Quenya

The quenya or haut-elfic is one of the built Langues imagined by the novelist and Philologue J.R.R. Tolkien within the framework of the development of the accounts of the Ground of the Medium. Its creation goes back at the latest to the year 1915 (under the orthography qenya , which remained until the middle of the years 1940). The vocabulary and the grammar of this language gradually evolved/moved during the life of their author, until reaching a relative stability after the publication of its novel the Lord of the Rings in 1954-1955. Tolkien mainly took as a starting point the Finnois for the development of the language, as well as Latin and Greek . The quenya was conceived by Tolkien as drifting of an original language common to all the elfic languages which he imagined. It is a inflected Language equipped with a rich person Déclinaison and a synthetic Conjugaison of the type; its morphology rests primarily on the use of Affixe S - as a majority of the suffixes, but also of the prefixes and some infix - but also resorts to the vocalic Alternance. The number of Case and the conjugation varied with the years during the development of the language by Tolkien.

The quenya can be written by means of different “Alphabet S” such as the letters from Rúmil (Sarati) or the letters of Fëanor (Tengwar).

Internal history

Within the framework of sound Universe of fiction, the quenya is the language of two tribes of the Eldar to Valinor, on the continent of Aman: the Erudite Ñoldor or Elves and the Fair Vanyar or Elves, who had developed two slightly different dialects. The third tribe of the Teleri, installed as Aman with Alqualondë, spoke a close language, the Telerin.

After the exile of most of Ñoldor in Beleriand, the use of the quenya extended out of Ground from the Medium, where it developed new dialectal characteristics compared to the use of Aman. However, it ends up being supplanted in the daily use by the indigenous language of Beleriand, the Sindarin, at the same time because exiled were minority in the population compared to the indigenous Elves, the Sindar, and because the use of the quenya was proscribed by the king Elu Thingol as a language of Ñoldor, murderers of Teleri of Aman controlled by Olwë, her brother. Consequently, the quenya became a language second, learned after childhood, a language of culture and ceremony reserved for the formal contexts - situation rather comparable with the statute which had a long time the Latin in Europe. With many others practical cultural, Ñoldor transmitted it in these uses to people of Hommes, the Númenoréens, but the quenya was never among them a current language, contrary to the sindarin.

Phonetics

Consonants

The quenya has the following Consonne S, transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (API); the orthographical representations of the transcription romanized which Tolkien imagined follow in fat.

Note:

* When a box contains two signs, the first indicates a deaf Consonne and the second the sound Consonne corresponding.

* For T , D and N , one cannot slice between an articulation dental consonant or alveolar - without same speech of possible variations.

* From the strict point of view of the Articulatory phonetics , ty , Dy and ny are more exactly described like palatalized dental consonants . The presentation above, of Phonological logic more , aims at emphasizing the various orders of consonants of the langue.

The consonants p , T , C , S , m , N , L , R can be geminated, which is marked by a redoubling in the romanized transcription.

Vowels

The quenya has ten vowels in two series of five stamps, distinguished by the quantity; in the romanized orthography, the long vowels are marked of an acute accent while the short corresponding ones do not have a mark.

There exists moreover six Diphtongue S: have, oi, ui, with, have, iu . All downward, i.e. are accentuated on the first element; except with the Third Age where iu had become a rising diphthong, with second prevalent element. The other combinations of vowels form Hiatus.

Examples

Some basic words

Sources:

Dictionary of the elfic languages, volume 1 (COp cit.) for the quenya
Hiswelókë' S Sindarin dictionary for the sindarin

Some sentences

Anarchist kaluva tielyanna! : The sun on your way will pour its clearness ( unfinished Contes and legends, note 3 in Tuor and of its arrival with Gondolin)

Auta I lómë! : The night will finish! ( Silmarillion , chapter 20)

Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo : A star shines immediately of our meeting ( the Lord of the rings , delivers I, chapter 3)

Utúlie' N aurë! Aiya Eldalië rear Atanatári, utúlie' N aurë! : The day came! See, people of the Elves and fathers of the Men, the day came! ( Silmarillion , chapter 20)

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