Black Speech - The One Ring Inscription

The One Ring Inscription

The only example of "pure" Black Speech is the inscription upon the One Ring:

Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul,
ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.

When translated into English, these words form the lines:

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

These are the first two lines from the end of a verse about the Rings of Power. This corresponds to the following table as explained by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Black Speech English
ash one
nazg finger ring
durb- constrain, force, dominate
at verb ending, like a participle
ulûk verbal ending expressing object 3rd person pl. "them" (ul) (sic) in completive or total form "them-all".
gimb- seek out, discover
thrak- bring by force, hale, drag
agh and
burzum darkness
ishi in, inside
krimp- bind, tie

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