Tengwar Textbook

       
Third Edition February 2003 Revision 1.10 Chris McKay

Table of Contents Introduction - by Dan Smith......................................................................................................................2 Quenya Introduction..............................................................................................................................................3 Quenya .....................................................................................................................................................4 Quenya Punctuation ..................................................................................................................................6 Sindarin Introduction..............................................................................................................................................7 Mode of Beleriand ................................................................................................................................... 8 Mode of Gondor .....................................................................................................................................10 Full Mode of Gondor ..............................................................................................................................12 Sindarin Punctuation ...............................................................................................................................14 English Overview ................................................................................................................................................15 Original Mode.........................................................................................................................................16 CJRTs Mode .........................................................................................................................................18 Common Mode.......................................................................................................................................20 English Mode of Beleriand (Style One) ...................................................................................................22 English Mode of Beleriand (Style Two)...................................................................................................24 English Punctuation ...............................................................................................................................26 Other Languages Black Speech/Orkish...............................................................................................................................27 Old English .............................................................................................................................................29 Old English Mode Details .......................................................................................................................31 Tengwar Numerals..................................................................................................................................33 Guidelines for Writing.............................................................................................................................34

The most current form of this document, along with supplementary materials can always be found at: http://www.geocities.com/tengwar2001/ Check in occasionally to find the latest material, usually every few months.

2 Introduction Decades ago, when J. R. R. Tolkien wrote his fantasy book series: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, he described a race of Elves possessing a rich history, language and culture. Not all Elves spoke the same language. The most important languages were: Quenya (the language of the High-Elves) and Sindarin (the language of the Grey-Elves). Early in their history they devised an alphabet for writing their languages. The oldest Elvish alphabet was the Tengwar of Rmil. Later Fanor of the Noldor, inspired by the alphabet of Rmil, created a revised writing system. The Fanorean alphabet was designed to be an orderly phonetic writing system for use with pen or brush. Consonant sounds were represented by letters called: Tengwar. There are 24 primary Tengwar letters. The letters were organized into four series or Tmar (shown as vertical columns). Each series was used to represent sounds created by different parts of the mouth. Series I and II were almost always used for Dental and Labial sounds. Series III was generally used for either Palatal or Velar sounds and series IV for either Velar or Labiovelar sounds, depending on the phonology of the language represented. These four series were further broken down into six grades or Tyeller (shown as horizontal rows on the next page). Each grade was used to represent sounds created by different ways that air flows through the mouth and nose. Grade 1 and 2 were used for voiceless and voiced Plosives. Grade 3 and 4 were used for voiceless and voiced Fricatives. Grade 5 was used for Nasals. Grade 6 was used for Semi-vowel consonants. Each Tengwar letter was assigned a phonetic value determined by its position in this grid. People speaking different languages would often re-define this grid, so only a few of the letters had a fixed phonetic value. All of the primary letters were composed of (at least) two elements: a vertical stem or Telco (representing air) and a curved bow or Lva (representing voice). There were also numerous additional letters that supplemented the standard Tengwar primary letters. These additional letters did not necessarily follow any symbol conventions. In the earliest forms of the Tengwar, vowel sounds were represented by symbols called: Tehtar. The Tehtar symbols were placed above and below (and sometimes inside) the Tengwar letters. There were five standard Tehtar symbols, representing the five most commonly used vowel sounds (a, e, i, o & u). They were most frequently placed above the Tengwar letters. (Tolkien used this style when creating most of his Quenya, Sindarin, and English language Tengwar inscriptions.) But both the number of vowel symbols used, and where they were placed depended largely on the preferences of the people using this alphabet. Later forms of Tengwar used additional letters to represent individual vowel sounds. This full form was developed by the Grey Elves living in Beleriand, and was therefore referred to as the Mode of Beleriand. Tengwar became a very flexible writing system that was easily adapted by many different races to their languages. Unfortunately, since it was so flexible it was possible to have several different versions of it for each and every language. Also, over the centuries, a great deal of shorthand developed. Since Tengwar can be so easily modified, customized and mutated, most people in Middle-earth devised their own version.

Dan Smith

3 Introduction Quenya Quenya was developed by J.R.R. Tolkien as one of the languages for the elves in his stories. In the development of Quenya a number of changes were made in the language that have to be noted in the Tengwar. Th > s: At an early point in the development of Quenya the th sound changed into s. This new s sound was represented by the same tengwa ( ) as the original th sound. For example thl became sl. Kh > h: The original Quenya kh sound shifted into a breath h, therefore kharma became harma. The kh tengwa was reassigned to represent any medial h. The new breath h was represented by or later by . Ng > n: The ng sound occurred only initially in Quenya, by the Third Age the ng sound had changed into a normal n sound, therefore ngoldo became noldo. It is unknown if the tengwa for ng ( ) was used where this new sound occurred, or if the n ( ) tengwa was used.

Ngw > nw: The initial ngw sound changed into nw. This new nw sound was represented by the same tengwa ( ) as the original ngw sound. For example ngwalm became nwalm.

W > v: The stand-alone w sound in Quenya changed into a v sound before the Third Age. This new v was represented by the original w tengwa ( ) rather than the v tengwa ( ). For example wilya became vilya. Z / r > s: Early, when the Quenya z became an r sound, the vowel r tengwa ( ) was assigned to represent the new r. Therefore, ze became re. The ( ) & ( ) tengwar fell out of use until later they were given the value ss as in ess.

the original breath h ( ). The reason for the change may be related to the fact that you can place a tehta mark over , but with you must use a short carrier with the appropriate tehta mark above it. ( vs ). The hy sound was unvoiced such as in hrve ( was then represented by . Later was brought back into use for placement in front of a r or l to show that it

).

NOTES: A-tehta The A-tehta occurs so frequently in this language that it is often simplified to look like a circumflex or completely omitted. Y-tehta The tehta mark for a Y is never used with a short carrier. If there is no tengwa in the needed position tengwa #23 is used as a carrier for this tehta. Examples: Quenya: , Accents The acute accent as in namri is mostly written on a separate long carrier. Dots such as in namri have no phonetic value in Tengwar and as such are represented by normal means. Such as in .

9' @ 37 8

' 38 7' 9

Diphthongs We only see one case where the diphthongs on P. 5 arent used. The word caita is written:

) 1 56 4%3" ! ( 2

0 ! ) 1 ) 1 $&

0 ! $&

Yni:

or

not

or

instead of



Hy > h: Shortly after the breath h sound came into use, the value of

was changed from hy to a breath h. This replaced

   

00 )! $& 0 ! ) ( $& &' %!  "# !  $

4 Quenya Mode (Namri inscriptions) I II III IV

kw as in quess

h as in halla * (Note 10)

NOTES: * - These tengwar are not shown in any inscription, their values are determined from Appendix E of the Lord of the Rings 1. The Quenya th sound later changed into an s, this new s was used only where the th had been. 2. The h sound in harma (pronounced kharma) later changed to breath h (pronounced harma). After the kh change this became any medial h. 3. Occurs only initially. By the Third Age this sound had changed to a n. It is unknown if the tengwa continued to be used as th was (Note 1) or if the distinction was lost as with z/r (Note 8). 4. Used at the beginning of a word only. All other NW are represented by tengwar #17 & 24 ( ). 5. The R-rule is followed in this mode. 6. This tengwa is not used by itself. It is only used as a carrier for the y-tehta. 7. The w turned into a v initially, but as in Note 1 this tengwa was still used to show the distinction. 8. The original Quenya z sound changed into an r. Unlike th, the new sound was represented by the existing vowel r. This tengwa then took the value ss. Note: These tengwar never took the value r. 9. Shortly after the breath h was developed, this tengwa was changed from hy to breath h. The hy was then represented by adding the following y tehta. 10. This was the first tengwa to represent the breath h. After the usage of hy changed this tengwa ceased to be used. Later this tengwa was brought back for use before a consonant to show that it was unvoiced. Such as the hr in hrve.

