Post by Móreadhiel on Jan 21, 2007 12:33:46 GMT -5
Quenya, in contrast to Sindarin, is a lyrical and open language. It phonology is very strict and allows very few consonant clusters. The voiced stops d, b, g are only found in their soft forms nd, mb and ng or before r and l. It does not allow more than two consonants in a row and neither does it allow a long vowel before a consonant cluster Typically, Quenya words end in vowels, such as in quessë, namárië, laurëa, alassë. Quenya was based on Finnish, which Tolkien said he found to be the most beautiful language to his own taste.
Quenya posseses the vowels a,e,i,o,u and their long counterparts á, é, í, ó, and ú. The consonant sounds include c, d, f, g, gw, h, hy, hw, ly, m, n, nw, ny, p, qu, r, ry, s, t, ty, v, y and w. The diphthongs are ai, au, oi and more rarely eu and ui. (NOTE: Quenya does not contain so called "super long" vowels as does Sindarin. These vowels are marked with a circumflex, as in Barad-d&circu;, but there is no distinction between a long and super long vowel in pronunciation)
Quenya contains palatalized and labialized consonants, meaning followed by a consonantal y (as in Spanish señor) and a w sound, respectively. These should be taken and unitary consonants, not as a consonant cluster, and therefore may be preceded by a long vowel.
Here follows an guide to how the sounds of Quenya may be pronounced. It is sometimes necessary to give an example from a language other than English, for precision. To avoid confusion, here are several linguist terms and their definition that will be used:
Aspiration ~ an h puff of air released from the mouth when pronouncing a letter. English consonants such as p, t and c are aspirated. Finnish, French and Russian do not aspirate these consonants.
Voiced ~ vocal cords vibrating; the letter b is voiced.
Unvoiced ~ the vocal cords do not vibrate. P is unvoiced. The letter b is the voiced counterpart of p, and d is likewise the voiced counterpart of t.
Palatalized ~ a consonant followed by a y sound, as in Spanish señor.
Labialized ~ a consonant followed by a w sound. As in "queen" (pronounced kween).
Consonant cluster ~ a group of more than one consonant (nd, ll etc.)
Short Vowels:
a ~ as in "father"
e ~ as in "end", not as in "eat"
i ~ as in "hit", never as in "fight"
o ~ as in "for" but with lips more rounded
u ~ as in "put"
Long Vowels:
á ~ between "father" and "cat"
é ~ between "end" and "see"
í ~ as in "see"
ó ~ as in "sore" but tenser and closer
ú ~ as in "brute"
Diphthongs:
ai ~ as in "eye"
au ~ as in German "Haus" or less precise as in English "cow"
oi ~ as in "oil" or "toy"
eu ~ and in English "so"
ui ~ as in "too young" or Latin "huic"
Consonants:
c ~ always pronounced k, never s; no aspiration
d ~ as in "dog"
f ~ as in "fun"
g ~ as in "get" or "gun"; never as in "gin"
gw ~ should be seen as a single consonant g followed by a w or simply a labialized g
h ~ simple English h when at the beginning of words, but before a t and following either a, o, or u, should sound as in German ach or Scottish loch. When preceded by a t and acceded by an i or e, should sound as in German ich.
hy ~ as in German ich~Laut
l ~ as in "let" never as in "learn"
ly ~ l followed by a consonantal y
m ~ as in "make"
n ~ as in "not"
nw ~ a labialized n, or an n followed by a w sound
ny ~ as in Spanish señor
p ~ a French or Finnish p; no aspiration
qu ~ as in Englisg "queen"; represents cw (= kw)
r ~ trilled in all positions as in Spanish or Italian, sound is not lost before consonants
ry ~ a palatalized r, or an r followed by a y sound
s ~ as in "geese"; never a voiced z as in "girls"
t ~ as in "tune"; no aspiration
v ~ as in "voice"
y ~ as in "year"
w ~ as in "water"
Quenya Stress and Accentation
A Quenya word may be stressed on the second to the last syllable (or the penult) if it meets the following requirements: if the penult has a long vowel as in Elentári, "Star~queen", which should be stress as Elentári. A diphthong is considered a long vowel: hastaina, "marred", should be stress hastaina.
The penult may also receive the stress if it is followed by a consonant cluster, as in Isildur, "Moon~servant", which should be accented Isildur, or Elendil, "Elf~friend."
