We know why Warframes never speak.

I assumed it was because they dont have mouths

If umbra could speak, I imagine not everyone would see the warframes and by extention the orokin the same. Its for this reason they probably weren't allowed to speak.

Considering the amount of body horror in this game I wouldn't be surprised if one day we have to fight a rogue warframe that's torn a horrible hole in its own head so it can have a mouth and speak to us.

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And whatever it has to say will no doubt be quite terrifying.

Dagath can whistle if she turns her head just right.

Yet Grendel can say "UwU"...

Warframes dont talk because their creators were sadistic fucks

It's probably a control thing. Warframes are less than slaves, they are objects. They are tools. Not even to be considered alive.

Giving them a voice would be letting them have something "human"

i like to imagine that rogue warframes communicate through complex games of Charades. or alternatively, a text-to-speech device.

if you wanna get more unsettling, think of Jacket from Payday 2 and how he communicates only through pre-recorded tape recorder clips.

though there has been unconfirmed evidence of Sapient Rogue warframes for years, Kullervo, then Dagath, and now Dante make it very, very clear that warframes can be characters with complex motivations.

was limbo a warframe, or an operator Piloting a warframe? what about Inaros? did inaros give his one life defending the people of Mars, or did an operator just lose the longest Survival mission of all time?

There’s multiple reasons why they’d be unable to speak…

The first: Physically, their design leaves no room or need for a mouth, the entire outer skin is armor, with repurposed innards to allow for the highest possible durability… getting rid of the jaw and accompanying throat/vocal cords allows for stronger bone/flesh to be in their place, protecting the head and neck.

Second: Having their mind basically wiped of all higher brain function removes the need to communicate. Their only purpose is to be piloted.

Third: On the subject of the animalistic noises some are capable of producing… the reason would be purely psychological, having this THING that not only slaughters your people by the thousands but also SCREAMS is horrifying. I assume the mechanism for these sounds is added in, because Human vocal cords aren’t able to produce the level of sound they do.

Fuck it, I'm redownloading this game....this lore shit is getting too serious.

Garuda 3 spam... REEEE REEEE REEEE REEE REEEEEEE!

Stynax speaks tho, its not comprehensible but he speaks, also grendel uwu

This also explains why every Warframe can learn roar and warcry, and nourish... This means canonically, every frame has a deep voice, a high voice and the capacity to UwU.

makes dagaths story even more heartbreaking imo :( her story makes me so mad and so sad, as it just reinforces the power imbalance. she would really not been able to say no

Stalker seems to speak and he's technically a Warframe as well, right?

They don't have to speak because Loid never shuts the fuck up

The transformation from human to warframe wasn't simply just turning skin to armour, their internal organs also changed, probably including their vocal chords and mouths as well

It's not that they were purposely made into roaring, screaming moaning or whatever machines, this is just a byproduct that the orokin either couldn't fix or didn't bother to fix

After all, while Ballas can be thought of as the "creator" of the warframes, it was helminth that actually made the changes to the bodies, and by it's will practicality > ability to ASMR

I wonder when we will create a warframe... a new one. This entire time we are just picking up old models of this "old creator", so if one day we manage to use the Orokin/Albrecht technology to create a new one, maybe they will speak? I know warframes are mean to be just "War" Frames but imagine if we use a more "gentle" method to create one, preserving their will and personality like some aspects of Umbra, who let us use him as a Warframe but is actually alive somehow, it would be cool i think

Barruk's Lull

I like to think operators talk through them telepathically/void magically only once they realize what they really are. Before any individual “Second Dream” realization there would probably be no talking, at least not like we hear after that moment. If I was “dreaming” that I was a Warframe then I wouldn’t talk because I think I can’t. But waking up from there and realizing I am more than the warframe probably leads to realizing you can do more(like talking)

Ya know I remember hearing Loid say this too, but I just remembered, unless they changed it the junction specters talk a little bit

Sevagoth and his shadow speak in Call of the Tempestarii

There is another exception, harrow reads the bible to his opponents, then proceeds to crush their skulls using that same bible

Now who made the Stalker then? He can talk just fine through scary whispers.

Why do specters of the rail speak though, I get that they’re specters and not actual frames but who’s speaking for them?

This seems like a good place to say every third cast of Dark Verse sounds like “Hour of Quebec”, and I can’t unhear it.

But the rhino goes roar :(

I'd be nice a few years down the line if we could override that precept, and let our warframes speak. Even once.

Styanax speaks a little when using his abilities, although it’s super mumbled and probably orokin

I have no mouth tho i must scream

I dont think they would speak even if they could. Save for Umbra, theyre not autonomous. More akin to a plant than a person.

i mean it kind of makes sense my crackhead theory is that ballas sealed their voices outside of screaming cause well its ballas he is the CEO of petty and you gave me firecrackers so i will make a flamethower

SPOILERS AHEAD

Umbra shouts a lot, but it's already known that the Orokin weren't the most moral people; they were pretty ruthless, to be honest. Driven by an insatiable thirst for power, they developed Warframes, advanced technology, infested weapons, and enslaved many. Warframes are indeed alive, but their consciousness is in a sort of limbo. They rely on us to inhabit their bodies and move them. For instance, those large creatures in the Sanctum have prototypes of their brains scattered around - some incomplete, some partially formed, and some fully developed, as seen near Loid. The scene suggests that we can control them if we choose to, and that's what worries me.

