/2 "

no.303

TOLKIEN'S ELVISH

THESIS

Presented to the Graduate Counoil of the

North Texas State University in Partlal

Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of

MASTER OP ARTS

By

Mary Patricia Tuck, B.A.

Denton, Texas

August, t968

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION . ,

II. NOUNS . . . . . . .,

III. VERBS . . . . * . .

IV. PRONOUNS, ADJECTIVES,STRUCTURE WORDS

V. SYNTAX . * . . . * .

VI. CNOLUSION * . . . .

APPENDIX * . . , . . . . . .

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . .

ADVERBS, AND OTHER

0 00 0000 0 0

iii

Page

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* 23

. 29

. 35

, 38

. 52

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Three years ago the fantasy trilogy The of the

Riug, by J.R.Ro Tolkien, was published in paperback in the

United States. Virtually overnight a Tolkien cult arose,

and Tolkien societies were formed dedicated to the minute

study of all aspects of the books. The trilogy had first

been published In 1956 in hardback copies, but it was not

until the appearance of the paperback books that Middle-

Barth was within reach of everyone. The craze manifested

itself in messages scrawled on walls proclaiming that Frodo

lives, in buttons bearing similar slogans, in students

memorizing detailed genealogical charts of obscure kings

of Numenor, and in ardent conversations between people who

had nothing in common but their love for Hobbita. Perhaps

it is because the 2 of te Rings belongs to no school

of contemporary literature that it captured the admiration

of college students aaross the country.1

The trilogy is peopled with such creatures as Elves,

noble men, wizards, dwarves, and hobbits, who are curious

home-loving creatures singularly unfit for mythic adventures.

IJ. Mathewson, "Hobbit Habit," Esuire, LXVI (Septelnber,1966), 130.

I

2

However, it is the hobbit Frodo whose tasZ it is to destroy

a oprtain magic ring that has come into his possession.

This Is the One Ring# and it must be destroyed before it

falls into the hands of Sauron, the Dark Lord, and all free

people of MiddlqeEarth are enslaved. The outcome is inev-

itable; good triumphs over evil, but the quest is not with

out its dangers. The evil of the Dark Lord makes the way

difficult, and death results for some of Prodo's companions

on his Journey# In the end, the One Ring is destroyed,

Sauron's power crumbles, azd the acestsful completion of

the quest heralds the ending of one world ago and the begin-

ning of another.

The Loo of the , is a testament to olkien's im-

agination. He has created an entire mythology for his

fantasy country of Middle-Earth, provided the reader with

detailed maps, and even invented Unguages for his fantastic

people, the most important of which is Elvish. This language

is spoken by Elves, noble men, wizards, and educated hobbits

like Prodo; it is used for ceremonial purposes and in songs,

chants, and charms.

Talkien is well qualified to deal with such linguistic

inventions as Elvish. As a philologist, he has published

studies of AnglooSaxon and Middle English language and lit-

erature, including 4 Mi4410 english Vocabulary., eowulfs jh

Monster ndthe OriflQ, an4 an edition of ijg lwaine and

3

the GreennIht. He taught both Anglo-Saxon and English

language and literature at Oxford University until his

retirement in 1959. he . o.f was begun as

a philological exercise; the story was apparently created

to provide a world for his invented languages, primarily

Rlvish.2

The trilogy, which consists of The Fellowship of the

Ring, Tw oTowers, and Th u of i, contains

a number of poems which were set to music in a song cycle

called The Road Goes Ever Ou. All of Tolkien's linguistic

comments on Elvish are found in the appendix to the last

book of the trilogy, The Leturn of the , and in the

notes accompanying several songs in The Goes Ever On,

although Elvish words, phrases, and poems are scattered

throughout the books. This thesis is a critical analysis

of Tolkien's Elvish.

This critical analysis is motivated in the same way as

critiques of other aspects of literary art, such as plot,

characterization, and structure. The latter are subject to

critical evaluation precisely because they are a part of the

writer's creative art. Elvish is also the product of the

artist's creativity. The fact that Tolkien is a trained

philologist and distinguished language scholar and has

obviously lavished much time and effort on Elvish make this

created language a valid area for analysis and criticism.

2Edmund Wilson, The Bit Between &Teeths A tranigle of 195O1 TNow o ,196T5), p. 328.

4

The actual amount of Elvish that occurs in the texts

is slight. There are only 349 Elvish words for which an

English gloss is given. These words may be found in the

Appendix; their source in the texts is listed beside them,

Tolkien provides glosses for fifteen complete sentences,

some of which are contained in poems. Seventeen sentences

are ugtranslated; these are mostly chants, exclamations,

and charms.

Tolkien has provided glosses for eleven of these

fifteen sentences in the notes to T Road4 Goes Ever On.

These sentences occur in two poems and an invocation, the

complete texts of which appear in Chapter V. These poems

are a valuable source of information on Slvish sentence

structure and Elvish inflection.

The primary difficulty in dealing with this language

is the paucity of available data. This discussion of Elvish

can only function within the limits of the data, and deals

with morphological and syntactical aspects of the language

only.

The general characteristics of Elvish are that it is

an inflected language and its syntax is based primarily on

word order. Elvish consists of two dialects, the Grey-

Elven ot Sindarin, and the HighwElven or Quenya. Quenya

is no longer used for common speech, but is the language of

ceremonies, and "high matters of lore and song."5 Sindarin

3J.R.R. Tolkien, ThReturn o of the King (New York, 1965),p. 506.

5

was in origin akin to Quenya, and was in daily use among the

Elves in The Lord g the Ri&. Both dialects are inflected,

and in some cases, words in the two dialects are identical

in form and meaning. Because of the nature of the trilogy

and the Elvish used in it, more Quenya words and sentences

occur than Sindarin. Most of the poems and chants are in

Quenya, and more than twice as many single words appear in

Quenya as Sindaria.

The aspects of Elvish to which Tolkien devotes most of

his comments are those of the Elvish alphabets and Elvish

phonology. He discusses the pronunciation of the vowels and

consonants, as well as the stress of spoken Elvish both in

the prose and poetic modes. Since there is no native speaker

of Elvish against whose performance we may measure Tolkien's

discussion, these aspects of Elvish will not be considered.

