The end of the week is upon us! I hope that this post finds you looking forward to an exciting and relaxing weekend.
I decided that I wanted to dedicate this week’s Just For Fun Friday post to J.R.R. Tolkien, in recognition of the anniversary of his birth on 3 January. Little did I know that this ambition would lead me into the world of Elvish – the language created by Tolkien and used in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. There are, apparently, two Elvish dialects – Quenya and Sindarin. Since Quenya is spoken by the High Elves, it is obviously to be given preferred treatment. So here I present a beginner’s guide to Elvish – the Quenya dialect (beyond this, you are on your own).
Pronunciation
Vowels:
á – long ‘aaah’
a – short ‘ah’
é – long ‘eeeh’
e – short ‘eh’
í – long ‘ee’
i – short ‘ih’
ó – long ‘oooh’
o – short ‘o’
ú – long ‘uuuh’ (sounds like ‘oooo’)
u – short ‘uh’
Dipthongs:
ai – aisle
au – house
se – so
ie – yule
oi – oil
ui – ruin
Consonant Oddities:
c – pronounced as ‘k’
h – pronounced as ‘h’ when at the beginning of a word; pronounced as ‘ch’ or ‘k’ when between consonants; silent when ‘hw’, ‘hy’, ‘hl’, or ‘hr’
ng – always pronounced fully, as in ‘finger’
r – pronounced with rolling tongue
s – always unvoiced
y – always pronounced as a hard consonant
qu – pronounced ‘kw’
Useful Phrases
Hi – A
Hail – Ai
I greet you – Gi suilon
You are welcome here – Gi nathlam hí
Sorry – Goheno nin
Yes – No
No – U
I love you – Gi melin
Do you speak Elvish? – Pedig edhellen?
Where are we? – Mi van me?
What are you doing? – Man cerig?
When? – Na van?
Why? – Am man?
Behold! – Alae!
Beware! – No dirweg!
Stop! – Daro!
You smell like a monster – Sevig thu úan
And now you’re good to go! But if you feel the need for more, you can find a full Quenya-English dictionary here. Enjoy!
