The Lord of the Rings Page 0,668

Orkish Grishnákh, or Adûnaic (Númenórean) Adûnakhôr. On Dwarvish (Khuzdul) see note below.

L represents more or less the sound of English initial l, as in let. It was, however, to some degree ‘palatalized’ between e, i and a consonant, or finally after e, i. (The Eldar would probably have transcribed English bell, fill as beol, fiol.) LH represents this sound when voiceless (usually derived from initial sl-). In (archaic) Quenya this is written hl, but was in the Third Age usually pronounced as l.

NG represents ng in finger, except finally where it was sounded as in English sing. The latter sound also occurred initially in Quenya, but has been transcribed n (as in Noldo), according to the pronunciation of the Third Age.

PH has the same sound as f. It is used (a) where the f-sound occurs at the end of a word, as in alph ‘swan’; (b) where the f-sound is related to or derived from a p, as in i-Pheriannath ‘the Halflings’ (perian); (c) in the middle of a few words where it represents a long ff (from pp) as in Ephel ‘outer fence’; and (d) in Adûnaic and Westron, as in Ar-Pharazôn (pharaz ‘gold’).

QU has been used for cw, a combination very frequent in Quenya, though it did not occur in Sindarin.

R represents a trilled r in all positions; the sound was not lost before consonants (as in English part). The Orcs, and some Dwarves, are said to have used a back or uvular r, a sound which the Eldar found distasteful. RH represents a voiceless r (usually derived from older initial sr-). It was written hr in Quenya. Cf. L.

S is always voiceless, as in English so, geese; the z-sound did not occur in contemporary Quenya or Sindarin. SH, occurring in Westron, Dwarvish and Orkish, represents sounds similar to sh in English.

TH represents the voiceless th of English in thin cloth. This had become s in spoken Quenya, though still written with a different letter; as in Q. Isil, S. Ithil, ‘Moon’.

TY represents a sound probably similar to the t in English tune. It was derived mainly from c or t+y. The sound of English ch, which was frequent in Westron, was usually substituted for it by speakers of that language. Cf. HY under Y.

V has the sound of English v, but is not used finally. See F.

W has the sound of English w. HW is a voiceless w, as in English white (in northern pronunciation). It was not an uncommon initial sound in Quenya, though examples seem not to occur in this book. Both v and w are used in the transcription of Quenya, in spite of the assimilation of its spelling to Latin, since the two sounds, distinct in origin, both occurred in the language.

Y is used in Quenya for the consonant y, as in English you. In Sindarin y is a vowel (see below). HY has the same relation to y as HW to w, and represents a sound like that often heard in English hew, huge; h in Quenya eht, iht had the same sound. The sound of English sh, which was common in Westron, was often substituted by speakers of that language. Cf. TY above. HY was usually derived from sy- and khy-; in both cases related Sindarin words show initial h, as in Q. Hyarmen ‘south’, S. Harad.

Note that consonants written twice, as tt, ll, ss, nn, represent long, ‘double’ consonants. At the end of words of more than one syllable these were usually shortened: as in Rohan from Rochann (archaic Rochand).

In Sindarin the combinations ng, nd, mb, which were specially favoured in the Eldarin languages at an earlier stage, suffered various changes. mb became m in all cases, but still counted as a long consonant for purposes of stress (see below), and is thus written mm in cases where otherwise the stress might be in doubt. 1 ng remained unchanged except initially and finally where it became the simple nasal (as in English sing). ndbecame nn usually, as Ennor ‘Middle-earth’, Q. Endóre; but remained nd at the end of fully accented monosyllables such as thond’ root’ (cf. Morthond ‘Blackroot’), and also before r, as Andros ‘long-foam’. This nd is also seen in some ancient names derived from an older period, such as Nargothrond, Gondolin, Beleriand. In the Third Age final nd in long words had become n from nn, as in Ithilien, Rohan, Anórien.

VOWELS

For vowels the letters i, e, a, o, u are used, and (in Sindarin only) y. As far