If the word does not meet any of these requirement, the stress moves to the third to last syllable (or antipenult). The word Sindarin (a Quenya word in itself) should be stress Sindarin, not **Sindarin, a common mistake.
NOTE: these stress rules may also be applied to Sindarin, but not to Primitive Quendian, which evidently has unknown, differing stress rules. (See Etymologies)
Quenya posseses the vowels a,e,i,o,u and their long counterparts á, é, í, ó, and ú. The consonant sounds include c, d, f, g, gw, h, hy, hw, ly, m, n, nw, ny, p, qu, r, ry, s, t, ty, v, y and w. The diphthongs are ai, au, oi and more rarely eu and ui. (NOTE: Quenya does not contain so called "super long" vowels as does Sindarin. These vowels are marked with a circumflex, as in Barad-d&circu;, but there is no distinction between a long and super long vowel in pronunciation)
Quenya contains palatalized and labialized consonants, meaning followed by a consonantal y (as in Spanish señor) and a w sound, respectively. These should be taken and unitary consonants, not as a consonant cluster, and therefore may be preceded by a long vowel.
Here follows an guide to how the sounds of Quenya may be pronounced. It is sometimes necessary to give an example from a language other than English, for precision. To avoid confusion, here are several linguist terms and their definition that will be used:
Aspiration ~ an h puff of air released from the mouth when pronouncing a letter. English consonants such as p, t and c are aspirated. Finnish, French and Russian do not aspirate these consonants.
Voiced ~ vocal cords vibrating; the letter b is voiced.
Unvoiced ~ the vocal cords do not vibrate. P is unvoiced. The letter b is the voiced counterpart of p, and d is likewise the voiced counterpart of t.
Palatalized ~ a consonant followed by a y sound, as in Spanish señor.
Labialized ~ a consonant followed by a w sound. As in "queen" (pronounced kween).
Consonant cluster ~ a group of more than one consonant (nd, ll etc.)
Short Vowels:
a ~ as in "father"
e ~ as in "end", not as in "eat"
i ~ as in "hit", never as in "fight"
o ~ as in "for" but with lips more rounded
u ~ as in "put"
Long Vowels:
á ~ between "father" and "cat"
é ~ between "end" and "see"
í ~ as in "see"
ó ~ as in "sore" but tenser and closer
ú ~ as in "brute"
Diphthongs:
ai ~ as in "eye"
au ~ as in German "Haus" or less precise as in English "cow"
oi ~ as in "oil" or "toy"
eu ~ and in English "so"
ui ~ as in "too young" or Latin "huic"
Consonants:
c ~ always pronounced k, never s; no aspiration
d ~ as in "dog"
f ~ as in "fun"
g ~ as in "get" or "gun"; never as in "gin"
gw ~ should be seen as a single consonant g followed by a w or simply a labialized g
h ~ simple English h when at the beginning of words, but before a t and following either a, o, or u, should sound as in German ach or Scottish loch. When preceded by a t and acceded by an i or e, should sound as in German ich.
hy ~ as in German ich~Laut
l ~ as in "let" never as in "learn"
ly ~ l followed by a consonantal y
m ~ as in "make"
n ~ as in "not"
nw ~ a labialized n, or an n followed by a w sound
ny ~ as in Spanish señor
p ~ a French or Finnish p; no aspiration
qu ~ as in Englisg "queen"; represents cw (= kw)
r ~ trilled in all positions as in Spanish or Italian, sound is not lost before consonants
ry ~ a palatalized r, or an r followed by a y sound
s ~ as in "geese"; never a voiced z as in "girls"
t ~ as in "tune"; no aspiration
v ~ as in "voice"
y ~ as in "year"
w ~ as in "water"
Quenya Stress and Accentation
A Quenya word may be stressed on the second to the last syllable (or the penult) if it meets the following requirements: if the penult has a long vowel as in Elentári, "Star~queen", which should be stress as Elentári. A diphthong is considered a long vowel: hastaina, "marred", should be stress hastaina.
The penult may also receive the stress if it is followed by a consonant cluster, as in Isildur, "Moon~servant", which should be accented Isildur, or Elendil, "Elf~friend."
If the word does not meet any of these requirement, the stress moves to the third to last syllable (or antipenult). The word Sindarin (a Quenya word in itself) should be stress Sindarin, not **Sindarin, a common mistake.
NOTE: these stress rules may also be applied to Sindarin, but not to Primitive Quendian, which evidently has unknown, differing stress rules. (See Etymologies)