FGE

hy > h as in hyarmen > halla (Note 9)

s as in silm

s as in silm

z > ss as in ze > ess (Note 8) i-glide diphthongs

'

&

r as in rmen (Note 5)

rd as in arda

l as in lamb

"

r as in parma (Note 5)

v as in vala

n as in nmen

m as in malta

ng > n as in ngoldo > noldo * (Note 3) y as in yanta (Note 6)

mp as in ampa

th > s as in thl > sl * (Note 1) nt as in anto

f as in formen

kh > h as in harma > aha * (Note 2) nk as in anca

nd as in ando

mb as in umbar

ng as in anga

t as in tinco

p as in parma

c/k as in calma

ngw as in ungw

hw as in hwesta

nkw as in unqu

ngw > nw as in ngwalm >nwalm (Note 4) w > v as in wilya > vilya (Note 7) ld as in alda

z > ss as in ze > ess (Note 8) u-glide diphthongs

5 Quenya Mode Tehtar/Modifier Marks

Following a as in: namri Following a as in: namri Following e as in: ungw Following long/double e as in: yva Following i as in: wilya Following long/double i as in: sla (Seldom Used) Following o as in: anto Following long/double o as in: ambarna Following u as in: nu Following long/double u as in: nmen Following y as in: wilya Following y as in: wilya (Variant Note 1) Doubles the length as in: minnna Can be used to indicate a consonant not followed by a vowel. Short a as in: namri Short a as in: namri Short e as in: ungw

Short i as in: wilya

Short o as in: anto

Short u as in: nu

Y-sound as in: yni Y-sound as in: yni (Variant Note 1)

Quenya Diphthong Chart

In diphthongs the tehtar mark is read as though it preceded the tengwa. NOTES: 1. This variant form of the Y-tehta is used entirely at random by Tolkien. In one case it may be used, then the same word may use the (..) version next time. Doubled Tehtar While realistically any tehta could be doubled, it is only mentioned being done on the accent and the curls.

u-glide

au as in: laur

eu as in: leuca

i-glide

'

ai as in: maiar

oi as in: coimas

ui as in: cuivi iu as in: miule

34 64

Mark

With Tengwa

With Short Carrier

Over Long Carrier

Long/double a as in: namri Long/double a as in: namri Long/double e as in: yva

0 %)

 

' "

@ A2

$ %#

3 2

6 2

  78   & 9 7  1

 "

& "&



Long/double i as in: hni/men

Long/double o as in: ambarna

Long/double u as in: nmen

6 Quenya Punctuation Very few punctuation marks are used when writing with the Tengwar and what punctuation marks we do have seem to be sparsely used.

Question Mark

Comma Semicolon/Period Period/End of Paragraph

Exclamation Mark

Exclamation Mark Period/End of Paragraph

7 Introduction Sindarin Sindarin was developed by J.R.R. Tolkien as one of the languages for the elves in his stories. In the development of Sindarin a number of changes were made in the language that have to be noted in the Tengwar. Ph > f: At one point early in the development of the Sindarin language a ph > f shift occurred. Therefore, phelgh became felg, and alph became alf. Usually though whether you are writing the ph or the f, the tengwa is used. Although a final f is usually written with the tengwa as it is pronounced v. Khw / hw: Khw was used primarily in an early form of Sindarin and was later lost, chwest became hwest. After the changeover was used mainly for the sound kh, and when hw was needed came into use. By the Third Age the original tengwa for kh ( ) appears to have fallen out of active use. (ng) & g(ngg): Sindarin, like English has two values that are transcribed as ng. The first (properly ) is the sound in the English word king. In Sindarin this only occurs initially or finally as in ngelaidh. The second (properly g) occurs in the English word finger. In Sindarin this sound occurs only medially, that is inside the word. Such as in banga. Mh > v: The sound mh was originally a mutation of m, called a spirant m. However by the Third Age this sound had further changed until it was no longer pronounced differently than a v. Although the distinction was usually retained in the writing.

This sound is shown by a M-tengwa with a curl attached to the bow (

). Some people maintain that this is not

an extra character, but that the curl indicated a spirant rather than a stop. I which case it could theoretically be applied to other tengwar such as the D ( ). However we only see this done to the M (MH), so it is unclear if the curl is actually used this way. Ngw(w) The sound ngw is usually used as in Ngwanr with the sound rather than g. While ngw in angwedh would typically be written g with the w-tehta. Ghw In Sindarin there is no known sound that would correspond to ghw. Some speculate that perhaps it was intended to represent the gh sound as it occurs in ghaw. This seems logical since the back spirant gh disappeared from usage about the same time as ghw was dropped from the tengwar chart. Ghaw by the third age had become aw. For much more in-depth and detailed information about the spoken Sindarin language I highly recommend this website: http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/sindarin.htm

8 Sindarin Mode of Beleriand (West Gate of Moria / A Elbereth) I

II

III

IV
kw as in quess (Theoretical) gw as in gwann (Theoretical)


1 2 3 4


6
r as in rmen
% $

NOTES: Theoretical Values These values are not seen in any inscription. Their values are determined from information in Appendix E. They would only be used for writing historic First Age Sindarin, Which is the time from where this mode comes. 1. This tengwa is transcribed f when it occurs at the end of a word . 2. Appendix E mentions that this was a vocalic y, however we see it used for all types of ys.

h as in halla (Theoretical)
D

i as in wilya

i as in Iorhael (initially)

h as in hyarmen
2

hw as in hwesta (Theoretical)

e as in ungw

s as in silm
(

y as in yanta (Note 2)

ss as in ess

'

&

rh as in ngaurhoth

l as in lamb

"

n as in numen

m as in malta

o as in nolt

nn as in venn

ng as in ngoldo (Theoretical)

dh as in galadh

v/f as in vedui/alf (Note 1) mm as in namma

th as in thul

f/ph as in formen/phelg

d as in ando

t as in tinco

p as in parma

c/k as in calma

b as in umbar

g as in anga

kh as in acharn

gh as in felgh (Theoretical)

khw/hw as in chwest/hwest (Theoretical) ghw/w as in ghaw (Theoretical) ngw as in Ngwanr (Theoretical) w as in wilya

lh as in Edhelharn ss as in ess

u as in numen

a as in namri

9 Sindarin Mode of Beleriand Complex Vowels

Denotes a long vowel

Typically placed over a c or a carrier to help distinguish it in crowded words. Preceding n or m sound as in: alcarinqua Following w as in: edwen (Note 1) Following w as in: edwen Appendix E lists this as being an alternate w-tehta. (Note 1)

NOTES: +w(u) In vowels the following w is usually transcribed as a u. +y(i) In vowels the following y is usually transcribed as an i. The dots are only seen being used to form diphthongs. 1. These are not shown in either inscription, but there is no opportunity for them to occur in either sample. However, Appendix E makes mention of both of these.

u-series

u as in: numen

i-series

i as in: wilya ui as in: cui

e-series

e as in: ungw

ei as in: eitha



a-series

Series

Normal a as in: namri

+y(i) ai as in: phain

+w(u) au/aw as in: gaur/thraw

 



10 Mode of Gondor (Third Copy of the Kings Letter) I II III IV

c/k as in calma

NOTES: Theoretical Values The theoretical values in Column III, are mentioned because some writers think that they were used to write words in other languages. This makes sense, considering that at this time in Gondor Sindarin and Westron were used side-by-side. 1. This tengwa is transcribed f when it occurs at the end of a word . 2. Can be used before a vowel to represent an I as in Iorhael. (

3. By the Third Age this sound/tengwa had changed to a v. Some people maintain that a curl attached to the bow of a tengwa indicates a spirant rather than a stop. However we only see this done to an M (MH), so it is unclear if the curl is actually used this way, or if the MH is an extra character.

S R QP I HF F G

h as in halla (Theoretical)

mh > v as in mhellyn (Note 3)

).

h as in hyarmen

hw as in hwesta (Theoretical)

e-glide diphthongs (Note 2)

s as in silm

ss as in ess

'

&

r as in rmen (Nonfinal)

rh as in ngaurhoth (Theoretical) s as in silm

"

l as in lamb

r as in umbar (Final)

w as in wilya (Theoretical)

i-glide diphthongs

n as in nev

dh as in galadh

v/f as in vedui/alf (Note 1) m as in mellon

th as in thl

f/ph as in friel/phelg

d as in ando

b as in umbar

t as in triel

p as in parma

g as in gwann/nelig kh as in acharn

gh as in felgh (Theoretical) ng as in ngelaidh

u-glide diphthongs (Theoretical)

lh as in Edhelharn ss as in ess

w as in wilya (Theoretical)

11 Mode of Gondor Tehtar/Modifier Marks

Preceding a as in: adel Preceding a as in: adel (Theoretical) Preceding e as in: hebin Preceding i as in: hebin Preceding o as in: morn Preceding u as in: num Preceding y as in: ylf Preceding n or m sound as in: alcarinqua/minnna Doubles the length as in: mellon

Short a as in: adel Short a as in: adel Short e as in: hebin Short i as in: hebin Short o as in: morn Short u as in: nu Y-sound as in: mellyn

Following w as in: gwain

Mode of Gondor Diphthong Chart i-glide

'

u-glide

au/aw as in: naur (Theoretical)

&

&

e-glide

ae as in: mae

oe as in: boe

ai as in: erain

ei as in: eitha

ui as in: nuin

Mark

With Tengwa

With Short Carrier

Over Long Carrier

Long/double a as in: mdiel Long/double a as in: mdiel Long/double e as in: yva Long/double i as in: hni Long/double o as in: ambarna Long/double u as in: nmen Y-sound as in: br

 

 

  $# !   