However, it is possible to measure Tolkien's statements

about the morphology and syntax of both Sindarin and Quenya

against the reality of the language.

In view of the extent of the available data, all that

can be attempted here is a description of Elvish Morphology

and syntax in light of both the evidence and Tolkien's

cnments about it.

OHAPIER II

NOUNS

Sindarin

All of the seventy-wfive words in this dialect which

can be classified as nouns by the English gloss end in a

consonant. This seems to indicate the presence of a con-

straint in Sindarin which will not permit a noun to end in

a vowel.

In Sindarin only one pattern of noun inflection is

evident. This patterA includes the singular, plural, and

group plural forms; it is classified in terms of how the

plurals are formed. The plural ending for Sindarin nouns

is i added to the stem, which is either consonantal or

vocalic.

Qon2onantal jj +-in

The six nouns which possess a consonantal stem in

this dialect form their plural by adding in to this

stems l, pl. i and o, ss, ,and jhnd.

Voealic 8t2 +-in

Of the sil nouns of this type, only three are given

in complete form,

6

SilarPlural

adAn edain

dinadan dUnedain

perian pertain

talan ---

- - - or bain

--- "hithlaiu

Some of these -stema show an internal vowel change where

back vowels are fronted, but no definite rule can be

established because of lack of data.

This analysis assumes that the stems of these forms

actually end in "a. The plural is formed in the same way

as for the consonantal stems, by adding 'in to the stem.

The general rule then that prohibits the occurrence of a

vowel at the end of a noun introduces the syllable-closing

nasal uzL to form the singular.1 This approach has an

obvious advantage in that it leads to greater regularity

in the processes of inflection in the language, since it

identifies only one plural morpheme. The alternative

approach requires an unnecessary inflectional pattern

which would infix the vowel -t- between the a and the -n.

11t $s possible to argue that the -1 is the pluralending for both classes. The general rule against finalvowels then would add -n to any noun ending in a vowel,producing eli from !iredi from gdj, as well AS $from ada. " oFiever, We data are too scarce to permita deeflon on this question,

7

8

Thus, the argument for accepting this analysis is the

familiar appeal to simplicity.

One of these words, dinadan "man of the West," is a

compound. The first element is 4j "West" and the second

element is "man." On the basis of the structure of

this and other compounds in SInd&rin, we may conclude that

compounding oecasions no morphophonomie adjustments in the

two morphemes being joined.

It is possible to hypothesize the plural of l and

the singular of porbsin and hithlai on the basis of the

three complete forms, but there is no evidence for these

forms.

SPlurals

Tolrien maintains that Sindarin plurals are primarily

formed by means of vowel change, but although there are

vowel changes present in Sindarin plurals, endings are mote

often used to form plurals.

gig a -f h

The suffix =a indicates what Tolicien refers to as

a group plural. This is a type of noun dealing with things

of the same name, or things associated in some special

arrangement or organization. Itowever, this is not a

separate class of nouns, but rather another inflected

2J.R.R. Tolkien, Te d Goes ever On (Boston, 1967),p. 66.

9

form of the noun, as In the Greek dual form* The glosses

of these nouns are always plural.

Plural cle

Pheriannath Halflings

eunorath middlemlands

elenath star-bosts

Ljossoth Snowmen

ngaurhoth --

One of these five nounst Pheriangath, is the group

plural for perian, pl. periaiv 1io explanation is given

by Tolkien for the initial change of /p/ to /ph/; in

another ease is spelled pherijn. This may have

been an accidental mistake on Tolkien's part, or it may

be that the spellings are interebangeable. 1norath

appears in the singular form as j "Middle-Barthot

111a.%th contains the Quenya element el "star" and is

related to il, pl. .

The basis for forming these plurals seems to be the

addition of math or moth to the end of nouns, but as can

be seen in the case of elgnath and Meri nuath, this is

not necessarily true. It would be impossible to determine

the rule that governs the formation of these group plurals,

because there are not enough examples to justify any

judgment.

3The Retrn f th g, p. 285.

10

As a rule, - follots front vowels, and zs1 S

follows back vowels. However, Isnorath is an exception

to this, and it would not be safe to formulate a rule with

so few examples.

ang With oClassifIcation

There art sixteen nouns in Sindarin that do not fall

into any of the previous forms.

Sin alar Pural

oroh yrch

ithildina*--

nguruthos ---

Ithildin, a substance used in inscriptions, is related to

"Moon." The -din ending may be derivational, but

there are no other examples of nouns of this type for

comparison. pgrpthol ieems to be related to ugaurhoth,

but it is impossible to determine If this is the case

because of lack of translation.

Quenya

Singular and Plurals

class QI

Singular = Stem + vowel {(a/zO/4i)Plural = Vowel + -&

=.a rie

11I

There are thirty-nine nouns in Quenya Class QI which

form their singular and plural by means of -a, -ar. Only

four of these -a series nouns are given with both singular

and plural, but either form may be inferred for the otter

thirty-five nouns.

Siagular

alda

fana

tehta

tiMa

*01ural

Aldar

fanar

tehtar

tomar

Certain nouns such as yulma and a3mw. may 1e projected in

the plural into * lmar and *calzar; for Otherg the singular

can be projected, as in *fanya, p1. fanya.

Of the five nous in the 'o series, only one, noldo,

Pl. asiaox, is given in complete form, but the plurals for

the other four can be formed according to this pattern.

Iiangilar

noldo

tinco

ando

auto

telco

nol4or

*tincor

*andor

*antor

*teloor

12

In this series, only ,equil is given in both forms,

and the other three nouns of thigh class presumably form

their plurals as 22 does.

glngular

enquil

hisim

morni

yiviU,

enquier

*hisir

*mornier

*yavier

Class QII

Si gular = $Plural = Stem + +

Only five of the eight aduns in this class re given

in the complete form, while others appear only in the

plural, but it is probable that they belong in this class.

Singu4

ele-u

mir

palantir

silmaril

yen

starr

Pluaral

eleni

miri

palantTri

silmarilli

yvni

istari

lassi

oro-mardi

13

In the case of iarilll, the final /1/ is doubled before

the pluralizing element -. is added; possibly this is done

only with /l/, but it is also probable that the /s/ in

M is doubled. It is impossible to determine the

singular of lassie and oro-?ardi from the data, but *istar

"wizard" is probably the singular of istari.

