No. In World of Warcraft: Forever your character speaks the languages of its race and nothing more, and there is no trainer, quest or item that teaches another one. An Orc speaks Orcish, a Human speaks Common, and races with a tongue of their own, such as Dwarves and Trolls, also speak that.
That is how languages worked in the original game, and nothing in Blizzard’s WoW Forever development notes or hotfixes changes it. Below is what every race speaks, including the new Skyborne, what languages actually do in play, how to choose which one you speak, and the Preferred Online Language setting, which is a different thing entirely. Checked November 12, eight days after launch.
What Every Race Speaks in WoW Forever
| Race | Faction | Languages |
|---|---|---|
| Human | Alliance | Common |
| Dwarf | Alliance | Common, Dwarven |
| Gnome | Alliance | Common, Gnomish |
| Night Elf | Alliance | Common, Darnassian |
| High Order Skyborne | Alliance | Common, Darnassian |
| Orc | Horde | Orcish |
| Troll | Horde | Orcish, Troll |
| Undead | Horde | Orcish, Gutterspeak |
| Tauren | Horde | Orcish, Taurahe |
| Windshaper Skyborne | Horde | Orcish, Darnassian |
Your Spellbook lists your character’s languages under a passive called Languages. You cannot add to that list or swap anything out.
Why You Cannot Learn Another Language
Each faction shares one language: Common for the Alliance and Orcish for the Horde. That shared tongue is what lets a Gnome talk to a Night Elf, or a Tauren to an Undead. The racial languages on top of it are flavor, used mostly for roleplay.
The original game had no way to learn another race’s language, and WoW Forever keeps it that way. The only way to speak Dwarven is to make a Dwarf, and the only way to speak Taurahe is to make a Tauren. Blizzard has not announced race changes for Forever either, as our guide to changing your race explains, so a new language means a new character.
What Happens When the Other Faction Talks
Alliance and Horde characters cannot understand each other. When an Orc speaks near a Human, the Human sees scrambled words in place of Orcish, and it works the same way in reverse. Racial languages behave the same: if a Dwarf talks in Dwarven, a Human standing next to them sees gibberish too.
The factions are kept apart in other ways as well. Blizzard says “Horde and Alliance players still cannot group together,” and characters can only group with players on the same ruleset and faction, as our guide to grouping across rulesets explains.
The Skyborne and Darnassian
Both kinds of Skyborne speak Darnassian beside their faction’s language. That fits their story: Blizzard’s Skyborne post says they descend from “a group of Highborne exiles” who forged a pact with the wind spirits of Skywall, so they keep the elves’ ancient tongue. It also means a Horde Windshaper lists a language that, on the Alliance side, Night Elves and High Order Skyborne speak too.
Blizzard has not said whether that lets a Windshaper and a Night Elf read each other’s Darnassian across the faction line, so treat it as flavor for now. Our guide to unlocking the Skyborne covers the purchase that includes the race.
Choosing Which Language You Speak
A character with two languages speaks its faction’s language by default, so everyone on its side understands it. You can switch to your racial language for chat, and then only characters who share it can read what you say. That is most useful on the Roleplay and Roleplay-PvP rulesets, where talking in Dwarven among Dwarves fits the scene; our guide to choosing a ruleset explains what sets those communities apart.
Humans and Orcs have nothing to switch to: each speaks only its faction’s language.
Preferred Online Language Is a Different Setting
Do not confuse in-game languages with WoW Forever’s language preference. Blizzard’s deep dive recap says players can “choose a language preference and encounter others who share that preference.” That is your real-world language, not a fantasy one.
To set it, press Escape for the Game Menu, choose Options, then Languages and Social, and pick your Preferred Online Language. The setting is account-wide and has a 24-hour cooldown, and the game uses it to match you with players who share it instead of splitting players onto language servers. Our guide to how many servers there are explains how that matching works. Every WoW Forever guide we have is on our World of Warcraft hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you learn other languages in WoW Forever? No. Your languages come with your race, and there is no trainer, quest or item that teaches another one.
What language do the Skyborne speak? Darnassian, plus their faction’s language: Common for High Order Skyborne and Orcish for Windshaper Skyborne.
Can Horde and Alliance understand each other? No. Each side sees the other faction’s chat as scrambled words.
Which races speak two languages? Dwarves, Gnomes, Night Elves, Trolls, Undead, Tauren and both kinds of Skyborne. Humans and Orcs speak only their faction’s language.
How do you change your language preference? Open the Game Menu, then Options, Languages and Social, and set Preferred Online Language. It is account-wide, with a 24-hour cooldown between changes.