German linguists from Humboldt University studied a range of fictional languages from popular fantasy and science fiction works to understand why some invented dialects carry associations of evil and aggression, while others evoke goodness and pacifism. The research appeared in a science journal focused on language and speech.
The study looked at artificial languages (conlangs) such as the so-called dark speech of orcs, the Klingon tongue from Star Trek, and the elven languages Quenya and Sindarin from Tolkien’s epic The Lord of the Rings, as well as the Dothraki from George R. R. Martin’s world and other notable examples.
A total of 129 German-speaking participants took part in the experiment. They listened to audio clips of sentences spoken in different conlangs and rated them on three scales: harmony, tranquility, and helpfulness.
In recordings, male and female voices delivered lines in neutral tones, without emotional inflection or special sound effects. Participants were not given context about the fictional cultures behind the languages, keeping the perception purely driven by the phonetic cues themselves.
The findings indicated that the most jarring, aggressive, and hostile-sounding languages to listeners were Klingon and Dothraki. Klingon, a warrior society in its fictional universe, emphasizes martial values and honor codes, while the Dothraki are depicted as nomadic raiders who attack neighboring regions for booty.
By contrast, the language spoken by the elves in The Lord of the Rings was perceived as the most pleasant and harmonious by the participants.
Researchers noted that languages with a higher share of vowel-rich sequences tended to be rated more positively across all measures. Voicing, the vibration of the vocal folds during sound production, plays a central role in forming vowels and many consonants. The difference between sounds such as /b/, /d/, /g/ (voiced) and /p/, /t/, /k/ (voiceless) helps explain why some phonetic patterns feel more soothing or harsher to listeners.
An unexpected turn in the study was the relatively favorable reception of the Orcish language, created by Tolkien to sound threatening. The samples of orc speech were judged more pleasant and less aggressive than anticipated.
One key takeaway was that Orcish did not strike listeners as as angry as its on-screen portrayal. This discrepancy highlights how stereotypes can influence language perception in everyday life.
Commenting on the implications, the lead researcher suggested that languages such as German might be perceived as orderly or even austere, while Italian could be framed as musical and seductive depending on phonetic traits and listeners’ attitudes toward the speakers. The study’s author emphasized the broader issue of how cultural assumptions shape auditory impressions.
Earlier work supports the idea that the human brain processes native languages in a distinctive way, influencing how unfamiliar speech patterns are interpreted. This research adds nuance to that understanding by focusing on invented languages and the social cues people infer from phonetics.