Class QIII

Singular = Stem + -onPlural = Stem + initial vowel change + -ny

Singular Plural

amon emyn

*annol ennyn

*aron eryn

The singular is given only in the case of amon, pl. .n.,

and using this noun as a model, the singulars for the other

nouns may be projected, and the initial vowel change can

also be hypothesized.

wth N oClas sification

The twelve nouns in Quenya which belong to no pre-

viously mentioned class have endings which resemble none

of those previously mentioned. elentari "Starqueen" is a

compound of 0 which belongs to Class QII, and taxi,

which does not belong to any class. Other nouns with no

class are iir, an, mellyrn, and others. It is

14

possible that some of these nouns belong to Class QII,

but the scarcity of data cannot justify any judgment.

Evidence for Case in Elvish

Sindarin

Genitive

In Sindarin, the simple genitive is usually expressed by

placing the genitival noun in what Tolkien calls adjectival

position, which in Sindarin is after the primary nottn 4

The genitive endings have been lost, and any genitive

element is missing.

Genitive P

Ennyn Durin Aran Moria Doors (of) DurinKing (of) Moria

Ernil i Pheriannath Prince (of) theHalflings

Tolkien's term "adjectival position" is misleading, for

there is no example in Sindarin of an adjective in this

position, after the primary noun. The term would have to

have a functional meaning which Tolkien does not explain.

Quenya

Genitive

The following five nouns exhibit evidence for the

genitive case in Quenya.

4The Road Goes Ever On, p. 67.

15

Nominative Genitive

Oalaeirya Oalaciryo

tari tario

Varda Vardo

lar arello

alda aldaron (pl.)

The genitive ending is either substituted for the nominative

ending, or added to it, as in the case of . It is

possible that -*ello In *arello "of the Great Sea" is an

augmenting suffix in the genitive. Adaron "of trees"

seems to demonstrate the genitive plural ending of -on.

Evidence of the genitive case is derived primarily

from the English gloss. Tolkien deals with the case of

several words in his explication given in the notes of

T a Goes Ever On, but nowhere does he give a thorough

discussion of case.

Ageugative

The only evidence for the accusative case in Quenya

is presented in the following two phrases.

nj talimar. Now lost is Valimar.

Nai ir uva-lLe Vallmar. Be it that thou willfind Valimar.

alimar appears once in the nominative position and once in

the objective position, and the form of the word does not

change. It appears from this instance that there is no

accusative or objective case in Quenya on the basis of

the available data.

_ ObLiqueForms

There also seems to be evidence for one or more oblique

cases in Quenya.

Que Form

lirinen

strinen

Ramello

0iolosso

Endorenna

GlosS

in song

in the wind

from the East

from Mount Everwhite

to Middle-Earth

The three final forms perhaps deal with a locative case,

and the first two could be restricted to figurative or

abstract language. It is difficult to make judgments

because of the lack of data.

9g prison of Dtaleotioal 3dingo

The following section summarizes the inflectional

endings for Sindarin and Quenya nouns.

Undarin

Singular =Plural = Consonantal

Stem + -inVocalic em+ O-in

Class QI

Singular = Stem + VowelPlural = Vowel + o

17

Siadarin na

Group Plural = *Stem + Olass QII-ea/q th

Singular = $Plural = Stem + -in

Class QIII

Singular = Stem + -onPlural = Stem + initial

vowel change +

OHAPTZR III

VERBS

Sindarin

Sindarin texts contain only eight verbs. Their

definition as verb forms is based on their English glosses.

The only inflectional category for which there is more than

a single occurrence is that of the imperative, for which

there are three examples.

Imperative

daro ?

edro open

tiro look towards

Apparently from these three forms, -o is either the only

ending or an ending for this inflectional category.

Tolkien provides an example of a present and a past

participle, the only difference between the two forms

being an accents present palaudiriel, past paandIriel.

Tolkien maintains that this word, as well as the imperative

are related to the stem tir "to look at (towards),

watch, watch over."I

1 R e t oe On, p. 65.

18

19

The other verbs in Sindarin occur singly, and show

no similarity to other forms.

Present !T

1st Slgular nallon

3rd Singular penna

lst Singular liinathon

I cry

slants down

I will chant

quenya

Because there are more verb forms available in Quenya,

it is possible to draw more conclusions about these forms.

The present tense third person singular and plural offers

the most possibilities in this case.

3rd Singular caita

3rd plural

un- tupa

ni

lantar

tint ilar

lies

covers

is

fall

twinkle, tremble

It may be observed that the singular ends in op, and the

plural in -ar. However, we do not have an instance of a

verb appearing in both the singular and the plural, so it

Is impossible to tell if these verbs belong to the same con-

jugation, or if all Quenya verbs have ofly one present form.

20

Imperative

noro ride

minno enter

pedo speak

Like the Sindarin imperative, these also end in -0, possibly

indicating a relationship between the dialects.

The only example of a present subjunctive in either

dialect is nai "be it that." The present indicative is

d "is" but we have no indication that this verb is

regular, since this is the only example we have.

1st Singular

The two consistent examples in the first person

si4$ular of the past tense are ag&n "I gave" and chbn

"I kept." It may be that an lg or an "in ending deter-

mines this tense, but it may also be that these twa verbs

belong to different classes, in which case no classification

would be possible. "I have not kept" u.chebin is the

negative of chebin, but there is no other example of a

negative formed in this manner. This may be an exception,

or may be the standard manner of forming negatives. The

other form in this group is jc3jnt "I made." It does not

fit the pattern presented by the other forms, and probably

belongs to another class.

21

3rd Singular

The forms ortgAe "lifted up" and undu-ljve "don-

licked, drowned" are the two consistent examples in this

group, and it can be seen that they both end in we. Another

form, teithant "drew," probably is part of another class,

and may be related to jchfl "I made." Both forms appear

in the same inscription, and are translated according to

the gloss which Tolkien provides. The element ur. which

appears in andu-ligve and ujn-tupa may be an intensive

element, or may be directional, since the gloss of both

words indicates a direction, "down-licked" and "down-roofs."