Operators/Tenno are unique in their ability to connect their minds with different bodies while simultaneously remaining present in our Orbiter. They rest while on our ship but can disembark their Warframe, essentially using it as an exoskeleton, and awaken when necessary. On the other hand, Warframes are confined to a single location and cannot act without guidance.

Kuva, a resource used by the Orokin, was employed to transfer their minds into younger bodies. However, this process only allowed for the complete transfer of consciousness, resulting in the death of the old body or the displacement of the original occupant (indeed, they are monstrous in their actions).

Essentially, we are individuals who can control others without consciousness.

Reminder: Warframes are made with infestation, which the Orokin purposefully created as a weapon. It's their fault that half the system is devastated thanks to it. They infect a body with a different kind of mutation, and the body becomes a Warframe based on traumas and strong emotions. On the Zariman, they talk about it; for example, there's a devastating story about Ember and fire/heat.

I'm unsure if Warframes eat, despite their bodies being flesh. I also don't know if we eat, since the Zariman had food because we were just civilians heading to colonize Tau until the incident occurred, and we made a deal with the devil. I've incorporated a food thing and a bedroom for my Tenno because I have this human thing since I'm human.

From what I understand about the Angels, they were people who couldn't resist how strong the Void was and how deeply it played with their memories.

Regarding Ballas, he's an executioner from the Orokin empire. He converted Natah with tons of tortures, but if I'm not mistaken, the idea is that she was intended as a weapon to kill Tenno and work with the Orokin, not the other way around.

The Orokin created Warframes because they were losing many territories to other forces, including the Sentients. As a desperate measure, they couldn't rely on the Dax anymore (like Teshin). Instead, they wanted something powerful and devastating, a decision that ultimately led to the downfall of future generations.

This is how I interpreted the game's lore, with input from many sources. If something is incorrect or if you understand it differently, I'd love to hear your perspective!

Edit:
What I understand about Dante is this: He's a seeker of knowledge, perhaps too much so. If you, the reader, are familiar with Hermaeus Mora from Skyrim, you can imagine how it will end for him. Dante stumbled upon a powerful book, one that seemed to consume him. Initially, he was losing himself to it, but as Drusus stood by his side despite Dante's disregard for his advice, Dante began to grow stronger and turn the tables. However, Drusus noticed a change in Dante; he became more violent, insatiable for knowledge. Drusus feared the consequences if Dante were to win this battle and the book fell into the wrong hands—it would be disastrous. Ultimately, Drusus convinced Dante to lose the battle, recognizing the peril of allowing him to prevail and the book to fall into the wrong hands. I didn't quite understand the significance of the "We end as we begun" part, but Drusus seemed to fear it. Interestingly, Possesed Albrecht, who was similarly consumed by knowledge like Dante, spoke of the same phrase, hinting at a deeper connection between them and the book.
 

Grendel the fuckin rebel, belching to his hearts content

Ballas created the warframes, and Ballas is a pinnacle narcissist who was unsatisfied with controlling all of the origin system - 2 people.  

 The warframes have mouths (at least some of them do) they can't speak because Ballas wanted it that way and no other reason. There may be some twisted logic in there somewhere, but it exists solely as an excuse for Ballas's actions. He only ever did what he wanted.

There is another interesting quote from Loid that I found which raises some questions about the lore:

• "I remember when we learned of the Warframe insurrections. Their madness, savage and sudden, justifying all the Orokin fear. All their heroic deeds were forgotten in an instant. Those like Dante who had yet to succumb became fugitives. To shelter them meant death - or glassing."

Note that he refers to the "Warframe insurrections" and not the Tenno, as well as "Those like Dante who had yet to succumb became fugitives." Succumbed? To what? Is it possible that the Warframes somehow regained control of their bodies from the Tenno, and chose to exact their revenge on the Orokin? Unlikely. I think that this is suggesting that the Warframes are more than just puppets like Hunhow claims. What if the minds of both the Warframes and their operators are working in tandem? What if the Tenno saw what had been done to the Warframes they had been piloting, what if they realized that they were controlling beings that were once people, people who were, at least according to Ballas, drugged, tortured an eviscerated.

This leaves one question: If the Warframes are conscious, even if a little, why are they unable to move on their own?

I wonder if that means that the infested could speak clearly before operators were a thing and Ballas didnt mute them.

That's cool and all but like... NPCs. Even in real life there is no 'central' sign language, so across a broken solar system? No way. How tf are they getting such complex, at times, thoughts across?

GRENDEL HAS A MOUTH! ON HIS BELLY!

Meanwhile Mirage: ”hehehehehehe”

All the while Ballas is having a meltdown in the background.