Did Sauron refer to Morgoth as "Morgoth" (Sindarin for "Black Foe" or "Dark Tyrant")?

Question

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, I've noticed that Sauron consistently uses the name "Morgoth" when referring to his former master, whether he's speaking with Elves (like Galadriel or Celebrimbor) or even when addressing Orcs. This struck me as odd, given that "Morgoth" is a Sindarin (Elven) word meaning "Black Foe" or "Dark Tyrant"—a name coined by his enemies.

Sauron: [addressing Orcs] Always, after a defeat...
The shadow takes another shape and grows again.
Morgoth is gone.
Leaving us alone and disgraced.

^{- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power S02E01 "Elven Kings Under the Sky" (emphasis mine)}

I would have expected Sauron to use a more respectful or reverential term when referring to Morgoth, perhaps his original name, Melkor (meaning "He Who Arises in Might" in Quenya). It seems strange that Sauron would adopt a name coined by his master's foes.

This could be a case of the Translation Convention trope, where the language is translated for the audience's benefit, especially in scenes with Orcs. Alternatively, the showrunners might be trying to avoid confusing viewers by using multiple names for the same character.

I'm curious about how this is handled in Tolkien's books. Is there any information in the original texts about what Sauron called Morgoth when speaking to Men, Elves, or Orcs during the Second Age (when the events of the show take place)?

Answer 1

Well, certainly, Morgoth always called himself Melkor. In The Silmarillion, when he cursed Hurin, for instance:

There he was bound by the power of Morgoth, and Morgoth standing beside him cursed him again; and he said: 'Sit now there; and look out upon the lands where evil and despair shall come upon those whom thou lovest. Thou hast dared to mock me, and to question the power of Melkor, Master of the fates of Arda. Therefore with my eyes thou shalt see, and with my ears thou shalt hear; and never shalt thou move from this place until all is fulfilled unto its bitter end.’

And Sauron, following his example, called him Melkor when speaking to the Numenoreans, seeking to deceive, as noted in the other answer:

Then behind locked doors Sauron spoke to the King, and he lied, saying: ‘It is he whose name is not now spoken; for the Valar have deceived you concerning him, putting forward the name of Eru, a phantom devised in the folly of their hearts, seeking to enchain Men in servitude to themselves. For they are the oracle of this Eru, which speaks only what they will. But he that is their master shall yet prevail, and he will deliver you from this phantom; and his name is Melkor, Lord of All, Giver of Freedom, and he shall make you stronger than they.’

Speaking more speculatively, though, would Sauron ever have been willing to call Melkor Morgoth?

I think he would have. The main piece of evidence we have is that Sauron seemingly authorizes his disciples, such as the Mouth of Sauron, to call him Sauron, "the abhorrent one," as opposed to his original name of Mairon. He seems to have become sufficiently uninterested in the esteem of his enemies, perhaps even approving of their fear, that he prefers to use this name. Tolkien suggested that it was after the fall of Numenor that Sauron embraced this name, presumably when he could no longer hide behind a pretty face.

Given that, why would he hesitate to call his former master the (accurate) "foe of the world" in the same contexts? Of course, when trying to convince Numenoreans to worship Melkor, he would hardly call him the enemy of everything, but when dealing with people who knew exactly what Melkor was and what he had done, he would not have stood on pretense; clever as he was, he might even have used the term to appeal to their perspective.

Answer 2

The in-universe answer has been covered.

Out of universe, the use of "Morgoth" instead of "Melkor" in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a consequence of the restricted rights to adapt Tolkien's work that the producers relied upon.

Tolkien sold the movie rights to The Lord of the Rings in the 1960's before any of the Silmarillion material was published. (Not only that, Tolkien had begun and abandoned a major reworking of the whole mythology). So the rights didn't cover anything, such as the name of "Melkor", that wasn't in The Lord of the Rings or its appendices at the time.

Answer 3

In "Akallabeth", Sauron says to Ar-Pharazon:

... and his name is Melkor, Lord of All, Giver of Freedom

Other than this we don't have many direct quotes from Sauron.