Two verbs in the Quenya past tense are translated

with "have"s chebin "I have kept" and v4ai-r "have

passed away," These may be special perfected inflectional

forms, but because of the lack of similarity between the

two verbs, there is no hope of drawing valid conclusions

about them.

futur Tense

There are only three examples of the future tense,

one each in the first, second, and third person singular.

Singular maruvat I will abide

hir-uva-lys f ind-wilt-thou

en-quant-uva refill-will

It appears from these forms that the element uva is either

a sign of the future tense which is translated "will, " or

22

that this element means "will." The order of the morphemes

in the gloss is Tolkien's, and may be some indication that

the uva element is to be translated as "will."

Passive Voice

In the poem "NamiriM,'P a construction appears which

may be passive construction. Si L 1u 1 . Vtlimar "Now

lost is Valimar." This could be the use of a verb as au

adjective, but nowhere else does this occur. On the other

hand, nowhere else does it oour as a passive construction.

The difficulty Xn discussing the verb forms in either

dialect is the scarcity of the available data. Tolkien

himself does not discuss verbs, nor does he provide us

with enough examples to comment adequtSely on them,

2Id*0 .,p. 59.

CHAPTER IV

PRONOUNS, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, AND

OTHER STRUCTURE WORDS

Some words in Sindarin and Quenya are indeclinable and

must be discussed in separate groups.

Sindarin

In Sindarin the groups of indeclinable words may be

classified as pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, and

affixes.

Pronouna.

The two examples of pronouns in Sindarin are le "to

thee" and nin "me." Tolkien explains 3 as being a rev-

erential second person singular; this pronoun occurs in

an invocation. The pronoun nin is translated as an ob-

jective in the phrase "watch over me."

Adjectives

Of the eight instances in this dialect of adjectives,

six of them exhibit enough structural similarity to suggest

that they belong to three different inflectional classes.

Both "dazzling-white" and andros "long-foam" have an

TheRod Goes EveEr On, p. 64.

23

24

-os ending, and may form an inflectional class of adjectives.

The second pair Is lithui "ashy" and fanui "cloudy." These

adjectives may be derivational (Noun + -ui = adjective?).

The last pair, jgsn "snowy" and silivren "glittering,"

may also be derivational. The other two adjectives,

miriel "sparkling like jewels" and remain "woven, tangled,"

are totally dissimilar and do not resemble the other three

pairs of adjectives.

Tolkien indicates that four of these adjectives are

singular litai, an $ il*vren, and . The only

indication to classify the remaining adjectives is the

English glosses which Tolkien provides.

Prepositions

The three examples of prepositions in Sindarin are

di "beneath," ef "on this side of," and o "from, of."

Afflxes and ther linables

Several elements in Sindarin are important particles

and form the basis of a number of Sindarin words. One of

these elements is &1, "bright spark." This element forms

the first part of many proper names, such as Gtlraqn,

Glgalad, oGilthniel, and GIlder (The element el "star"

is its Quenya equivalent.).2

The particle pe "half" forms the basis of such words

as peredhil "half-elven" and r "halfling." However,

2 bi d., p. 65,

25

this element is a prefix, uuli1ke , which is apparently

a free morpheme.

Another element is -on, which seems to be an augmenting

suffix, though it only appears once. In the invocation "A

Elbereth Gilthoniel," er "oedaa" occurs, and in the same

line we have 9earon "great ocean." It is probable that

this element is an augmenting suffix, but it cannot be

established positively on the basis of one occurrence.

The fourth indeclinable particle in Sindarin is st

"here." It appears in the same invocation.

Quenya

In Quenya, the indeclinable words are divided into

pronouns, adjectives, conjunctions, prepositions, and other

affixes.

Preorugas

Of the five pronouns that we have in Quenya, two of

them deal with the first person singular: nin "me" and

gni "(for) myself." The form Digl is identical in form

and meaning to the Sindarin pronoun discussed above.

Two examples of "thou" occur in the poem "Namrig":

hir-uva-lye "find-wilt-thou" and elle "even thou." It

appears from these two forms that the Quenya for "thou"

is U, which is similar to the reverential le in Sindarin.

If this is the case, the prefix q= in g would be an

intensifying affix.

26

The only occurrences of the third person singular in

the Quenya texts are two instances of feminine possessivess

OaMa-yo, which is literally translated as "voice-hers,t"

and mi-Ua-l, which is literally translated as "hands-her-

two," The difference between the two forms roo and M

could be the distinction between the singular and plural

of these possessive forms.

The final pronoun form that is found in Quenya is man

"who." It occurs in the same poem in a nominative position,

and the gloss indicates that it is an interrogative pronoun.

Adet1Ives

Tolkien indicates that five of the eleven adjectives

given in this dialect are singular. Of these five, three

have the same -e endings - "holy," sse "sweet " and

Losse "Show-white." The remaining two, l1arin "glorious"

and sd"grey," do not share the same ending, and do not

belong with the ;-e endings,

Of the four plural adjectives, two have a probable -e

ending and two a probable ,I ending. One pair, "all"

and i "Ovift," possibly belongs to the same class. The

other pair, y "iany" and "blue," would belong to

another class.

One adjective is found in both the singular and the

plural and, if it is regular, would represent still an

other class: lau p laurie "golden."

27

Adverbials

Three of the four adverbials that occur in Quenya texts

end in -es sinome "in this place," i "everlastingly,"

and Un0time "innumerable, uncountable." The exception is

at "now." This adverbial is undoubtedly related to !n2m!

"in this place" and to the Sindarin si "here." Thus the

form si in Elvish may have either temporal or spatial meanings.

Prepositions, Oonjunotions, and Relative Particles

The six prepositions in Quenya are mi "in (the)," v

"of," pilla "beyond," I t"out of," iu "under," and nuar

"upon."

The three conjunctions in this dialect are a "and,"

ar "andt" and ve "like, as." The number of prepositions

and conjunctions in Quenya is noticeably greater than that

of Sindarin.

Tolkien identifies ZaggeR "in which" as a plural. The

English gloss of this word seems to indicate that it is a

relative particle.

