Archive


This website contains archives of the Tolkien Discussion Group from 2009 to early 2013.

The discussion group continues to meet
in Second Life in Alqualonde the Swanhaven. Contact AelKennyr Rhiano in Second Life.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Sentences in Khuzdul (Dwarvish)

 «Khuzdul Words «        Dwarvish Index          
 
Everything we know about forming sentences in Khuzdul comes from one war cry and four isolated verbs.  That is to say, we know practically nothing!

known examples:
Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!"

felek:  to hew rock
felak:  a stone-cutting tool, also to use such a tool

salôn, sulûn:  to descend swiftly (used of rapids on a river)

gunud:  to dig underground
Khazâd means “Dwarves,” ai (shortened from aya) means “upon”, and mênu means “you” (plural pronoun, accusative case).  Notice that there is nothing in this sentence that explicitly means “are”!  Apparently, in Khuzdul, as in some other languages, the form “____ ____” can be used to mean “____ is _____.”

That suggests that the inscription on Balin's tomb:  Balin Fundinul uzbad Khazaddûmu – traditionally translated "Balin son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." might equally well be translated “Balin, son of Fundin, is Lord of Moria.”  Under the circumstances, maybe “was Lord of Moria” would be more appropriate.

However, we still don't know how to form any other sentences, or how to use the few verbs we know.  I regret to tell you that the information we need just doesn't exist.
 «Khuzdul Words «        Dwarvish Index        
mirrored from Tolkien Language Discussion site
 

No comments:

Post a Comment