User blog:Getgroundhog/Dragon Shouts or Thu'um concept.

I was just wondering to myself about the concept to have Dragon Shouts as words and a form of communication, I see it as very refreshing the Dragon Lore and that I haven't seen it in anyother series (Books, Movies or Video Games).

Did Bethesda come up with it themselves or does the credit go to another author? I can imagine the idea becoming very popular in the future, almost as big as Tolkien's concept that Orcs share the same ancestors as elves.