Pronunciation of Quenya and Sindarin
Sindarin and Quenya have a very similar pronunciation. The following table gives pronunciation for each letter or cluster in international phonetic script and examples:
Vowels
| Letter / Digraph | Pronunciation | IPA | Further comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | as in father, but shorter. | never as in cat | |
| á | as in father | . | |
| â | (in Sindarin) as in father, but even longer | . | |
| ae | (in Sindarin) the vowels described for a and e in one syllable. | Similar to ai | |
| ai | a diphthong, similar to that in eye, but with short vowels | never as in rain | |
| au | a and u run together in one syllable. Similar to the sound in house | never as in sauce | |
| aw | (in Sindarin) a common way to write au at the end of the word | . | |
| e | as in pet | . | |
| é | the same vowel lengthened (and in Quenya more closed; as in German) | S:, Q: | Rural Hobbit pronunciation allows the sound as in English rain |
| ê | (in Sindarin) the vowel of pet especially lengthened | Rural Hobbit pronunciation allows the sound as in English rain | |
| ei | as in eight | never as in either (in neither pronunciation) | |
| eu | (in Quenya) e and u run together in one syllable | never as in English or German | |
| i | as in machine, but short | not opened as in fit | |
| í | as in machine | . | |
| î | (in Sindarin) as in machine, but especially lengthened | . | |
| iu | (in Quenya) i and u run together in one syllable | later by men often as in English you | |
| o | open as in British got | . | |
| ó | the same vowel lengthened (and in Quenya more closed; as in German) | S:, Q: | Rural Hobbit pronunciation allows the sound of "long" English cold |
| ô | (in Sindarin) the same vowel especially lengthened | Rural Hobbit pronunciation allows the sound of "long" English cold | |
| oi | (in Quenya) as in English coin | . | |
| oe | (in Sindarin) the vowels described for o and e in one syllable. | Similar to oi. Cf. œ! | |
| œ | (in early Sindarin) as in German Götter | in published writing, has been incorrectly spelt oe (two letters), as in Nírnaeth Arnoediad. Later became e. | |
| u | as in cool, but shorter | not opened as in book | |
| ú | as in cool | . | |
| û | (in Sindarin) the same vowel as above, but especially lengthened | . | |
| y | (in Sindarin) as in French lune or German süß, but short | not found in English | |
| ý | (in Sindarin) as in French lune or German süß | . | |
| ŷ | (in Sindarin) as in French lune or German süß, but even longer | not found in English |
Consonants (differing from English)
- The letter c always denotes, even before i and e; for instance, Celeborn is pronounced Keleborn, and Cirth is pronounced Kirth; thus, it never denotes the soft c in cent.
- The letter g always denotes the hard, as in give, rather than the soft form, as in gem.
- The letter r denotes an alveolar trill, similar to Spanish r.
- The digraph dh, as in Caradhras, denotes as in English this.
- The digraph ch, as in Orch, denotes as in German ach, and never like the ch in English chair.
Read more about this topic: Elvish Languages (Middle-earth)