"

12 Full Mode of Gondor (First Copy of the Kings Letter) I

II

III

IV
c/k as in calma

1 2 3 4 5 6
 

NOTES: 1. There is no pattern as to which tengwa is used. 2. In this sample whenever these tengwar are used, they always have a dot above them. A stand-alone i is always repres ented . 3. By the Third Age this sound/tengwa had changed to a v. Some people maintain that a curl attached to the bow of a tengwa indicates a spirant rather than a stop. However we only see this done to an M (MH), so it is unclear if the curl is actually used this way, or if the MH is an extra character.
S R

mh > v as in mhellyn (Note 3)

I

Word-final form of

h as in halla
D

i as in wilya (Note 2)

i as in Iorhael (initially) (Note 2)

h as in hyarmen
2

hw as in hwesta (Theoretical)

e as in ungw

s as in silm
(

y as in yanta

ss as in ess

'

&

r as in rmen (Note 1)
% $

rh as in ngaurhoth

l as in lambe

"

r as in r (Note 1)

o as in nolt

n as in numen

m as in malta

dh as in galadh

v as in vedui/alf

th as in thul

f/ph as in formen/phelg

d as in ando

t as in tinco

p as in parma

b as in umbar

g as in anga

kh as in acharn

gh as in felgh (Theoretical) ng as in ngelaidh (Theoretical) w as in wilya (Theoretical)

lh as in Edhelharn ss as in ess

u as in numen

6 @

a as in namri

13 Full Mode of Gondor Complex Vowels

Denotes a long vowel.

Can be placed above a c or a carrier to help distinguish it in crowded words. (Note 1) Preceding n or m sound as in: alcarinqua/minnna Doubles the value as in: mellon Following w as in: gwain

NOTES: The tehtar marks in the Complex Vowel Table are used only on vowels. +w(u) In vowels the following w is usually transcribed as a u. +y(i) In vowels the following y is usually transcribed as an i. The dots are only seen being used to form diphthongs. ^ It has been suggested that in this mode ^ is a smaller form of yanta raised to a tehta mark. Used only on vowels. 1. This is only seen done on the and tengwar.

u-series

u as in: numen

m

o-series

o as in: nolt

i-series

i as in: wilya oe as in: foeir ui as in: cui

e-series

e as in: ungw

ei as in: eitha

Alternate form of ^ See notes below.

a-series

Normal a as in: namri

+e ae as in: laegel

+y(i) ai as in: phain

+w(u) au/aw as in: gaur/thraw

    

   

14 Sindarin Punctuation Very few punctuation marks are used when writing with the Tengwar and what punctuation marks we do have seem to be haphazardly used. Tehta Mode Mode of Gondor

Parenthesis

Comma Semicolon/Comma

Period/End of Paragraph

Full Modes Sindarin Mode of Beleriand Comma

Full Mode of Gondor

Period/End of Paragraph

Beginning & End of Sentence Mark | Period/Exclamation Mark

Parenthesis Comma

Comma/Period Comma/Semicolon/Period Colon

15 Notes on the English Modes The Original Mode The first mode outlined in this section I have chosen to call The Original Mode because it is the style that J.R.R. Tolkien used in his English language writings. Some additional information is drawn from Appendix E of the Lord of the Rings.

carried over from the Quenya style where the placed in front of a tengwa could represent an aspirated sound. A peculiarity worth mentioning is the word too in the Hugh Brogan Letter. It is written out as would be expected.

CJRTs Mode This is the mode used by Tolkiens son in his tengwar writings. These writings are found on the title pages of the twelve volumes of The History of Middle Earth series, Unfinished tales, and The Silmarillion. He tends to be very inconsistent between books and sometimes even within an inscription. CJRTs Mode went through a considerable amount of change and it tends to follow English spelling rather closely. A good example of this is how he spells the word black: . As you see he has a letter for c and uses it for all cases where c occurs in English. In other modes the ck in black would normally be expressed as either a k or a doubled k such as: or . Long vowels are not shown on a long carrier, rather they are written on short carriers or above tengwar just as short vowels are. We only see double vowels such as the os in book placed onto long carriers. The only exception to this is seen in Book X where the a in Ainur is written above a long carrier rather than in the diphthongal form that it usually has ( instead of the earlier ). The reason for this change is unknown, perhaps CJRT was experimenting with using it as a way to capitalize a proper name, or more likely hes using it to represent the long-a. When the vowel combinations: ea, oa, ia, ie, & ue occur a short carrier is used with the first vowel on top and the second on the bottom ( , , , & ). One could assume the combinations: ua, ae, oe, & ue would follow this pattern should they occur. The only exception to this is in Book II where the ie in Tinuviel is written out: . Book II was still early in the development of this mode, and CJRT had probably not yet settled how he would handle the vowel combinations. Incidentally at this point he was still showing the double-o in book as rather than the correct . CJRT will (occasionally) also place following marks under a tengwa even instead of , he: instead of or (if it was me) and even in father:

The Common Mode This is the mode that has developed in recent years and become the standard way of writing the tengwar among fans of the language. It is essentially a mixture of The Original Mode and CJRTs Mode. Breaking English up into three separate modes is actually somewhat misleading, because if you are familiar with one of the modes you can easily read a passage written in another English mode. The differences between these modes lie mainly in how the diacritic marks (tehtar) are used and represented. There are also differences among some lesser-used tengwar. All of the English tehta modes are however written in the Sindarin style, that is with the tehta mark read as though it preceded the tengwa.

)  46 (9 #

normally we would only expect this to be seen in a word such as herein:

where there is no room above.

4 DC (@ B

4 B @A  ! 4 (#

 ! ( 6 #

though there is room above the next tengwa in a word. Such as return:

instead of

or traced:

rather than

   

!  " #

$ 9

In this case though the is merged into the tengwa: +

> . Although we never see used in this mode. instead of or

  

$ 9

!   

Tengwar with a downward stem such as

can be aspirated by extending the stem upwards ( ). I believe this is

& '

  

&  % % $ %

69

 5

8 7  3(  #

4  32 1) ( 0 

7 6  3(  #

 5

16 Original Mode for English (Appendix E of the Lord of the Rings & The Hugh Brogan Letter) I

II

III

IV
k as in kite

1 2 3 4 5 6
 

of the
D

NOTES: 1. The value ngw is not found in the English language. This tengwa in English only has the value ngw when writing words such as: tengwar or tengwa. 2. Originally this tengwa had the value khw as in Quentin or Quenya, but mostly for English it is applied to q/kw as in queen. was 3. Tolkien in Appendix E, makes no distinction between gh voiced as in ghost and quiet as in bought. 4. The R-rule is always followed in this mode. It is described in Appendix E by calling weak and full. 5. This tengwa is sometimes used for consonantal y such as yak or you. Mostly though it is used for i-glide diphthongs such as in their or great. 6. This tengwa is almost exclusively used for u-glide diphthongs such as in journey. 7. Appendix E mentions these letters as being aspirated (sound+h) however we never see them used in this mode. Although youll notice that some of the values are picked up in the later modes. Tolkien also stated that they could be used to represent consonantal variations as needed. 8. This is seen only in the Hugh Brogan Letter.
H G E F

probably only rarely used for hw, and it is possible that

was created later as an additional tengwa so that

is used just for khw.

the
@

of

j+h (Note 7)

t+h (Note 7)
6

p+h (ph) (Note 7)

ch+h (Note 7)

h as in high
2

hw as in when (Note 2)

y as in yak i-glide diphthongs (Note 5)

s as in see
(

s as in see

z as in zoo

'

