Gutterspeak Undead speak Gutterspeak in addition to Common . Gutterspeak is a vulgar form of Common that uses little ( very little ) bits of Dwarven and Thalassian . It has existed for a while ( longer than the undead Forsaken have ) , and evolved in the shady underground of black markets and rogues ' guilds as the tongue spoke by people of ill - repute . When the Forsaken took the Undercity , they adopted Gutterspeak as their official language . To sum up the undead ' s attitude : they had been thrown away like trash , and abandoned by everyone , even their friends and loved ones . Thus Gutterspeak , as the language of the outcasts , seemed appropriate to them . Note that undead can still understand and speak Common . However , they never speak it under normal circumstances . They take fierce pride in speaking Gutterspeak instead . Some of the Forsaken have forgotten how to understand Common ( see below ) . In the MMO , undead players can speak Gutterspeak and Orcish . Gutterspeak Primer . Forsaken Names . Like their dark lady , Forsaken keep the names they had when they were alive . These tend to be human names as most Forsaken were human . If a Forsaken cannot remember their name , they may make up a suitable name or simply take one from a headstone . Some invent surnames that imply their desire to eradicate the Scourge . Sample Words ( speculation ) . This is the list of words created by the in - game language parser for the Common language , and is listed as language number thirty - three ( word range 1371 - 1494 ) in the Language text file . In the in - game translator , the language parser for Gutterspeak shares similar words with Common and Gnomish . Note : The language algorithm used by the in - game " translator " merely makes the words LOOK like Gutterspeak . It does not actually use a specific dictionary . Therefore , translated in - game speech isn ' t true Gutterspeak . Almost all names are real - world western European names . Undead in the areas of Silverpine Forest , Western Plaguelands , Hillsbrad Foothills , and Tirisfal Glades typically have more English - sounding names ( Darthalia , Alistair , Agamand , Lordaeron , Radley ) while Eastern Plaguelands have more German - sounding names ( Stratholme , Zverenhoff , Deatholme ) . Language Barrier . It has not been explained within the context of the game why the Forsaken in World of Warcraft are not able to speak or understand their language during life , Common . However , according to lore found in the Horde Player ' s Guide undead Forsaken have indeed not lost the ability to understand Common , but just never choose to speak it under normal circumstances . The language barrier is simply a game mechanic , and no attempt needs to be made to reconcile it in terms of lore . The inability of Forsaken to speak and understand Common is not found in other sources . According to the RPG , They learn the languages of their enemies and their allies ( who may soon become their enemies ) . Thus , they are often fluent in several other languages besides Common and Gutterspeak , including Orcish . The Forsaken encountered by the main characters in The Sunwell Trilogy are also capable of speaking Common . Game Mechanics . The real - world explanation for the fact that undead aren ' t able to speak Common is simply because the developers don ' t want players communicating across factions . In the Beta , the undead player characters spoke Common ( besides Orcish ) and thus could communicate with Alliance characters . This led to a huge amount of vitriol and bile that was spewed both ways , so this functionality was removed and Gutterspeak was introduced . In the game , neutral undead NPCs are capable of speaking to the Alliance . It has been theorized that Common and Gutterspeak are translated to Orcish in the exact same manner , although this claim is disputed . Those disputing it say that while " lol " translates to " bur " in Orcish from both Common and Gutterspeak ( along with several other tested phrases ) , these are similarities purposely put in because undead were once living and thus once spoke Common , and have since then changed their language somewhat . It is more likely , however , that when Blizzard wanted to create a language barrier , they left undead speaking the same language , but gave Gutterspeak the same translation scheme as common to both Orcish and Common as Common has to Orcish , thus creating a barrier , but removing the need for explaining why they speak " different " languages . This is corroborated by the translation filter using identical 124 - word long sample word lists for showing Common and Gutterspeak to non - speakers . Fan Speculation . Dan Golthas : " " When I clawed my way out of the grave , I thought my family would welcome me with open arms . Instead , they drove me out of the village , screaming in a language I could no longer understand . " " Some fans who have tried to reconcile it in their own way have theorized that they just don ' t want or choose to talk common . Some due to their hatred of humanity , others because they wanted to break their ties to their preceding life ( some RPG books support this theory ) , and some , like Dan Golthas , who have " forgotten " how to speak Common for some reason . It may be because some Forsaken exhibit signs of old age , losing their identities and eventually their sentience . They appear feeble and scared , and forget who they are . They are losing their mind to the Scourge , eventually become mindless zombies . Likewise , it is possible that when something is killed and raised as a undead , memories of things like languages , names and other similar information is wiped out as the only thing a servant of death is to hear is the hypnotizing and unceasing whisperings of the Lich King . The only reason Undead know Gutterspeak is because they have only forgotten PART of common and have replaced the forgotten words / letters with ones of their own . Can ' t explain why they know orcish though .