English and Elven languages don't always portray the same information in their grammar. So, when giving the literal translation of a phrase, this extra information about the situation that it is aimed for needs to be displayed in order to be used correctly. So, I've included this list in the hopes that you will better understand which situations these phrases are appropriate for.
[2]=[dual] It's a special type of plural for referring to only two things. In Sindarin, only Doriathrin Sindarin speakers, (the Elves of Doriath and Lothlórien) continue to use this special plural form.
[d]=[diminutive] For use when trying to be cutesy or endearing. Roughly equal to "my ____" or "my little ____" or "my little ____-ette". Not appropriate in formal situations.
[f]=[familiar] This regards the pronouns for "you/your/yours". For use when speaking amongst friends and family, or if the speaker is addressing someone rudely.
[r]=[reverential] This regards the pronouns for "you/your/yours". For use in formal situations or with people the speaker doesn't know.
[inc]=[inclusive, us including you] This regards the pronouns for "we/us/our/ours". Elven languages have two pronouns for the 1st person plural. This one refers to "you and us". This distinction is only used by the Sindar of Doriath, and later, the Elves of Lothlórien in Sindarin. The young Sindar don't use this pronoun, and use the pronoun with the base M instead. In Quenya, this pronoun stuck around, but lost the distinction between the plural and dual versions of "we".
[ex]=[exclusive, us not including you] This regards the pronouns for "we/us/our/ours". In the Sindarin spoken outside of Doriath, and later by the Noldorin exiles, the Woodelves, and the Gondorians, this pronoun was used for both inclusive and exclusive meanings, the way "we" is used in English now.
Here is a basic guide so you can learn how to sound out the phrases. I basically used Tolkien's system, with a few changes, which I listed below.
Periods indicate divisions between syllable boundaries.
Letters in CAPSLOCK indicate syllables with stress on them, that is, said slightly louder than the surrounding syllables. The Black Speech and Adûna phrases have no stress marked because we don't know what their stress patterns are.
Multiple letters (like this: AA or AAA) stand for the length of time the sound is said. More letters, the longer it takes to say.
(A) is pronounced like the A in "father".
(E) is pronounced like the E in "bet".
Quenya only: When (E) is long, (written ee/EE) it is said for a longer period of time, and pronounced like the A in "lake".
(I) is pronounced like the I in "machine".
(O) is pronounced like the AW in "awesome" (in a New Yorker's accent).
Quenya only: When (O) is long, (written oo/OO) it is said for a longer period of time, and pronounced like the O in "load".
(U) is always pronounced like the U in "flute".
(Y) is always pronounced like the French U (lune) or the German Ü (fünf). To make this sound, say an Elvish I with the pursed lips of a U. Click this link to hear it.
(AI) and (AE) are pronounced like the I in "like". The diference between them is that in (AI) you glide from an A to I, and in (AE) you glide from an A to an E.
(AU) and (AW) are pronounced like the OW in "cow".
(EI) is pronounced like the EI in "ray".
Quenya only: (IU) is pronounced like the EW in "few".
Quenya only: (EU) is pronounced like IU is above, except you start with the short E sound, instead of the I sound.
(OE) and (OI) are pronounced like the OY in "boy". The diference between them is that in (OI) you glide from an O to I, and in (OE) you glide from an O to an E.
(UI) is pronounced like the WEE in "sweet".
(J) is used for the consonant Y in "yellow". I did this to avoid confusion with the Sindarin vowel Y.
(TH) and (DH) are pronounced like the English TH. The difference between them is that DH is pronounced like the TH in "father", and TH is pronouned like the TH in "nothing".
(WH) is a whispered W. In English, it used to be in words with WH in them, like "white" or "when".
IPA Pronunciation:
The alphabet I used is IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). It is far more accurate than the pronunciation guide above, but more difficult to learn. If you aren't sure what that is, visit this website. For more notes, read the Pronunciation Guides.
If you need to request dialogue, visit Need Help? or the forum.
