Hey everyone,
Welcome to another instalment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’ll be taking a look at ALL of the KNOWN languages of magical beasts and
creatures within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, from A to Z.m
Sadly, there are actually no magical languages that start with A…B…C…D…or even E.
In fact, the first “language” that we’ll be taking a look at isn’t even really a
language at all…
Starting us off is the letter F, for Fairies Now, surprising as it may be, Fairies actually
cannot talk—at least, not in the human sense.
I, for one, would’ve assumed that they spoke human languages but, of course, without the
ability to speak, they do not have any notable language.
Instead, this magical creature communicates with other Fairies through a series of loud
buzzing sounds.
This information can be verified in the book Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them:
“Despite its human-like appearance, the fairy cannot speak.
It makes a high-pitched buzzing noise to communicate with its fellows.”
Next up, we have G, for Giant and Gobbledegook Now, since we’re going alphabetically, let’s
begin with the language of the Giants.
Within the series, the best opportunity we have to observe a Giant is, of course, Hagrid’s
half brother, Grawp.
And it is through both Grawp and the tribe of Giants who Hagrid attempts to form an alliance
with that we are given evidence of a Giant language, since Hagrid is unable to properly
communicate with the tribe and Grawp—and yet they are able to communicate with each
other.
Proof of a language—or at least some basic form of communication—can also be seen in
the use of the Giants’ term “Gurg”, which is the title given to the strongest
giant, and therefore leader, of a tribe.
That said, the name and true functionality of the Giants’ language is unknown.
It’s also worth noting that some Giants have been reported to speak basic English.
The second language starting with G is Gobbledegook, the well-recognized language of the Goblin
species.
Gobbledegook is a widely documented language—for example, it is one of 72 languages Miranda
Goshawk’s Book of Spells was translated and published in, also proving that it can
be written, as well as spoken.
Gobbledegook chatter can be heard in Diagon Alley amongst the Goblins employed by Gringotts
Wizarding Bank.
Many of the witches and wizards who have heard it, describe it as being a “rough and unmelodious
tongue, a string of rattling, guttural noises.”
However, despite it being an unpleasant sounding language, it is indeed a teachable one, meaning
that you do not NEED to be a Goblin to speak Gobbledegook.
We know this to be true because there are several witches and wizards who are—or were—able
to speak it, such as Barty Crouch Senior.
Although Barty Crouch Senior is probably not the most relatable example, since he was somewhat
of a language connoisseur and could speak over two hundred languages, including Mermish
and Troll—in addition to Gobbledegook.
The next few letters in the alphabet—namely H, I, J, K and L—are all without a language
to share, which brings us to…
M for Mermish We first learn about the Mermish language
in The Goblet of Fire, when Harry speaks to the Merpeople who reside in the Great Lake
during his participation in the Triwizard Tournament.
What we discover through Harry’s interactions is that the native language of the Merpeople
is an incredibly unique one.
Due to the fact that Mermish has been purposely adapted for use underwater, it sounds quite
different when spoken ABOVE water versus below.
Under water, Mermish sounds like a human language, such as when Harry hears it while in the Great
Lake and understands the Merpeople to be speaking English.
But above water, it is completely unrecognisable, sounding like harsh, raspy screeching.
Similar to Gobbledegook, Mermish can be taught to non-Merpeople, as proven by the fact that
Albus Dumbledore was a fluent speaker of the underwater language.
It also has a written form, once again proven by the fact that Miranda Goshawk’s Book
of Spells was also published in Mermish.
For our next language, we must once again skip ahead—this time to the letter…
P for Parseltongue and Pixie Parseltongue is one of the better known mystical
languages found within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
It is spoken by magical serpentine creatures like the Basilisk, Horned Serpent, or—as
seen in The Philosopher’s Stone—a regular old snake.
Parseltongue has a unique cadence to it and, as you may expect, sounds a lot like the hissing
noises of a snake.
Any human that has the ability to speak Parseltongue is known as a Parselmouth.
And it’s interesting to note that this particular language is a skill that is very much hereditary—with
the most obvious exception, of course, being Harry Potter, which can be explained by the
fact that he was one of Voldemort’s horcruxes.
