True Speech

The True Speech, also called the Old Speech, is the primordial language of creation in Earthsea, the tongue in which all things have their true names and in which magic is truly worked. It is the language of dragons, of the maker Segoy who raised the islands from the sea, and of the oldest songs and spells. Mastery of the True Speech is the foundation of all true wizardry, for to speak a thing's true name is to know its being and to hold power over it; yet the language is infinite, and its use binds a speaker to truth, though dragons can lie in it.

Nature and Origin

The True Speech is the language that existed before the world of men, the tongue in which Segoy spoke the islands of Earthsea into being. It is the language of dragons, who still speak it, and the source from which the Hardic tongue of the Archipelago grew, its words lying hidden and changed among Hardic words. The oldest songs, such as The Creation of Éa, are composed in this speech, and all true spells, enchantments, and invocations draw upon it. The Hardic tongue itself has no magic power, but its roots in the Old Speech provide the way to understanding the true names of things, a path that begins with the Six Hundred Runes of Hardic, written when the islands were first raised from the sea.

The Foundation of Magic

Magic in Earthsea consists in the true naming of a thing. As the Master Namer Kurremkarmerruk taught his pupils, a mage can control only what is near him, what he can name exactly and wholly. The power to work magic thus sets the limits of that power, for a spell over the entire ocean would require the name of every stretch and bit of the sea. The use of the Old Speech binds a man to truth, but this is not so with dragons; they can lie in it, twisting true words to false ends. When Ged bargained with the dragon Yevaud, he spoke the dragon's true name in the Old Speech, holding the huge being on a leash of language. Similarly, when Ged transformed a blade of wild grass into a wizard's staff, he spoke to it in the True Speech, and it lengthened and thickened into a great staff.

Learning and Mastery

Ged's education in the True Speech began with the witch of Ten Alders, who taught him the words she knew, and continued with Ogion, who taught him the Runes that lead to understanding the Old Speech. At the School for Wizards on Roke, he studied with the Master Namer in the Isolate Tower, learning the true names of every cape, point, bay, sound, inlet, channel, harbor, shallows, reef, and rock of the shores of Lossow. The Master Namer explained that the lists of names are never finished, for there is no end to that language. Some names have been lost over the ages, some hidden, some known only to dragons and to the Old Powers of Earth, and some known to no living creature. Ged learned that a mage's power is limited by what he can name exactly and wholly, and that the wickedness of the powerful or the folly of the wise would long ago have sought to change what cannot be changed if it were not so.

Key Uses and Consequences

The True Speech is used for the most profound acts of magic. When Ged summoned the spirit of Elfarran on Roke Knoll, he spoke the spell in the Old Speech, and the words he spoke were not known to the other boys. The spell tore open the fabric of the world, and through the breach came the shadow. Later, when Ged confronted the shadow on the Open Sea, he spoke its name aloud in the True Speech, and the shadow spoke the same word: "Ged." The two voices were one voice, and light and darkness met and joined. The True Speech is also used for naming: Vetch told Ged his true name, Estarriol, and Ged told Vetch his, Ged. Yarrow's true name, Kest, meaning "minnow" in the Old Speech, was revealed to Ged. The language is also used for binding spells, as when Ged set a binding-spell on Pechvarry's boat, and for the great spells of Making and Shaping, which are most perilous.

Significance

The True Speech is the ultimate source of power and knowledge in Earthsea, but it is also a source of limitation and danger. It is the language of creation, of dragons, and of the oldest songs, and its mastery is the goal of every true wizard. Yet the language is infinite, and no man can learn it all. The power to work magic sets the limits of that power, and the use of the True Speech binds a speaker to truth, though dragons can lie in it. The True Speech is the key to understanding the world, but it is also the key to unmaking it, and the wise wizard uses it with caution and respect.