expressive as Russian; as rich as English; as forceful as German. To the Goreans it is always simply, The Language, as though there were no others, and those who do not speak it are regarded immediately as barbarians. This sweet, fierce, liquid speech is the common bond that tends to hold together the Gorean World. It is the common property of the Administrator of Ar, a herdsman beside the Vosk, a peasant from Tor, a scribe from Thentis, a metalworker from Tharna, a physician from Cos, a pirate from Port Kar, a warrior from Ko-ro-ba.

Priest Kings of Gor, page 94

"I assume," I said, "you have more than twenty-eight human slaves." There were twenty-eight characters in the Gorean alphabet. I had intended my remark to be rather vicious but Sarm took no offense.

The Alphabet

Al-Ka

Tarnsman of Gor, page 38

"Al-Ka!" said Torm, pointing one long, authoritative finger at the sign. "Al-Ka!," he said.

"Al-Ka!," I repeated.

We looked at one another, and both of us laughed. A tear of amusement formed along the side of his sharp nose, and his pale blue eyes twinkled

I had begun to learn the Gorean alphabet.

Priest-Kings of Gor, page 94

I nodded. The rest of it I did not need to be told. The expressions 'Al-Ka' and 'Ba-Ta' are the first two letters of the Gorean Alphabet. In effect these men had no names, but were simply known as Slave A and B.

Slave Girl of Gor, page 383

"I was taught the alphabet beginning with Al-Ka," smiled Samos.

"As was I," said Bosk. "Perhaps we should first have been taught Eta."

"That is not the tradition!" said Samos.

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion, and Nu.

Ba-ta

Priest-Kings of Gor, page 94

I nodded. The rest of it I did not need to be told. The expressions 'Al-Ka' and 'Ba-Ta' are the first two letters of the Gorean Alphabet. In effect these men had no names, but were simply known as Slave A and B.

Delka

Magicians of Gor, page 176

On the chest was a bloody triangle, the "delka." That is the fourth letter of the Gorean alphabet, and formed identically to the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, the 'delta', to which letter it doubtless owes it origin. In Gorean, the delta of a river is referred to as its "delka." The reasoning here is the same as in Greek, and, derivatively, in English, namely the resemblance of a delta region in a cartographical triangle.

Eta

Slave Girl of Gor, page 383

"In Gorean," said Bosk, "the most frequently occurring letter is Eta. We might then begin by supposing that the combination of blue and red signifies an Eta."

Slave Girl of Gor, page 383

"I was taught the alphabet beginning with Al-Ka," smiled Samos.

"As was I," said Bosk. "Perhaps we should first have been taught Eta."

"That is not the tradition!" said Samos.

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

Eta, for example, occurs two hundred times more frequently in the language than Altron.

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion, and Nu.

Homan

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

"It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu, and Homan."

Explorers of Gor, page 9

'Homan', I speculate, may derive from Cretan.

Ina

Slave Girl of Gor, page 383

"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan, and so on."

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

"It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu, and Homan."

Kef

Outlaw of Gor, page 187

The brand itself, in the case of girls, is a rather graceful mark, being the initial letter of the Gorean expression for slave in cursive script. If a male is branded, the same initial is used, but rendered in a block letter.

Explorers of Gor, page 9

The brand was the common Kajira mark of Gor, the first letter, about an inch and a half in height and a half inch in width, in cursive script, of expression 'Kajira', which is the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. It is a simple mark, and rather floral, a staff, with two, upturned, frondlike curls, joined where they touch the staff on its right. It bears a distant resemblance to the printed letter 'K' in several of the Western alphabets of Earth, and I suspect, in spite of several differences, it may owe its origin to that letter.

Magicians of Gor, page 67

The gate of the locker, like the lid of the slave box, is perforated for the passage of air, usually, like the slave box, with a design in the form of cursive 'Kef', the first letter of 'Kajira', the most common Gorean expression, among several, for a female slave.

Nu

Slave Girl of Gor, page 383

"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan, and so on."

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion, and Nu.

Omnion

Slave Girl of Gor, page 383

"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan, and so on."

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion, and Nu.

Ar

Slave Girl of Gor, page 383

"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan, and so on."

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

"It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu, and Homan."

Shu

Slave Girl of Gor, page 383

"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan, and so on."

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

"It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu, and Homan."

Explorers of Gor, page 9

'Shu' is represented by a sign which seems clearly oriental in origin.

Sidge

Explorers of Gor, page 9

'Sidge', on the other hand, could be cuneiform.

Tau

Slave Girl of Gor, page 383

"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan, and so on."

Mercenaries of Gor, page 63

The punched copper disk, threaded on its thong, was not large. It was about an inch or so in diameter. On it was the letter "Tau" and a number.

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion, and Nu.

Tun

Explorers of Gor, page 9

'Tun' and 'Val' are probably calligraphically drifted from demotic.

Val

Explorers of Gor, page 9

'Tun' and 'Val' are probably calligraphically drifted from demotic.

Altron

Slave Girl of Gor, page 384

Eta, for example, occurs two hundred times more frequently in the language than Altron.

On Writing the Gorean Language

Priest Kings of Gor, pgs. 100-101

Gorean, I might note, is somewhat similar, and though I speak Gorean fluently, I find it very difficult to write, largely because of the even-numbered lines which, from my point of view, must be written backwards. Torm, my friend of the Caste of Scribes, never forgave me this and to this day, if he lives, he undoubtedly considers me partly illiterate. As he said, I would never make a Scribe. "It is simple," he said. "You just write it forward but in the other direction."