Speaking of which, just about every known Parselmouth is a descendent of Salazar Slytherin,
including the Gaunt family and Lord Voldemort himself.
Those particularly skilled in speaking Parseltongue can do so without the presence of snakes.
A rather fun fact about Parseltongue is that Francis J. Nolan, Professor of Phonetics at
the University of Cambridge, created an actual language to represent Parseltongue in the
films!
Another magical creature with its own unique form of communication is the Pixie.
Although there isn’t much documented on an official language, it’s not impossible
that one exists.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them explains that “Pixies produce a high-pitched jabbering
intelligible only to other pixies.”
In my opinion, this leaves the door open for that “jabbering” to be a form of structured
communication.
Moving right along past Q, we come to R, for Runes
Runes is a particularly unique language in that it is only known in its written form—there
is no verbal counterpart.
It consists entirely of symbols referred to as the Runic language, which has its own alphabet.
The language is taught as an advanced course for sixth years at Hogwarts: the Study of
Ancient Runes.
You may also remember seeing it in the series inscribed within Dumbledore’s Pensieve and
in the chil*dren’s book The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
Last but not least, we skip past S to T, for Troll
According to the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: “Trolls generally converse
in grunts that appear to constitute a crude language, though some have been known to understand
and even speak a few simple human words.”
We don’t have much else to go on in terms of the Trolls’ language, considering the
only Troll we meet, in The Philosopher’s Stone, is without any fellow comrades.
Now, if you’re anything like me, this list of languages may have you feeling a little
put out.
Surely, there are MORE than that?!
Well, for you—and let’s be honest, very much for myself—I’ve also compiled a secondary
list of magical creatures and beings who have the ability to speak human languages, starting
with the…
Acromantulas These are the giant spiders found in the Forbidden
Forest that brought Ron’s nightmares to life.
They are incredibly intelligent and have the ability to speak.
Combine those two, and you have enormous talking spiders.
Yikes.
Centaurs I mean, this seems pretty obvious, considering
this magical being’s upper body is that of a human.
If I’m being honest, I’m more surprised by the fact that they don’t have their OWN
language—or do they?
Dwarves Again, nothing groundbreaking here but worth
noting.
In The Chamber of Secrets, we see Dwarves delivering Valentine’s messages around Hogwarts
at the request of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart.
A little odd but, at the very least, it shows they speak English.
Similar to Centaurs, I’m somewhat surprised that they don’t have a language of their
own.
Gnomes Ah, Gnomes.
Odd little buggers, aren’t they?
In the Wizarding World, Gnomes are garden pests that are common in North America and
northern Europe.
The Weasley family seems to have somewhat of a Gnome problem at the Burrow, as they
can be heard swearing in the garden…in English.
House Elves I suppose due to the relationship between
House Elves and wizardkind, it should come as no surprise that they speak human languages
and not one of their own.
That said, the grammatical errors with which they speak does suggest that perhaps they
do—or did—have a language of their own.
Perhaps it has been lost throughout the centuries of indentured servitude.
Or maybe it never existed at all!
The Jarvey This magical creature is not seen in the Harry
Potter series at all, but we know from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that it is essentially
a large ferret—that can talk.
Apparently, it also has the rare ability to teach itself human languages.
Leprechauns This will shock no one.
Leprechauns can speak human languages.
No, no, please—hold your applause.
I know.
My greatest theory yet…
Manticores Similar to Centaurs in that they are part-human,
part-beast, Manticores are an incredibly dangerous magical creature that has the head of a human,
the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion.
Plus, it can speak.
The Sphinx This magical creature is capable of human
speech but, as we see in The Goblet of Fire, will only talk in puzzles or riddles.
Veelas The last magical being on our list today is
the Veela.
These are beautiful female humanoid magical creatures with white-gold hair and moon-bright
skin.
A Veela’s appearance will change when they are angry…but all that to say is that they
can DEFINITELY speak human languages.
After all, Fleur Delacour was part Veela.
And, with that, we’ve come to the end of another video!
What did you think?
Did I miss any languages or magical creatures capable of human speech?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
And, as always, if you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to like it and subscribe to
the channel!
Until next time…
Remember
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
– Albus Dumbledore