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Gorean Language and Terms


The "Language" is the common tongue of Gor, with several related dialects or sublanguages. It helps to hold together Gor's many diverse parts. If you cannot speak it, you are commonly considered a barbarian. Gorean is considered a strong language but that can also be supple and beautiful. Those of Ar are said to have a gentle, liquid accent. There is also an accent that differentiates the High and Low Castes, though some of the higher artisan castes speak with an accent close to the High Caste. There is also an archaic form used mainly by the Initiates called Old Gorean. Physicians also keep their records in Old Gorean. Other languages also exist on Gor including those of the red hunters, the red savages and the natives of the southern jungles. The Priest Kings and Kurii also possess their own languages.

In Gorean script, the first line is commonly written left to right and the second line from right to left. This continues in an alternating manner. Thus, you must read and write even numbered lines backwards. It is said to be read and written "as the ox plows." Gorean may be printed or written in cursive script. Each city usually has a recognizable style of writing. Certain letters though have been generally standardized for legal and commericial purposes. There is also a shorthand form of script. Goreans capitalize more nouns than we would in English. Context usually denotes when a Gorean noun will be capitalized. In the Tahari region, though they speak Gorean, they use a different system of writing called Taharic.

The Gorean alphabet has twenty-eight letters including: The last four letters are not explained in the books so it is only guesswork as to what they may represent.
Altron may represent an "l" sound. There are nine vowels in Gorean, four of which have been identified. There are two "l" sounds and one of them is rolled. "W" exists only in words of Earth origin. Many letters have a variety of pronunciations depending on their linguistic context. Unfortunately, a complete alphabet is not listed in the novels.

Illiteracy is common on Gor, especially for those of the Low Castes. Literacy usually follows caste lines, the High Castes tending to be literate. But, some Warriors are illiterate or pretend to be as they do not feel warriors should be so. Other warriors are very proud of their literacy. But, illiteracy is not taken as a mark of stupidity. Many Goreans also possess remarkable powers of memory. As children, they learn a variety of mnemonic devices to train their memory retention skills. Many poets and singers remember their works and never put them down on paper. Music is never written down either, it is simply memorized and passed down from teacher to student. In addition, many Goreans play Kaissa without the use of a board, relying on memory alone.


The following are some selected Gorean words and their meanings. The meaning of some of these words was never explicitly stated so guesses have been made in a couple areas. This list is not comprehensive and just includes a number of useful or interesting words.

Common Phrases, Word Concepts and Gestures: