Elvish languages

From Free net encyclopedia

Elvish languages are constructed languages used typically by elves in a fantasy setting.

1 Elvish languages of Middle-earth
- 1.1 Pronunciation
2 Other Elvish languages
3 External links

Elvish languages of Middle-earth

Author J. R. R. Tolkien created many languages for Elves to complement his books set in the fictional world of Arda. His interest was primarily philological, and he said his stories grew out of his languages. Indeed, the languages were the first thing Tolkien ever created for his mythos, starting with what he originally called "Qenya", the first primitive form of elvish. This was later called Quenya (High-elven) and, along with Sindarin (Grey-elven), is one of the two most complete of Tolkien's languages. In addition to these two he also created several other (partially derived) languages.

In Tolkien's mythology, these languages originated as follows:

Primitive Quendian (language of the Elves in Cuiviénen)
- Avarin
  - Various Avarin languages (some later merged with Nandorin)
- Common Eldarin (the early language of all the Eldar)
  - Quenya (the language of the Ñoldor and the Vanyar)
    - Quendya (also Vanyarin Quenya) (daily tongue of the Vanyar: closest to archaic Quenya)
    - Ñoldorin Quenya (also Exilic Quenya) (the "Elven Latin" of Middle-earth)
  - Common Telerin (the early language of all the Lindar)
    - Telerin (the language of the Teleri who reached the Undying Lands)
    - Nandorin (languages of the Nandor — some were influenced by Avarin)
      - Original language of Greenwood the Great
      - Original language of Lórinand
    - Sindarin (language of the Sindar)
      - Doriathrin (dialect of Doriath)
      - Falathrin (dialect of the Falas and Nargothrond)
      - North Sindarin (dialects of Dorthonion and Hithlum)

Professor Tolkien also created the Tengwar and Cirth scripts for his languages.

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Pronunciation

Sindarin and Quenya have in most aspects very much the same pronunciation. The following table gives pronunciation for each letter or cluster in international phonetic script and examples:

Vowels

Letter / Digraph	Pronunciation	IPA	Further comment
a	as in father, but shorter. Like fathom	[ɑ]	never as in cat
á	as in father	[ɑː]	/
â	(in Sindarin) as in father, but even longer	[ɑːː]	/
ae	(in Sindarin) the vowels described for a and e in one syllable.	[ɑɛ̯]	Similar to ai
ai	a diphthong, similar to that in eye, but with short vowels	[ɑɪ̯]	never as in rain
au	a and u run together in one syllable. Similar to the sound in house	[ɑʊ̯]	never as in sauce
aw	(in Sindarin) a common way to write au at the end of the word	[ɑʊ̯]	/
e	as in pet	[ɛ]	/
é	the same vowel lengthened (and in Quenya more closed; as in German)	S: [ɛː], Q: [eː]	Rural Hobbit pronunciation allows the sound as in English rain
ê	(in Sindarin) the vowel of pet especially lengthened	[ɛːː]	Rural Hobbit pronunciation allows the sound as in English rain
ei	as in eight	[ɛɪ̯]	never as in either (in neither pronunciation)
eu	(in Quenya) e and u run together in one syllable	[ɛʊ̯]	never as in English or German
i	as in machine, but short	[i]	not opened as in fit
í	as in machine	[iː]	/
î	(in Sindarin) as in machine, but especially lengthened	[iːː]	/
iu	(in Quenya) i and u run together in one syllable	[iʊ̯]	later by men often as in English you
o	open as in British got	[ɔ]	/
ó	the same vowel lengthened (and in Quenya more closed; as in German)	S: [ɔː], Q: [oː]	Rural Hobbit pronunciation allows the sound of "long" English cold
ô	(in Sindarin) the same vowel especially lengthened	[ɔːː]	Rural Hobbit pronunciation allows the sound of "long" English cold
oi	(in Quenya) as in English coin	[ɔɪ̯]	/
oe	(in Sindarin) the vowels described for o and e in one syllable.	[ɔɛ̯]	Similar to oi. Cf. œ!
œ	(in Sindarin) as in German Götter	[œ]	in published writing often oe has falsely been used, as in Nírnaeth Arnoediad!
u	as in cool, but shorter	[u]	not opened as in book
ú	as in cool	[uː]	/
û	(in Sindarin) the same vowel as above, but especially lengthened	[uːː]	/
y	(in Sindarin) as in French lune or German süß, but short	[y]	not found in English
ý	(in Sindarin) as in French lune or German süß	[yː]	/
ŷ	(in Sindarin) as in French lune or German süß, but even longer	[yːː]	not found in English

Consonants (differing from English)

The letter c is always pronounced like the letter k, even before i and e.; for instance, Celeborn is pronounced Keleborn, and Cirth is pronounced Kirth.
The letter g is never pronounced in the soft form, as in giant. For instance, Region is pronounced unlike the English word region.
The letter r is lightly trilled, as in Spanish.
The digraph dh, as in Caradhras, is pronounced like the th in this.
The digraph ch, as in Orch, is pronounced as in German ach.

Most samples of the Elvish language are written out with the Latin alphabet, but within the fiction the languages were written using Tengwar, or occasionally carved in Cirth. Tengwar can however be used to write many other languages.

See also: Languages of Middle-earth

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Other Elvish languages

Since Tolkien, others have invented Elvish languages in their own fiction. Several borrow sounds and forms (or even whole words) from Tolkien's Elvish languages, especially Quenya, while others are quite distinct.

Ssamath, the language of the Dark Elves or Drow of Dungeons & Dragons,
Common Elvish, the language of the surface Elves of D&D (of which there is several dialects)
Eltharin, the language of the elves of Warhammer:
- Fan-Eltharin, the language of the Wood Elves
- Tar-Eltharin, the language of the Sea Elves and High Elves
Elvish language of Andrzej Sapkowski's Hexer saga, based on Welsh and English
The Ancient Language The language of the elves in Eragon Also spoken by the riders.
The Elvish of American Dad!, which is sometimes written in hiragana. It was invented by Dan Vebber. It is distinguished from the other Elvish, who is the Yiddish Elvis.