&

r as in red (Note 4)
$

rh as in rhombus

l as in late

"

r as in car (Note 4)

w as in wake

y as in yak/you (consonantal)

n as in night

m as in make

dh as in thy

v as in victor

zh as in beige

th as in thigh

f as in four ph as in graph

sh as in shoot

d as in dog

t as in tie

p as in pie

ch as in chess

b as in boy

j as in joke

g as in game
ngw as in tengwar

(Note 1) khw as in queen hw as in when (Note 2) gh as in aghast (Note 3) ng as in sing

lh as in ?

z as in zoo

w as in war u-glide diphthongs (Note 6) k+h (kh) as in Christmas (Note 8) g+h (gh) (Note 7)

17 Original Mode Tehtar/Modifier Marks Mark With Tengwa With Short Carrier Over Long Carrier
Long/double a as in: Aaron/came Long/double a as in: Aaron/came

Preceding long/double e as in: keep Preceding i as in: kit/kite Preceding o as in: top/open/book Preceding long/double o as in: open/book (Seldom used) Preceding u as in: cup/cute Preceding long/double u as in: cute (Seldom used) Preceding y as in: style/system Short i as in: kit Short o as in: top Long/double i as in: kite

Preceding n or m sound as in: pant/bump Doubles the length as in: toss Following w as in: two (Seldom used Note 1) Following s as in: cars

NOTES: Doubled Tehtar While realistically any tehta could be doubled, it is only mentioned being done on the accent and the curls. Accents & Curls On occasion a writer may reverse the and the and also the curls. This reversal is shown in the Hugh Brogan Letter. Variant S-curls: These are only seen in the Hugh Brogan Letter. 1. This is seen only in the Hugh Brogan Letter. 2. This is not seen in any inscription of this mode. It is however mentioned in Appendix E.

G F

E D

Variants on the S-curl:

or

Preceding ae as in pair/care (Seldom used) Silent following e as in: here Obscured Vowel Mark (Note 2)

ae as in: pair/care (Seldom used) Silent e as in: here Obscured Vowel Mark

Projected y as in: story

&

Short u as in: cup

Short e as in: kept

Preceding a as in: cat/along/came (Seldom used) Preceding e as in: kept/keep

Short a as in: cat/along

  & H

( #'

3 4

 

" #!

ACB

 0 78 2 56 @6   $ 7

 

$ $



Preceding a as in: cat/along/came/care

Short a as in: cat/along/care

1 ) 9 5 3 A

Long/double e as in: keep

Long/double o as in: open/book

Long/double u as in: cute

Projected y as in: by (maybe story) Long ae as in: bait (Theoretical)

18 CJRTs Mode for English (History of Middle Earth Series) I

II

III

IV
k as in kite

1 2 3 4 5 6
 

hw as in when Alt form of

I H

NOTES: 1. The R-rule is ignored for the first half of the HoME series, then followed for the last few books. 2. The only time this letter is seen is in the word dwelt, this raises the question of whether or not this tengwa can be used initially or just inside of a word, or if its a mistake. 3. Whenever a tehtar mark is placed on an s is used. If no tehta mark is needed is used. The only exceptions are in The 4. This is seen in Christopher once as
S

for the silent h. The most likely tengwa for that sound would have been
T

Silmarillion and Book IX, where a tehta mark is placed above

( ).

is not used in the Silmarillion. or just .

of the
D

s as in see (Note 3)

quiet h as in John h as in high (Note 4)

the
@

of

h as in high
2

hw as in when

i-glide diphthongs

s as in see (Note 3)
(

c as in ocean/lace/count

z as in zoo

'

&

r as in red (Note 1)
$

l as in late

"

r as in car (Note 1)

w as in wake

y as in yak/story/by

n as in night

m as in make

dh as in thy

v as in victor

zh as in beige

th as in thigh

f/ph as in four/alpha

sh as in shoot

d as in dog

t as in tie

p as in pie

ch as in chess

b as in boy

j as in joke

g as in game

kh as in loch

ng as in sing/finger w as in dwelt (Note 2)

z as in zoo

u-glide diphthongs

gh as in brought

kw as in queen

19 CJRTs Mode Tehtar/Modifier Marks

Preceding a as in: cat/along/came/care Preceding e as in: kept/record Preceding long/double e as in: keep (Seldom used) Preceding i as in: kit/kite Preceding o as in: top/open/book Preceding u as in: cup/cute (Silmarillion) Preceding u as in: cup/cute Following a as in: cat/care Following o as in: top (Silmarillion) Following e as in: here/return Short/long a as in: cat/along/care/came Short/long e as in: kept/record

Short a as in: Earth/cat Short o as in: top/open (Silmarillion) Short e as in: here

Preceding m sound as in: bump (Note 3) Doubles the length as in: toss Following s as in: cars

NOTES: Doubled Tehtar While realistically any tehta could be doubled, it is only seen being done on the dots. 1. CJRT does not use the long carriers for long vowels. He only uses them for double vowels. Long vowels are written over tengwar or if no tengwa is available, over a short carrier. A double e is consistently represented by double dots over a tengwa. 2. Early on CJRT used this to show a y as in story, he later changed so that was used for all ys. ( > ) But, once again in 3. CJRT does not use the overbar for an N, the only time its used for an N is in the word and (

I 3Q"H P G

I " G@H 3

However, it is most of the time used normally for an M:

rather than

, sometimes though the m is written out as well.

D 6 F 1E

D CB A 6 1

9@

Book XII he uses it ( ). In The Silmarillion is used rather than or

for this y.

) 5 420 7 6 5 420 3 1 3 1

Short/long u as in: cup/cute (Silmarillion) Short/long u as in: cup/cute

Short/long i as in: kit/kite (Note 2) Short/long o as in: top/open

76

  #

Mark

With Tengwa

With Short Carrier

Over Long Carrier

Double a as in: Aaron (Note 1) Double e as in: keep (Theoretical Note 1)

78

76

# 

 ! " &('     % $

   % 

Double i as in: ? (Note 1 & 2) Double o as in: book (Note 1) Double u as in: ? (Silmarillion & Note 1) Double u as in: ? (Note 1)

$ &

). For example:

instead of

20 Common Mode for English I II III IV

k as in kite

occasion it is mistakenly used for gh as in bought ( ).

3. Most of the time this tengwa is not used, but it does have two values that are occasionally used. Ny is a theoretical value introduced by Dan Smith. Typically this would be used as in canyon or as in the Spanish seor, but not as in pony. More often this tengwa has the value ng and is used in place of or when is used for g. 5. The R-rule is generally followed in this mode. 6. This tengwa is sometimes used for consonantal y such as yak or you, mostly when

Mostly though it is used for i-glide diphthongs such as in their or great. Both values can be used simultaneously. 7. This tengwa is almost exclusively used for u-glide diphthongs such as in journey. 8. Most of the time this tengwa is used for a silent h as in John, however can also have that value.

UI

4. This tengwa is almost always used for ng as in king. Most often g is shown by:

. is used exclusively for a final or vowel y.

R I

P QI

is simply not used. Very rarely it will be used as in black. 2. This tengwa can be used for gh as in ghost, but often it is not used. Gh such as in ghost is commonly done with:

or

. On

NOTES: 1. Officially this tengwa is to be used for a kh as in: loch and possibly as in Christmas. However in most cases

of th e

s as in see

quiet h as in John h as in high (Note 8)

the

of

ph as in graph

h as in high

hw as in when

y as in yak i-glide diphthongs (Note 6)

s as in see

s as in see

z as in zoo

'

&

r as in red (Note 5)

rh as in rhombus rd as in coward

l as in late

"

r as in car (Note 5)

w as in wake

n as in night

m as in make

ny as in canyon ng as in sing (Note 3) y as in story

dh as in thy

v as in victor

zh as in beige (Seldom used)

@ AD

th as in thigh

f as in four

sh as in shoot

d as in dog

b as in boy

j as in joke

t as in tie

p as in pie

ch as in chess

g as in game

kh as in loch (Note 1) gh as in aghast (Note 2) ng as in sing g as in finger (Note 4) q as in queen (Seldom used)

ld as in mold (Seldom used) z as in zoo

w as in war u-glide diphthongs (Note 7)

gh as in bought

is used instead and

21 Common Mode Tehtar/Modifier Marks Mark With Tengwa With Short Carrier Over Long Carrier
Long/double a as in: Aaron/came Long/double a as in: Aaron/came

Preceding long/double e as in: keep Preceding i as in: kit/kite Preceding o as in: top/open/book Preceding long/double o as in: open/book (Seldom used) Preceding u as in: cup/cute Preceding long/double u as in: cute (Seldom used) Preceding y as in: system Silent following e as in: here Following a as in: cat Short i as in: kit Short o as in: top Long/double i as in: kite

Short a as in: Earth (Note 1)

Preceding n or m sound as in: pant/bump Doubles the length as in: toss Following s as in: cars

NOTES: Doubled Tehtar While realistically any tehta could be doubled, it is only mentioned being done on the accent and the curls. Accents & Curls On occasion a writer may reverse the and the and also the curls. 1. Typically only seen in vowel combinations such as Earth.