Affixes gandO thr ljndeelInables

As in Sindarin, many particles in Quenya form the basis

of other words, such as the element el "star," which Tolkien

calls, without explanation, an "ancient element."3 It forms

the root of elen, pl. el "star," as well as the first

element of many proper names such as r and Elbereth.

3M

28

Another element is Sj.* This untranslated prefix

appears in words dealing with stars and sparks, such as

the verb tV lar "sparkle, glitter," and the noun tiwe

"spark," and the proper name TIAlle, which means "she

that causes sparkling, kindles lights.

The element o or o "ever, everlastingly," forms

the basis of the adverbial 01jle "everlastigly," as well

as the Quenya name for Mount Bterwhite, Otolosse.

The stem %ot. acordIng to Tolkienr is applied to

5fAllen snow. The forms in this dialect are the adjective

l0 se "snow-white" and the noun loge "snow," This stem

also appears in Sindarin in the oua Lose "enow" and in

the Sin4arin noun for the Snowmen, Lossoth.6

The definite article in Quenya is I "the," and since

the form appears in both the singular and the plural, it is

probable that it is indeclinable.

As usual, more information and data are available for

the disession of Quenya than Sindarin.

p. 61.

p. 62.

OHAPTER V

SYNTAX

Sindarin and Queiya exhibit enough similarity in the

available texts that it can be assumed that their syntax ig

the same. Although both dialects are inflected# the texts

provided by Tolkien indicate that the syntax of Elvish is

based primarily on word order. To simplify matters in the

discussion of Elvish syntax, the sentences in the Elvish texts

have been nmbered.

Sindarin

A ELBERETH GILTHONIEL

(1) A 9Blbereth Gl-athodt, silivren

0 Blbereth Star-kindler, (white) glittering slants-down

m men01 4R- ,I th

sparkling like jewels from firmament glory (of) the star-hostt

(2) Na-chaered ?alan- -dire o

to-remote distance after.havingea gazed from

galadhEr a in enorath, PanuiloB, innAtion

tree-tangled middle-lands, Fanullos, to thee I will chant

29

30

aear OT nef

on this side of ocean here on this side of the Great Ocean.

INVOCATION

(3) A BlobwerOth R oniel .j Men Paan-wdarie tth

gazing afar to thee

nacron si di-neauthes tm

I ory here beneath--death-horror.

(4) l towar,

look towards

me, Panulloit

Quenya

NAMXRIB

( Alas leaves. fll gewinn, yesi -not-oime

Alas I leaves fall golden windloin, years not-wcount-oable

ve qldlron raar.

as trees-of wings,

(6) _rni avinte

Years have passed away like swift

yuldax lIsse!mirvir9va ma oro-zuardi Adu

draughts sweet--nectarz-of in the high-halls West

PellaL Lrdo aw lug ,tqlluxar,

beyond (the borders of) Varda's under blue domes,

I heR Road Goaes er La, p. 64.

2J.RfR. Tolkien, T woTowers (New York, 1965), p. 430.

31

jaggea tintilar I fejni maryo fl-nen are-trio

which-in twinkle the stars voice-hers song-in holy queen's.

(7)S i man i yulzani enqant"uva? (8)M iTNow who the cup me-for refill-will? For now

Vrd Tintil4@ Lett riortane isa-t

Yarda Star-kindler, Star-queen lifted up hands-her-two

0X-lozsVo Y fanraral mble

Ever-white-from like (white) clouds and (heavy) shadow

4du-Rve fe, flj ; a flntnoie-llo mri

down-licked all roads; and grey-country-from darkness

i falma-li-nar imbe met ar

lies the foaming waves-many-upon between us-two and

Sgalac 44 ial.

mist down-roofs Kalakirya's jewels everlastingly.

(9) nu Log iRmello an , alimar*

Now lost is, (to one) from the East lost# Valmar.

(10) NaSSEiEu nai hira valy Vallmar, (1i) Nai

Farewell? be it that find wilt-thou alimar Be

Olz hi-uva. Saa ri 3

it that even thou find will (it). Fariwalli

he G ses Ever P. 58.

32

From these poems it may be seen that in most cases

the verb follows the subject. This is true in sentence 5,

lagsi iaSar "leaves fall," and in sentence 6, flj avier

"years have passed away," and m ruliM dita "darkness lies."

In sentence 7, which is the only example of a question that

the texts provide, the verb en-uant"uvA "refill-will"

appears at the end. In all other cases, the Verb appears

in the same position as it does in Bxglish.

Objects generally follow the verb in both dialectess

undulave ilye tilt"down-licked all roads" in sentence 8,

and tlntilar i eleni "twnkle the stars" in sentence 6. In

sentence 7, the object precedes the verbs I g en-us~t-

Laz "the cup refill-will."

From these texts also may be seen the fact that adjectives

generally precede their nounss l i telJgmar "blue domes" in

sentence 6; alaiUremm Aeunorath "tree-tangled middle-lands"

in sentence 3; and lispe-miruv re "sweet nectar" in sentence 6,

Tolkien maintains that both Siudarin and Quenya are highly

inflected languages. However, when he arranges thee poems

into what he terms "a clearer and more normal ptyle," the

syntax depends more on word order and placement thAn it does

on inflection,5 The fact that there is no accusative case in

either dialect is peculiar iii a highly inflected language, but

in Quenya there are three nouns with prepositional endings.

4 Ibid., p. 60 5lbid.., p. 58.

33

The pattern of affixes and Inflectional endings in

Elvish is that of suffixes. Compounds are frequently

found in both dialects, and in the texts of these poems

Tolkien has indicated them by means of a hyphen.6$uch

endings as ,h in eleneth and ennorath pad - in mtr,

iufl, and j are suffixes.

The poetic mode seems to be more highly developed in

Quenya than in Sindarin 'Both Sindarin poems are presented

and translated from their poetic form, and no adjustment

has to be made from that form* The Quenya poem has been

changed considerably and placed into a clearer form. This

poem appears below in the poetic form.

NAMIRI!

Ail lauril lantar lassi sflrinenAylnt fnotime ve ramar aldarontYUni 'e linte $uldar avfniermi ore-mardi lisse-miruvOrevaAdfte pella Vardo telluiarnu luini, yassen tintilar i eleniOmaryo aire-ttri-lTrinen.ST man I yulma ain enquantuvatAn si Tintafle Varda 01olossiove fanyar miryat Elentiri ortanear Ilye tilr undu-lave lumbule;ar sindawnori.1lo caita mornii falmalinnar imbe met, ar iTsiOun-tupa Calaoiryo mri otale.si vanwa ni, Romello vanwa, ValimartNatafril.1 lai hiruvalyeValimar.Nal olye hiruva. Namlri 51

In this poem, the last five lines remain unchanged

when placed in normal style. Frequently the poetic syntax

6Ibide 7bid.

34

places nouns before adjectives$ telluaar nu luini instead

of nu l te mar "under blue domes " subjects after

verbs cait; morniA as opposed to maorni ta "darkness

lies"; and objects before verbs; maryat ort ne stead of

rtj maryat ifted up handswher-two."

Elvish syzitax seems to be governed more by word order

than by inflection, although its inflectional system does

contribute more than the inflectional system of English

does. The freedom allowed in the poetic forms of Elvish

is not enough to claim that word order is unimportant in

Elvish poetry.

CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSION

It may be seen from this survey of Elvish that the

two dialects differ in inflectional endings, but have a

similar syntactic structure. Sindarin has only one class

of nouns, and a peculiar ending of -math which Tolkien

characterizes as a group plural, but which actually more

closely resembles a mass noun. Quenya has three classes

of noups, and evidence of a genitive and an oblique case;

there is basically no evidence for an accusative case in

either Sindarin or Quenya.

Sindarin verb forms are those of imperative and

present tense, with a single example of a future tense.

Quenya verbs are primarily in the third person, present,

past, and future, Sindarin has one example of a participle,

while Quenya shows some evidence for a passive construction.

Both dialects contain a fairly large number of function

words, although Quenya has the larger vocabulary and more

data is available for this dialect. Sindarin contains

pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, and affixes. Quenya

contains pronouns, adjectives, conjunctions, prepositions,

affixes, and a single instance of a relative particle, The

affixes in both dialects frequently appear as elements in

proper names.

35

36

Much of the evidence concerning Elvish syntax is

found in Tolkien's notes accompanying the poems set to

music in Yi A& 22 ft 2 In these notes Tolkien

states that Quenya is a highly inflected language, a

statement that does not seem to agree with the evidence.

It would seem that the lack of an accusative case in this

dialect would preclude a high degree of inflection. Elvish

syntax is more dependent on its inflectional system than is

English, but it does not seem to be the only or the major

factor governing the syntax.

Although the need for more evidence is obvious, it

can be seen from this discussion that Blvish is a believable

language and resembles natural languages in several respects.

Elvish demonstrates a high degree of internal complexity,

and is not overly consistent, as most created languages

tend to be; this aspect of the language is similar to

natural languages. flvish also has system in it, and

contains more than one pattern of inflectional endings.

This too is like natural languages. Tolkien has taken

such care with the creation and proofregding of Elvish

that in one place he corrects the placement of an accent

which had escaped his notice in reading the proofs of

earlier editions. The only incident of error seems to

be the question of the spelling of perian, which in one

Ibid., p. 64.

37

instance is spelled pherian. All of these aspects of

Elvish make it a believable language and one that re"

sembles natural languages.

APPENDIX

The first part of this glossary contains words for which

a gloss has been provided. The following abbreviations will

be used to indicate parts of speech N - noun, I :;: verb,

A = adjective, A = adverb, S conjunction, frej = prep

osition, fgon = pronoun. Any other parts of speech used

will be written out in full, The sources for Elvish will

also be abbreviteds RGEO = The Road Gos vetr O, I = Volume

I in the trilogy, Fellowship o fthe flg, II = Volume II,

|Towes, III = Volume III, The Return of th

A word is in the Quenya dialect unless otherwise indicated

by means of an (S).

a 2 and (1, 399)

adan, edain (S) N man (RGEO, 66)

aduil (S) N evening (III, 485)

aear (S) A ocean (RGEO, 65)

aearon (S) N great ocean (RGEO, 65)

aglar (S) I glory (RGO, 65)

aba ! rage (III, 500)

Alt Intejeetion alas (RGEO, 59)

aire A holy (RGEC, 69)

alcar A glory (RGRO, 65)

alearin A glorious (RGEO, 65)

38

39

alda, aldar N tree (RGEO, 65)

aldaron N of trees (RGEO, 58)

Alduya N day of the week (III, 484)

alph (S) N swan (III, 488)

amon, emyn N hill (III, 490)

Amon Amroth N Mount Doom (III, 393)

ampa N hook (III, 500)

Anarya N day of the week (III, 484)

anca N jaws (III, 500)

ando N gate (III, 500)

andros (S) A long-foam (III, 490)

anga N iron (III, 500)

anim Pron (for) myself (III, 426)

anor (S) N sun (1, 321)

anna N gift (III, 500)

annun (S) West (III, 500)

amriln (S) N East (III, 500)

ann-thennath (S) N a certain mode of poetry or song (I, 260)

anto N mouth (III, 500)

ar 0 and (RGEO, 58)

ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar metta and my heirs, unto theending of the world (III, 303)

arda N region (111, 500)

aran N lord (I, 399)

are N sunlight (III, 500)

Argonath (S) N pair of royal stones (RGEO, 67)

40

asga aranion N kingsfoil, an herb (III, 172)

-ath (S) Bound Morpheme group plural ending (RGEO, 66)

athelas (S) N kingsfoil, an herb (III, 172)

avanier V have passed away (RGEO, 58)

baran A golden brown (III, 520)

bereth (S) N spouse, as one who is the spouse of a king,(RGEO, 6)

cair (S) N ship (III, 416)

calacirya N light-cleft (RGEO, 62)

calma N lamp (III, 498)

celeb N silver (III, 487)

chebin V I have kept (III, 426)

cirth N runes (III, 495)

coirg N stirring, spring (III, 480)

coronar N solar year (III, 480)

crebain (S) N black crows (I, 373)

curunir ? N the man of skill (III, 455)

di- (S) r beneath (RGEO, 64)

duin N (large) river (III, 520)

di'nadan, danedain (S) N man of the West (1,307)

gar N ocean (RGEO, 65)

garello N (out of) the great ocean (III, 303)

echant V I made (I, 402)

echuir (s) N stirring, spring (III, 480)

edro (S) V open (I, 401)

el Free Morpheme star (RGEO, 65)

91, elin (S) N star (RGEO, 67)

elanor (S) N a kind of flower (I, 454)

Elbereth (S) N Star-queen (RGEO, 66)

elen, eleni N star (RGEO, 65)

Elen silo lumenn omentilmo A star shines on the h

our meeting (I, 119)

elenath (S) N host of the stars (RGEO, 66)

Elentiri N Star-queen (RGEO, 66)

Elenya N day of the week (III, 484)

emyn N hills (III, 471)

Emyn Beraid N Tower Hills (III, 471)

Endori N Middle-Earth (III, 490)

Endorenna N to Middle-Earth (III, 303)

Ennor (S) N Middle-Earth (III, 490)

ennorath (S) N lands of Middle-Earth (RGEO, 66)

ennyn F doors (RGEO, 67)

Ennyn Durin Aran Moria Doors (of) Durin Lord (of

(RGEO, 67)

en-quant-uva V refill-will (RGEO, 59)

enquig, enquier N week (III, 479)

ephel (S) N outer fence (III, 488)

ernil (S) N prince (RGEO, 67)

eryn N woods (III, 468)

Eryn Lasgalen N The Wood of Greenleaves (III, 468)

41

our of

) Moria

42

esse N name (III, 500)

estel N hope (III, 420)

et P out of (III, 303)

Et Sarello Endorenna ut"lien. Sinome maruvan. Out of the

Great Sea to Middle-Earth I am come. In this place Iwill abide. (III, 303)

ethuil (S) N spring (III, 480)

falma N foaming waves (RGEO, 59)

fa, fan- (S) N usually applied to clouds, meaning veils

(RGEO, 66T

fana, fanar N veils, raiment (RGEO, 66)

Fanuilos (S) N bright figure ever white (RGEO, 66)

fanya, fanyar N (white) clouds (RGEO, 58)

fennas nogothrim (S) N gateway of the dwarf-folk (RGEO, 67)

firith (S) N fading (III, 480)

formen N north (III, 500)

galadh (S) N tree (RGEO, 65)

galadhremmin (S) A tree-woven (I, 312)

gil (S) Free Morpheme bright spark (RGEO, 65)

gilgalad (S) N starlight (I, 257)

glos (S) A dazzling-white (RGEO, 62)

Gildor N proper name

Gilraen N proper name

Gilthoniel N proper name

43

haranyS N last day of a century (III, 481)

harm N treasure (III, 500)

hiruva V find-will (RGE0, 59)

hIsig, hisier N mist (RGEO, 58)

hithlain (S) N a substance from which rope is made (I, 481)

hriv& N winter (III, 480)

hwesta N breeze (III, 500)

hyarmen N south (III, 500)

i Particle the (RGEO, 59)

iavas (S) N autumn (III, 480)

ilye A all (RGEO, 58)

imbe Prep between (RGEO, 59)

isil N moon (III, 489)

isilya N day of the week (III, 484)

istari N wizards (III, 455)

ithil (S) N moon (III, 371)

ithildin (S) N starmoon, a substance from which inscriptions

are made TI, 413)

laer (S) N summer (III, 480)

lairg N summer (III, 480)

lambe N tongue (III, 500)

lantar V fall (RGEO, 58)

lasselanta N autumn (III, 480)

lassi N leaves (RGEO, 58)

44

laure N non-metallic gold (RGEO, 62)

laurga, laurie A golden (RGEO, 65)

Laurelindorinan N Valley of Singing Gold (II, 88)

le (S) Pron thou (RGEO, 65)

lebethron N kind of tree (II, 384)

lembas (S) N waybread (I, 478)

leuca N snake (III, 490)

-1i- A many (RGEO, 59)

linnathon (S) V I will chant (RGEO, 64)

linnod (S) N line of poetry (III, 426)

linte A swift (RGEO, 58)

lirinen N in song (RGEO, 59)

lisse A sweet (RGEO, 58)

-lb1 article from (RGEO, 59)

loa N year of growth (III, 480)

loendO N mid-day of a year (III, 481)

los- Particle applied to fallen snow (RGEO, 61)

loss (S) N snow (RGEO, 62)

losse N fallen snow (RGEO, 61)

lose A snow-white (RGEO, 61)

lessen (S) A snowy (RGEO, 62)

Lossoth (S) N Snowmen (RGEO, 62)

lothl5rien N dreamflower (II, 88)

luini A blue (RGEO, 58)

lumbule N (heavy) shadow (RGEO, 58)

lava N bow (III, 495)

45

lye Prrn thou (RGE0, 59)

lyg (S) N snake (III, 490)

mr N hands (RGEO, 59)

malta N gold (III, 500)

man Pron who (RGEO, 58)

maruvan V I will abide (III, 303)

mellon N friend (I, 402)

mellyrn (S) N kind of tree (1, 443)

men N direction, region (RGEO, 64)

menel (S) N region of the stars, heaven (RGEO, 64)

menelya N day of the week (III, 484)

met Fron us-two (RGEO, 59)

mi Prep in (the) (RGEO, 58)

minno V enter (I, 402)

minuial (S) N dawn (III, 485)

mir, miri N jewel (III, 490)

mlriel (S) A sparkling like jewels (RGEO, 64)

miruvor (S) N type of cordial (I, 379)

mirivore N nectar (RGEO, 58)

mithrandir (S) N the grey pilgrim (III, 455)

mithril (S) N a silver substance (I, 413)

mor- (S) Bound Morpheme black (III, 490)

morgul (S) N sorcery (1, 321)

morning N darkness (RGEO, 58)