General Quotes on the Gorean Language

Slave Girl of Gor, pgs. 383-384

"We may suppose," said Bosk, "as a working hypothesis, that the message is in Gorean. As far as we know, Belisarius, whom we know only by name, and it may be a code name, is Gorean."

"Yes?" said Samos.

"See," said Bosk, who was examining the necklace, "The most frequent combination of colors is blue and red."

"So?" asked Samos.

"In Gorean," said Bosk, "the most frequently occurring letter is Eta. We might then begin by supposing that the combination of blue and red signifies an Eta."

"I see," said Samos.

"The next most frequently occurring letters in Gorean," said Bosk, "are Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion and Nu. Following these in frequency of occurrence are Ar, Ina, Shu and Homan, and so on."

"How is this known?" asked Samos.

"It is based upon letter counts," said Bosk, "over thousands of words in varieties of manuscripts."

"These matters have been determined by scribes?" asked Samos.

"Yes," said Bosk.

"Why should they be interested in such things?"

"Such studies were conducted originally, at least publicly, as opposed to the presumed secret studies of cryptographers, in connection with the Sardar Fairs," said Bosk, "at meetings of Scribes concerned to standardize and simplify the cursive alphabet. Also it was thought to have consequences for improved pedagogy, in teaching children to first recognize the most commonly occurring letters."

"I was taught the alphabet beginning with Al-Ka," smiled Samos.

"As was I," said Bosk. "Perhaps we should first have been taught Eta."

"That is not the tradition!" said Samos.

"True," admitted Bosk. "And these innovative scribes have had little success with their proposed reforms. Yet, from their labors, various interesting facts have emerged. For example, we have learned not only the order of frequency of occurrence of letters but, as would be expected, rough percentages of occurrences as well. Eta, for example, occurs two hundred times more frequently in the language than Altron. Over forty percent of the language consists of the first five letters I mentioned, Eta, Tau, Al-Ka, Omnion, and Nu."

"That seems impossible," said Samos.

"It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu, and Homan."

"We could still try all possible combinations," said Samos.

"True," said Bosk, "and, in a short message, which this appears to be, we might produce several intelligible possibilities. Short messages, particularly those which do not reflect statistical letter frequencies, can be extremely difficult to decipher, even when the cipher is rudimentary."

"Rudimentary?" asked Samos.

"There are many varieties of cipher," said Bosk, "both of the substitution and transposition type. I suspect we have before us, tin this necklace, a simple substitution cipher."

"Why?" asked Samos.

"It was interpreted almost instantly by the man called Belisarius," said Bosk. "A more complicated cipher, indexed to key words or key numbers, would presumably have required a wheel or table for its interpretation."

"Can all codes be broken?" asked Samos.

The brand was the common Kajira mark of Gor, the first letter, about an inch and a half in height and a half inch in width, in cursive script, of expression 'Kajira', which is the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave. It is a simple mark, and rather floral, a staff, with two, upturned, frondlike curls, joined where they touch the staff on its right. It bears a distant resemblance to the printed letter 'K' in several of the Western alphabets of Earth, and I suspect, in spite of several differences, it may owe its origin to that letter. The Gorean alphabet has twenty-eight characters, all of which, I suspect owe their origin to one or another of the alphabets of Earth. Several show a clear cut resemblance to Greek letters, for example. 'Sidge,' on the other hand, could be cuneiform, and 'Tun' and 'Val' are probably calligraphically drifted from demotic. At least six letters suggest influence by the classical Roman alphabet, and seven do, if we count 'Kef', the first letter in 'Kajira'. 'Shu' is represented by a sign which seems clearly oriental in origin and 'Homan', I speculate may derive from Cretan. Many Gorean letters have a variety of pronunciations, depending on their linguistic context. Certain scribes have recommended adding to the Gorean alphabet new letters, to independently represent some of these sounds, which, now, require alternative pronunciations, context-dependent, of given letters. Their recommendations, it seems, are unlikely to be incorporated into formal Gorean.

In matters such as those of the alphabet conservatism seems unshakable. For example, there is not likely to be additions or deletions to the alphabets of Earth, regardless of the rationality of such an alteration in given cases. An example of conservatism in such matters is that Goreans, and, indeed, many of those of the Earth, are taught their alphabets in an order which bears no rational relation whatsoever to the occurence pattern of letters. That children should be taught the alphabet in an order which reflects the frequency of the occurrence of letters in the language, and thus would expedite their learning, appears to be to radical and offensive an idea to become acceptable. Consider, too, for example the opposition to an arithmetically convenient system of measurement in certain quarters on Earth, apparently because of the unwillingness to surrender the techniques of tradition, so painfully acquired so long ago.

"Thank you, Master," she breathed. elated. 'Feiqa,' is a lovely name. It is not unknown among dancers in the Tahari. Other such names as 'Aytul', 'Benek', 'Emine', 'Faize', 'Mine', 'Yasemine' and 'Yasine'. The 'qa' in the name 'Feiqa', incidentally, is pronounced rather like 'kah' in English I have not spelled it 'Feikah' in English because the letter in question, in the Gorean spelling, is a 'kwah' and not a 'kef'. The 'kwah' in Gorean, which I think is possibly related, directly or indirectly, to the English 'q', does not always have a 'kwah' sound. Sometimes it does; sometimes it does not; in the name 'Feiqa' it does not. Although this may seem strange to native English speakers, it is certainly not linguistically unprecedented. For example, in Spanish, certainly one of the major languages spoken on Earth, the letter 'q' seldom, if ever, has the 'kwah' sound. Even in English, of course, the letter 'q' itself is not pronounced with a 'kwah' sound, but rather with a 'k' or 'c' sound, as in 'kue' or 'cue'.