Projected y as in: story (Seldom used variant) Silent e as in: foe

&

Short u as in: cup

Short e as in: kept

Preceding a as in: cat/along/came (Seldom used) Preceding e as in: kept/keep

Short a as in: cat/along

  & 1 B

( #'

1 2

 

" #!

9A@

 0 42 78 56   $ 7

 

$ $



Preceding a as in: cat/along/came/care

Short a as in: cat/along/care

3 ) 5 1 9

Long/double e as in: keep

Long/double o as in: open/book

Long/double u as in: cute

Projected y as in: by

22 English Mode of Beleriand Style One (Tom Bombadil & Errantry Inscriptions) I II III IV
k as in kite

NOTES: Theoretical Values These values are very uncommon and are not used in any inscription by Tolkien, fans of the full modes introduced them. The values are based on the use of the tengwar in other modes.

is added after . Here to:

d b YcT X W V a ` YT X W V U

Example:

Here of:

1. The R-rule is always followed in this mode, with one addition: If a word ends with

and the next word starts with a vowel then

hw as in why Simplified form

w as in wipe

Alt form of

e as in kept

schwa as in of

y as in yet/very

the

of

h as in high

s as in see

s as in see

z as in zoo

'

&

r as in red (Note 1)

rr as in merry (Theoretical)

l as in late

"

r as in car (Note 1)

u as in woman

u as in cut

n as in night

m as in make

ny as in canyon (Theoretical)

dh as in thy

v as in victor

zh as in beige (Theoretical)

th as in thigh

f as in four

sh as in shoot

d as in dog

b as in boy

j as in joke

t as in tie

p as in pie

ch as in chess

g as in game

kh as in loch (Theoretical)

ng as in sing

a as in palm

ll as in tall (Theoretical) z as in zoo

o as in cot

a as in ajar

Alt form of

23 English Mode of Beleriand Style One: Complex Vowels

as in: far/part unstressed schwa as in: across/of unstressed schwa as in: sofa/circus/develop as in: kept as in: cot as in: woman/put/to stressed schwa as in: cut/up/under as in: hat/bad as in: kite/buy as in: ask/father (Note 1)

English Mode of Beleriand Style One: Modifier Marks

Preceding n or m sound as in: pant/bump Sometimes the n/m is written out. Following Y, used over previous tengwa with to form a u as in cute. (Note 3) Following w as in: dwelt/queen (kw) Obscure Vowel Mark as in: woman/seven Can be placed above the c to distinguish it from neighboring tengwar in crowded words.

NOTES: This mode can vary according to the pronunciation of the author; this can make reading and writing in this mode difficult.

Please note that these two schwas represent the same sound, their positio n is the only difference.

2. The more common way of representing this sound was . 3. Examples of this usage:

Fume:

D' CB %  4B

Cute:

9 9@

87

1. This sound does not occur in American English, only British English. For American ask and f ather use

A

Unstressed Schwas:

: Is normally used in word initial position or as a stand-alone a. : Is used in medial and word-final positions.

4 ( '! 51

4 ( '! 32

1 ( '! 0)

A stressed r will have the schwa ( ) preceding the r. Ex: Girl , Work , Lurk:

! # '%&$"

R-Sounds:

An unstressed r is represented by

. Ex: Better:

as in: water/called/ caught/palm as in: blue (Note 2)

as in: pit/ring

as in: keen/leap/ beard as in: they/great/ day as in: boy/join

as in: keen (Theoretical)

  (

  



as in: down

as in slow/old as in: blue

and / respectively

24 English Mode of Beleriand Style Two (1st & 3rd Kings Letters, Book of Mazarbul, & Hugh Brogan Letter) I

II

III

IV
k as in kite

1 2 3 4 5 6
 

3rd Kings Letter

NOTES: Theoretical Values These values are very uncommon and are not used in any inscription by Tolkien, fans of the full modes introduced them. The values are based on the use of the tengwar in other modes. 1. There are two ways to write Rs in this mode. See the chart on the next page. 2. Use of these tengwar is entirely dependant on which method of writing Rs you are using. 3. In the Hugh Brogan Letter this is always used with an accent above it. ( )
P I

>

Alt form of

i as in kit (Note 3)
D

y as in yet/very

a as in ajar

the
@

of

h as in high
2

hw as in what (Theoretical)

e as in kept long e as in keep

s as in see
(

c as in city/especial

z as in zoo

'

&

r/w as in red/war (Note 1 & 2)

$

rr as in merry (Theoretical)

l as in late

"

r as in car (Note 1)

u as in cup

o as in cot

n as in night

m as in make

ny as in canyon (Theoretical)

dh as in thy

v as in victor

zh as in beige (Theoretical)

th as in thigh

f as in four

sh as in shoot

d as in dog

t as in tie

p as in pie

ch as in chess

b as in boy

j as in joke

g as in game

kh as in loch (Theoretical) gh as in bought

ng as in sing

a as in palm

ll as in tall

z as in zoo

w as in wake (Note 2)

of the

25 English Mode of Beleriand Style Two: Complex Vowels

English Mode of Beleriand Style Two: Modifier Marks

Silent following e as in: here (Note 1) Used to distinguish vowels in crowded words. Particularly if they could be mistaken as part of another tengwa. The accent can also be used for this. (Note 2)

English Mode of Beleriand Style Two: R / W Table

R-consonant R-vowel W Red War

NOTES: Theoretical Values These values are not shown in any inscription. They are just an assumption. Type 1 Book of Mazarbul & Hugh Brogan Letter Type 2 1st & 3rd Kings Letters 1. The dot under a tengwa can denote a following silent e, or a schwa sound. 2. The accent is used for this purpose in the Hugh Brogan Letter.

12

Type 2

Type 2

12

Type 1

Type 1

"

Preceding n or m sound as in: pant/bump Sometimes the n/m is written out. Doubles the value as in: toss Sometimes the tengwar are written. Following w as in: dwelt/queen (kw) Sometimes transcribed as a u. You ( )

 

Denotes a long vowel (sometimes) Shire (Kings Letter)

Following s as in: cars This alternate S-curl is seen in the 3rd Copy of the Kings Letter & The Hugh Brogan Letter.

'& %

    

u-series

uw as in: blue (Theoretical) In the Hugh Brogan Letter we never see the double dots used. Though no word is used that would call for them.

u as in: cut

o-series

o as in: cot

oy as in: boy (Theoretical) uy as in: buy

i-series

i as in: kit ow as in slow

e-series

e as in: kept

ey as in: they

a-series

Series

Normal a as in: palm/chat

+y ay as in: day

+w aw as in: down ew as in: slew (Theoretical)

( $

#$  ) ( #

26 English Punctuation There is no unified punctuation in the Tengwar. Some people use standard English punctuation, there are however a number of punctuation marks used by Tolkien, though inconsistently and across various inscriptions.

Question Mark

Comma/Hyphen Comma/Period Colon

Exclamation Mark

The dots represent a pause in the passage, and in general, the more dots the longer the pause lasts. Many times the was appended to an end of section/paragraph mark to indicate the reader was at the end of the document. In most cases very little if any punctuation is actually used when writing with the Tengwar.

Quotation Marks (one dot on each side)

End of Section

Quotation Marks End of Paragraph/Section

Period/End of Paragraph End of Paragraph/Section End of Paragraph/Section

27 Mode for The Black Speech/Orkish (The Ring Inscription) I II III IV

k as in krimpatul

h as in mauhur (Theoretical)

NOTES: Theoretical Values Based upon their use in other modes, primarily English. These values have been made pretty much standard by fans, as they are used in the various Tengwar transcription utilities. 1. The R-rule is followed in this mode.

Other Known Consonantal Sounds There are a few other consonantal sounds in the Black Speech, that could theoretically be represented in the tengwar: SN , SK (initially) , THR , RZ , ZG (finally). We do know that THR & ZG are not assigned a tengwa from the ring inscription by J.R.R. Tolkien. However, the others could possibly have been placed into the chart if Tolkien had continued work on this language.

UT

RQ

ash:

agh:

Q SE R

Q PHF I G

Examples:

Shrak:

ghash:

Tengwar with a raised stem such as:

or

can have their stem extended downward when they carry a tehta.

dh as in ? (Theoretical)

v as in ? (Theoretical)

zh as in ? (Theoretical)

th as in ? (Theoretical)

f as in ? (Theoretical)

sh as in ash

h as in mauhur (Theoretical)

hw as in ? (Theoretical)

y as in ? i-glide diphthongs (Theoretical)

s as in snaga (Theoretical)

s as in snaga (Theoretical)

z as in nazg

'

&

r as in krimpatul (Note 1)

rh as in ? (Theoretical)

l as in krimpatul

"

r as in burz (Note 1)

w as in ? (Theoretical)

y as in ? (Theoretical)

n as in nazg

m as in gimbatul

ny as in ? (Theoretical)

dh as in ? (Theoretical)

v as in ? (Theoretical)

zh as in ? (Theoretical)

th as in thrak

f as in ufthak (Theoretical)

sh as in sha

d as in durb

b as in brz

j as in ? (Theoretical)

g as in nazg kh as in ? (Theoretical) gh as in ghsh ng as in ? (Theoretical) lh as in ? (Theoretical) z as in nazg w as in ? u-glide diphthongs (Theoretical) kh as in ? (Theoretical) gh as in agh

t as in krimpatul

p as in krimpatul

ch as in ? (Theoretical)

28 Black Speech Tehtar/Modifier Marks

Preceding a as in: ash Preceding a as in: ash (Theoretical) Preceding e as in: ? (Theoretical Note 1) Preceding long/double e as in: ? (Theoretical Note 1) Preceding i as in: ishi Preceding u as in: tulk Preceding long/double u as in: tulk/Lugbrz Preceding o as in: olg (Note 2) Preceding long/double o as in: olg (Note 2) Preceding n or m sound as in: gimbatul

Short a as in: ash Short a as in: ash (Theoretical) Short e as in: ? (Theoretical Note 1)

Short i as in: ishi Short u as in: tulk

Black Speech Diphthongs/Complex Vowel Chart i-glide u-glide

NOTES: 1. The e does not seem to exist in this language. If this tehta is used it would only be for writing words in another language. 2. The o occurs very rarely in th is language. This mode bears an extreme likeness to the various modes for English. This is probably because only one sample of this script exists, that being the ring inscription. If Tolkien had foreseen a need to make extensive use of this language as he did Quenya and Sindarin there would most likely be more differentiation. One peculiarity in this mode is that there dont appear to be spaces between words, whether this is just the impression given by the ring inscription, or what Tolkien intended is unclear.

however will show the second bow to actually be a short carrier ( ).

Also worth mentioning is the particle ishi in the inscription. At first glance it can appear to be written using

' (&

au as in: Mauhur

ai as in: Skai/hai

oi as in: ? (Theoretical) eu as in: ? (Theoretical)

ui as in: ? (Theoretical) ou as in: ? (Theoretical)

Short o as in: olg (Note 2)

Mark

With Tengwa

With Short Carrier

Over Long Carrier

Long/double a as in: ghsh Long/double a as in: ghsh (Theoretical) Long/double e as in: ? (Theoretical Note 1)

 

 

 

"   

 

 

Long/double i as in: ? Long/double u as in: tulk/Lugbrz

Long/double o as in: olg (Note 2)

"

, closer inspection

29 Mode for Old English I II III IV

back stop c as in ac

NOTES: 1. Even though the voiced and the voiceless spirants ( and ) were interchangeable sounds in Old English, the tengwar mode retains the distinction between them. 2. Though vowels are usually expressed by tehtar, and are occasionally used for a and u, mostly in prefixes and word-final. Long 3. Used in i as well as Meneltyla

4. Not attested in Text II and only used once in Text I. Normally, the voiced sound of s in medial positions is represented by . 6. Individual tengwar can be used instead of these combination letters. Ex. ahte: * These tengwar are not shown in Text II.

uv t

bs ` r

q p ih g f C

5. In one word Zigure in Text I th is tengwa has the value z (

), also in this particular case the . represents a silent following e. , .

Q R da T VUcb ` a ` YW X

TR SQ

vowels , can be shown by ,

(this usage does not appear in Text II). (Written in Text I style with Text II tehtar markings).

front ht as in meht (Note 6)

back ht as in ahte (Note 6)

sc as in scort

Alt form of

Alt form of

Alt form of *

Breath h as in hi

s as in se

z as in alysan* (Note 4)

'

&

w as in wox

l as in gelomp

"

T VU R

r as in eorl

u as in * (Note 2)

i-y glide* (Note 3)

n as in cyning

m as in man

as in a (Note 1 & 5)

v as in ofer/Avallon

as in a (Note 1)

f as in folc

front spirant h as in aleh (Theoretical) front spirant g as in egn

d as in god

b as in bd

front stop g as in secganne*

B G

t as in to

p as in up

front stop c as in cyrre*

back stop g as in gode back spirant h as in eah back spirant g as in hogode

a as in * (Note 2)

ld as in walde

hw as in hwt

30 Old English Mode Tehtar/Modifier Marks

Doubles the length as in: Eresse Following s as in: facnes

Makes the tehta above a tengwa long as in: S (Seen in Text II only)

NOTES: The value on the left of the | is from Text I, the value on the right is from Text II. Where there is no | the value is common to both texts. Under curls were not used in Text I, hence the reason for the X in the Text I/under curl locations above. In Old English vowels that could be written on a long carrier typically have an accent as in S Read order: Text I Over-tehta/tengwa/under-tehta. Text II Tengwa/over-tehta/under-tehta.

H G

E FD

` Y X W VT U

65

B CA

Variants on the S-curl:

65

Preceding n or m sound as in: ende

As in most modes this represents x as in: weox

or

Preceding | Following y as in: cyning

y sound as in: cyning

Following e | as in: Eresse | hwt

e | sound as in: Eresse | hwt

y sound as in:

?
(Not Shown)

or

or

Preceding | Following e | as in: Eresse | hwt

e | sound as in: Eresse | hwt

'

'

Following X | o as in: heorte

Short X | o as in: heorte

Preceding | Following o as in: heorte

Short o as in: heorte

"

"

Following X | u as in: wuldor

Short X | u as in: wuldor

Preceding | Following u as in: wuldor

Short u as in: wuldor

Following i as in: cyning

Short i as in: cyning

Preceding | Following i as in: cyning

Short i as in: cyning

Following a | e as in: Avallon | Zigure

Short a | e as in: Avallon | Zigure

Preceding | Following a | e as in: Avallon | Zigure

Short a | e as in: Avallon | Zigure

Following | a as in: hwt | Avallon

Short | a as in: hwt | Avallon

Long a | e as in: s | sw

Long i as in: swe

Long u as in: p

Long o as in: st

Long e | ae as in: sw | S

Preceding | Following | a as in: hwt | Avallon

Short | a as in: hwt | Avallon

Mark

With Tengwa

With Short Carrier

Over Long Carrier

Long | a as in: S s

 

# $

QRP S

8@9

( 7 2 34 & I    " ' ) 1

 % 3 8 7

31 Old English Mode Details Overview When a consonant is followed by a vowel, the tehta can be placed above or below the tengwa.

If a consonant is followed by two vowels the first is written above the tengwa, the second below it.

When a tehta can' t be placed on a tengwa it is written on a carrier. A vowel/diphthong at the start of a word would be written on a carrier also. (Above and below if needed)

Long vowels are usually placed on a long carrier, but they can also be placed above a tengwa with a small carrier beneath.

The Old English mode is designed to be written phonetically. The diphthong ea for example, ea sounds like a so that is how it should be written. Similarly, if an f is located inside a word it is pronounced v.

The only times that the Old English mode is not written phonetically is when a s occurs inside a word (pronounced z), but is still written s. There is only one exception in Text I where is used for the medial s. Also in one case the diphthong ea is written out e+a rather than ae+a.

To double an n or m you must use the overbar rather than the double under accents.

As you can see writing in this mode can become very busy, here are a few more samples that help illustrate how crowded some words can become.

When hand-written in words such as the above, it is not uncommon for an undercurl to cross the tail of a tengwa such as , as seen in the above example weorulde.