46

na V is (RGEO, 59)

nat V be it that (RGEO, 59)

nallon (s) V I cry (RGEO, 64)

namArid Intergection farewell (RGEO, 58)

narbeleth (S) N autumn (III, 480)

nef (S) Prep on this side of (RGEO, 64)

nguruthos (S) N death-horror (RGEO, 64)

nin (S) Pron me (RGEO, 64)

nin Pron for me (RGEO, 59)

niphredil (S) N kind of flower (I, 454)

nnar Pre upon (RGEO, 59)

noldo N one of the kindred of the Noldor (III, 500)

norie N country (RGE0, 59)

noro (S) V ride (1, 284)

nu Prep under (RGEO, 58)

numen N West (III, 500)

nwalme N torment (III, 500)

o (s) Prep from, of (RGEO, 64)

oi-, oio- Bound Morpheme ever, everlastingly (RGEO, 61)

oiale Av everlastingly (RGEO, 59)

Oiolosse N Mount Everwhite (RGEO, 66)

0ioloss8o N from Mount Everwhite (RGEO, 59)

oma N voice (RGEO, 59)

-on (S) Particle augmenting suffix

47

onen V I gave (III, 426)

onen i-Estel Edain, i-chebin estel anime I gave Hope to the

Dnedain, I have kept no hope for myself. (III, 426)

orch, yrch (S) N oro (I, 500)

ore N heart, inner mind (IlI, 500)

Orgilion (S) N day of the week (III, 484)

Oranor (S) N day of the week (III, 484)

ortane V lifted up (RGEO, 59)

Orthil (S) N day of the week (III, 484)

Ormenel (S) 9 day of the week (III, 484)

Orgaladhad (S) N day of the week (III, 484)

Orbelain (S) N day of the week (III, s484)

Oraearon (S) N day of the week (III, 484)

oro-mardi N high-halls (RGEO, 58)

Osgiliath (S) N citadel of the stars (I, 321)

palandiriel (8) _V gazing afar (RGO, 65)

palandiriel (S) V having gazed afar (RGEO, 65)

palantir, palantiri (S) N seeing stone (1, 254)

parma N book (III, 500)

pedo (S) V speak (i, 402)

pella r beyond (RGEO, 58)

penna (8) V slants down (RGEO, 64)

per- (S) Morpheme half

Peredhil (S) N half-elven (III, 389)

i-Pheriannath (S) N the Halflings (RGE0, 66)

perian, periain (S) N halfling (RGEO, 66)

48

quellO fading, autumn (III, 480)

quesse N feather (III, 500)

rama N wing (RGEO, 58)

rem (S) N mesh (III, 490)

rembe N mesh (III, 490)

remmin (S) A tangled, woven (RGEO, 64)

rhiw (S) N winter (III, 480)

R5mello N from the East (RGEO, 59)

romen N East (III, 500)

rya r hers (RGEO, 59)

ryo Pron her (RGEO, 59)

si Particle now (RGEO, 58)

silivren (S) A (white) glittering (RGEO, 64)

silmaril, silmarilli N kind of jewel (III, 38)

silmarillion N tale of the jewels (III, 388)

silme N starlight (III, 500)

sinda A grey (RGEO, 59)

sinome Particle in this place (III, 303)

surinen N in the wind (RGEO, 58)

talan (S) N platform (1, 444)

tan N queen (RGEO, 59)

tario N queen's (RGEO, 59)

tehtar N signs (III, 495)

49

teithant (S) V drew (I, 399)

telco N stem (III, 495)

Telcontar I Strider (III, 169)

tellumar N domes (RGEO, 58)

t5mar N series (III, 495)

tengwar N letters (III, 495)

thond (S) N root (III, 490)

thle N spirit (III, 500)

tin- ound Morpheme sparkle, glitter (RGEO, 61)

tier N roads (RGEO, 59)

tinco N metal (III, 500)

tindome N dawn (III, 485)

Tintalle N Star-kindler (RGEO, 59)

tinviel N nightingale (I, 260)

tinwe N spark, star (RGEO, 61)

tir-. (S) dMor e to look at or towards (RGEO, 65)

tirith (S) N guard, watch (I, 321)

tiro (S) V look towards

tuil N spring (III, 480)

tyeller N grades (III, 495)

u Particle negative particle (III, 490)

Uilos (S) N place name (RGEO, 66)

umbar N fate (III, 500)

undomg N twilight (III, 485)

undu-lave V down-licked (RGEO, 59)

50

ungwe N spider's web (III, 500)

Eno time Av innumerable, uncountable (III, 490)

unque N a hollow (III, 500)

un--tupa V down-roofs (RGEO, 59)

ur N heat (III, 500)

utulien N I am come (III, 303)

vala N angelic power (III, 500)

Valanya N day of the week (III, 484)

Valimar N Valimar (RGEO, 59)

vanwa!V lost (RGEO, 59)

Vardo N Varda's (RGEO, 58)

ve 0 like, as (RGEO, 58)

vilya N air, sky (III, 500)

yanta N bridge (III, 500)

yassen Relative Particle in which (RGEO, 58)

yavig N autumn (III, 480)

yen, yeni N long years (III, 490)

yuldar N draughts (RGEO, 58)

yulma N cup (RGEO, 59)

51

No gloss has been provided for the following words and

phrases, which are listed below with their source.

A vanimar vanimilion nostarit (III, 320)

Ai na vedui Dunadant Mae govannen. (I, 280)

Aiya Egrendil Elenion Ancalimal (II, 418)

Annon edhellen, edro hi amment Fennas nogothrim, lastobeth lamment (I, 400)

Arwen vanimelda, namarigZ (1, 456)

Cuio i Pheriain anannt Aglar'ni Pheriannath JDaur aBehael, Conin enAnnunt Egleriot EgleriolA laita te, laita tet ,Andave laituvalmettGormacolindor, a laita tariennat (III, 285)

daro (1, 443)

Naur an edraith ammenj Naur dan i ngaurhothf (I, 39Q)

Yet utuvienyest (III, 308)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Tolkien J.R.R., fl1ilieowship of the Rinj New York,Bailaitine Boo 1T965&

Return. the King, New York,

130 11t00 a, e1965o

fd Goes ve On, Boston, Houghton~~ ~w 1 Company,

Tpw New York, Bllantine

Wilson, Edmund, e Bitwee.. ToIths A LiteraryfrlAniOl f I Nw York, Farrar, Straus,

4-41roux, 1

Articles

"Hobbit Habit," Tnm, LXXXVIII (July 15, 1966), 48.

Mathewson J., "Hobbit Habit," Eswr#, LXVI (September,19665, 130-131.

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