 ' 8 E D BC

halecran:

A $@ ! 9 8 $ 7

weox swie:

 5 6 32

5 0 4 32 

onne:

0 1 0 )

gearde:

not

' & %

eafera:

$ #

" !

as:

  

lfwine:

weorulde:

se:

32 Old English Mode Details Further Samples of Note

ealle:

In this case the L is doubled by placing the doubling marks inside the bow rather than underneath as might be expected, while typically this is the case with the L it is worth noting that this is a rare case w here we see three tehtar placed on one tengwa.

Note the positions of the tehtar in these examples, they show the ways that tehta could be placed on a tengwa. Combination Characters The tengwar , & are formed by combining two tengwa into one using: Punctuation The following three symbols are the only punctuation shown in this mode. Ampersand sign (and)

Comma, end of statement/paragraph

Quotes, used to indicate words written in a foreign language or mode.

% &$

!#

! "


, & .

cyning:

0)

    '

ende:

33 Tengwar Numerals and Numbering Methods The first method for writing numbers with the Tengwar is just by placing a dot or a bar above a tengwa. The tengwa that is used is decided by its position in the Tengwar Chart. or =1 or =2

This method is used exclusively with things such as numbered lists, it would not for example be used to express a date or a quantity. For all other types of numbers, a full set of digits was developed: 0 4 8 1 5 9 2 6 / 10 (A) 3 7 / 11 (B)

The alternate numbers are only seen in the 3rd Kings Letter

In Tolkiens world the numbers were placed in reverse order with the least significant (units) digit on the left, instead of on the right. For example 5236 would be written as:

= 6325

Most writers though use the standard method with the units digit on the right:

= 5236

Also in this system dots or overbars are commonly placed above the digits to make them standout as numbers. Both dots and overbars should not be used at the same time. or not

= 5236 (The overbars are commonly all joined together to form one line)

Two additional digits were occasionally used to form a duodecimal system. In a Base-12 system single digits are used to represent the numbers 10 and 11. So to write in Base-12, convert the normal Base-10 number to 12 and then replace the digits with their Tengwar equivalents. 10 = A = 11 = B = 12 = 10 = or

or 8487 = 4AB3 =

Typically when using the duodecimal system an open dot was placed under the units digit to identify it as a Base-12 number. or

= 4AB3 or 3BA4

In the duodecimal system it was not uncommon for dots to be placed under the digits, just as dots or bars are placed above in the decimal system. However in the duodecimal system bars are still placed above, not below. or not

= 3BA4

 

@@4 83 # 75 6

01( 201( 2( 121&( " #%

or

B 8 B 3 4B 1 1 1 )1A #

4 @398 # 4

1 21 #21%21& 0)0)( ) &( " ("(# %

8 @3@4  

8 3 4 8B B 3 B 4 1 1 1 )1A # )# A

A A )# )#

&% # '$$"

" #% $''&

4 @398

= 24

Alt #1 Alt #4 Alt #6

34 Guidelines for Writing Revised: February 2003 Common questions when using the tengwar are: How d o I write this word, or that vowel combination? The answer is very simple: however you want. Chances are that so long as you follow some general guidelines and use commonly recognized tengwar and tehtar in your inscriptions, it will be readable by another person. The goal of this document is to layout those general guidelines. Note: Typically I use ^ to represent a long-A (though not always). Topics covered in this article: 1. The R-rule 2. Phonetic/Alphabetic Writing 3. Which Tengwa to use 4. Switching Vowel Marks 5. Unusual Tehtar 6. Long and Short Carriers 7. Using Ys 8. S-Curls 9. Diphthongs & Complex Vowels 10. Compound Consonants 11. Over/Under Bars 12. Other Issues 1. The R-rule The R-rule is the name given to the practice of using words. For example:

Red:

It is strongly encouraged that the R-rule be followed, however there is certainly precedence for ignoring it. Christopher Tolkien only rarely followed the R-rule in his inscriptions. Therefore the writer can choose whether to use, ignore, or reverse the R-rule. For example:

Red:

2. Phonetic/Alphabetic Writing To write phonetically, alphabetically, or in a mixture is completely left up to the writer. Most writers tend to closely follow English spelling when writing, but sometimes when writing names it can be helpful to write them phonetically. Likewise some prefer to write phonetically and only alphabetically when encountering a large or difficult word. Generally speaking phonetic writing can be difficult to read because of pronunciation differences between people. Some examples:

Age: As:

Vision: Know: Sure: ,

Reign: Who:

Beige:

Answer:

Enough:

not

(best order) Nation:

 3 2S 5  S ' T   F  2CE 2 7 0B 7 0B 5$ 7 6 7 6     

R H  G E5$ H  5$ H  P H  I H  G Q G G G D  D C 0 4  @ 5  @ 5  (# $ A @8 # 9 '8 # 9 '8 2 ! &  3 2 1 5%  3 2 1 '%  )( '% 4 0 & #" $ #" !         

Once:

Car:

, Washed: , , Arrow: , , , , ,

Car:

before vowels and

before consonants and at the end of

35 3. Which Tengwa to use You as the writer, when multiple tengwar are available can choose which tengwa to use based solely on your personal tastes. The S-values for example: was used most of the time, when space was needed above could such a versatile writing system. Here is an example:

The Modifier Symbols represent a type of short hand notation for a preceding N/M sound or for the doubling of a consonant. For beginning writers, or for simplified reading it is sometimes desirable to write out the consonant rather than use the over/under bars. However, it should be said that this is only officially done in the English Modes of Beleriand, and occasionally in CJRTs mode.

Toss:

4. Switching Vowel Marks The recommended marks for vowels are: for E, for I, for O, for U. However the writer can choose to reverse the marks for E & I, and O & U.

Kite: Cut:

I: , , , (Tolkien used the short carrier when writing I) In addition the curls can occasionally be set at different angles. These are very rarely seen (thankfully), and mostly in handwritten samples done by beginners, or writers looking to add some variety to their inscriptions.

It is generally best if you do not use these alternate curls, it can make reading more difficult.

0 76

Open:

0 6

  43 (76 25 43 2 10 '

$  8 $ 8 7 43 ( 6 5 ) 43 ) ( '

Edit:

&

!

Once:

, ,

 " #  " !  



Once:

the tengwa for preceding values, without having to use:

As a side note there are two revised tengwar for S:

& . These allow the writer to place tehtar marks inside or . is a revised tengwa for Z. For example:

     

Once:

   

 

be used, and if space was needed both above and below

was used. This is part of what can make the Tengwar

, etc.

36 5. Unusual Tehtar Generally speaking using under tehtar marks should be avoided. The tehtar that are commonly shown in under positions are: for a silent following E, for a following A, for a following O. Following tehtar should not be used if there is a tengwa that it could be placed over instead. The exception being a vowel combination such as in Earth where it is commonly written underneath the carrier. This can serve to assist in making a word easier to read.

While Tolkien does not use any tehtar for a following U, some writers use mirrored curls for this. However, this practice should be avoided. On occasion new writers will use the under dot for a following I, or an under accent for a following E or I, those practices are definitely incorrect and must be avoided.

When it comes to doubling tehtar, Tolkien says that it was only usually done with the accent and curls. He does not rule out doubling the A-tehta or the I-tehta. Doubling the A-tehta can make a word or tengwa seem crowded. I recommend using the ^ for a long-A rather than a doubled tehta. Christopher Tolkien does show doubling of the I-tehta in several inscriptions. For example: the word deed has a double dot above it (CJRT reverses the E and I tehtar). Using the double dots is discouraged because it could be confused with the double dots used in other modes (Sindarin) where it represents a following Y.

Doubled under tehtar are not shown in any official inscription, however like with following Us some writers will occasionally use various doubled under tehta marks. This is incorrect and should not be done. Rather than doing this, you should use a carrier, or place the doubled marks over the next tengwa.

37 6. Long and Short Carriers Placing a tehta above a short carrier and using it to represent a long sound is incorrect, and must be avoided. The only time it is acceptable to do this is when space is wanted below for a following mark. Eat: , Kite: Kite: , Foe: , , ,

Likewise, placing a tehta on a long carrier and using it to represent a short sound is also incorrect. Beginning writers most commonly make mistakes like these. Kit: , Kit:

Seen:

Seen:

Even:

Even:

Placing doubled tehta on long carriers is generally discouraged because it can lead to some confusion when reading. Some use the doubled tehtar to represent super long vowel sounds that are not normally found in English. Mostly though they are used to show double vowels as in: Seen: Book: (discouraged) (discouraged) Oocyte:

Employee:

On occasion you will see a writer place tehtar on carriers in sequence, rather than write them over a tengwa. The result is an inscription that is closer to alphabetic writing. There are examples of this in inscriptions by Tolkien, however it is best not to make extensive use of this. Multiple tehtar should not be written over a single tengwa. Seen: Earth: Book: Wait:

(incorrect) (incorrect)

Earth:

(incorrect, should not use long carriers)

7. Using Ys Writers will typically have their own method of using Ys, this could include the use of & for the sound as in recommends using for diphthongs or consonantal Ys only, and

& are not to be used in English.

History: Yak: Yak:

(discouraged)

(discouraged) (discouraged)

System: System: By: By:

(discouraged) , (incorrect)

Boy: Boy:

H

Karyn:

History:

Hybrid: Hybrid:

(discouraged) (discouraged) (incorrect)

Dihybrid: Dihybrid: Dihybrid: Eye: Eye: ,

(discouraged, doubled I tehta) (incorrect) , , , (incorrect)

Eye: , They: They:

Lynn:

G ED & B F

UH U ) G ) 5 7 9 7 9 7 7 " E7 @ 0 9  9 0 @ G ED 9& 9B IF F G ED & B IF F G ED 9& B IF F G ED H 8B F & G ED 9& B F

D  8 

history, or the use of the tehta and the tengwar

&

(consonantal or vowel). Convention however for final or variant Ys such as in history.

 #!   

 01) ( ' %   

@ C C D EB 9  D8  EB  8  EB 8  EB 8  EB C C C C B 0  D8  D D

 #   !  $ !  #!   " !            

78 56 4 3 2

  Q8 R@P  Q8 4 P C 9

D   D 9 S& & T I& @ 0 9S& & 9 &  Q8  0   Q8 P C % 9 9 0 $@

  & 786 5  

 &   

Eat:

(confusing)

(incorrect) Tie:

(incorrect) (incorrect) (incorrect)

pronounced: O-O-cyte (super long vowel) Not a super long vowel

    

     

 

(Not recommended)

38 8. S-Curls The S-curl is a modifier symbol not a tengwa, but CJRT did place tehtar marks on the S-curl. It is best not to make extensive use of this though, as it can lead to some confusion when reading. An S-curl cannot be placed on a tengwa in a medial position, unless it is to form an X [ks] and then only the hook is used. Nor can an S curl be placed on a carrier or used by itself. Here various ways in which S-curls have been used.

9. Diphthongs & Complex Vowels The writer can choose how to write diphthongs and other complex vowel sounds. Although the writer should choose a method that allows the reader to easily understand words. Bait: , , , , You: Paul: Blue:

Great: Eight: May: Pair:

Point:

Guess:

Earth:

Eugenics: Eugenics: Goad:

Account: Would: Eat: Ion: ,

Miscellaneous: Miscellaneous: Wound: Grief: ,

Nation: Beige:

English Diphthong Chart i-glide u-glide

The ei diphthong commonly has a long-a sound such as you would find in th ey and is occasionally used for the ey ending. , we only see this used by CJRT. A lot of writers use for the ai in bait. I prefer , it seems more concise to me, but for

y x v

the ai -type sound these two can be interchanged. Most of these diphthongal forms are only rarely used. The most common are

& .

wv

ut

xv

us

au as in: Paul

tq

sq

ai as in: traitor/bait

ei as in: their/bait/ they eu as in: blue

p eB #"! p B$#"!  p e #! $ p e #! p $#!  " " " g W 0U# X g W 0# g W  '  C 0U $' Q2 a 6 A8 d7 $' Q2 a 6 c A 8 @ @ d7 0 $' Q2 a 6 c A8 b  $' Q2 a 6 A 8 @ @ W 0%! W` 0 ! T R ! 9 B S Q T R ! $U T R ! 9 T R H! S Q S Q S Q H G & G B9F 6 6 6 A C B9 !  A@ 9 ! 67 #( 65 ( 6 5 '(  ) 0#( )  '(             
, , , , , , , , , , , (incorrect) , , , , , , , ,
oi as in: point/boy ou as in: count

hi   i h3 $ hi i 2   h Q eU f Q e f Q e V Q Q eUV Q $ % 5 $ WYX 6 0# WG6  ' 7 ) 0V5 A S )   5A S P D ( (ID D #( E D $ % E 5 D $  8 8 5 8 8    43 1 $  12 1    '"! "! & ! $%#! $ #!  " " "    rq ur

wv

39 10. Compound Consonants The writer can choose how to represent complex consonantal sounds such as: TH\DH, NG, X, Q. TH\DH: Since the TH\DH sounds are so close, some writers ignore the distinction and use one of the two tengwar for this sound.

Thy:

NG: Writers can represent NG in several ways using any appropriate tengwar.

King:

Finger: Finger: Finger:

X: An X sound is always represented by [KS]. Although there are several ways to write [KS], the only way it should be written is by: .

Fox:

(incorrect) (incorrect)

Xenon: Exxon: Exxon:

Faxes: Faxes:

W-tehta from the Mode of Beleriand.

GH: By far the most common GH sound in English is as it occurs in high.

High:

Ghost:

(incorrect)

after the K tengwa, or just the K tengwa to represent this sound. As seen when he writes his own name.

Chris:

Scholar:

2 " P FI 2 " I 2 " I  P 7 P  H G 3 B H G  H 7 H  3 F 3 G 3 G

Chris:

(discouraged) , ,

KH: The tengwa for the KH sound tends to be ignored by most writers. CJRT did not use it either, he used

E " B 3

E " 3 F

Ghost:

E " 3D E " 3DC B C B

High:

(incorrect) , ,

$ 9 A@ 

$ 9 7

$ 9 8

$ 9 & 6

$ 9 5

Queen:

(discouraged)

7   6 5

Q: Q (qu) is generally represented by [kw]:

' 1!   !  $ ' $  !4  ' $  !  ' & 1!  $ $ ' & %# $ $

( 2 !  ( 2     3 2 !  0 '  ' ()  " !  

Fox:

                  

(incorrect)

!

 

King:

(discouraged) , (incorrect) Xenon: (discouraged) , (incorrect) and some use . Occasionally someone will use the

Thigh:

40 Splits: With the occasional exception of NG, splitting compound consonants is considered to be incorrect and must not be done.

What: What:

(occasionally you will see the weak h represented this way.)

(incorrect)

11. Over/Under Bars When using an overbar it must represent an immediately preceding n or m sound. An overbar must not be placed above a tehta mark to show a sound preceding the tehta, over a carrier, or on an S-curl.

Pans: Pans:

When a double N or M is needed an underbar be used rather than an overbar. There can be some difficulty in reading when using an overbar. Using an underbar beneath a short carrier to make a long/double vowel is incorrect as well.

Name:

Name:

If preferred, an over/under tilde may be used in place of an over/under bar.

12. Other Issues Short Hand: A few shorthand characters are used with the Tengwar, the final two were introduced by fans.

NOTE: 1. For a better look at this see Pans on P. 40.

PA

Of the:

And the:

# P

Of:

In the:

Y PX

PX

The:

' 1 WA

Mammoth:

2 V U C

Camp:

And:

 RT4 G  S R G 4

 6 4  S RQ 4

Aaron:

Aaron:

' 1 PA

' 1 A

Mammoth:

2D8 C D A 4C ' 8 5 5'

Nor:

(incorrect)

Name: Hiss: Hiss:

(incorrect - Note 1)

(incorrect)

Mammoth:

(incorrect) (incorrect)

A 7B

I DG  F G H% F G  E  A @8  @8  9  6 4

7 ' 4 5

Nor:

Name:

&'



Shoe:

(incorrect)

Of:

Shoe:

Of:

High: , (incorrect) High:

(incorrect)

(discouraged)

 )# ( )#  ( #  "   

Them:

(incorrect)

The:

(incorrect)

Of the:

2 3   2 3 2 10 !  %$ ! %%$    !    

Them:

The:

Of the:

(incorrect) (incorrect)

41 Placing Tehta/Modifier Marks on the L-tengwa: Any tehta/modifier mark that would normally be placed under the tengwa, can in the case of the L-tengwa be placed inside.

The Under-dot: The under-dot is used for the following-e. Typically it is only used for a word final and silent e. We do however see CJRT use it for a medial pronounced e. However that usage is discouraged since it means using an under mark when there is space available over the next tengwa (5 P.38).

Sometimes the under-dot is used to denote an obscured vowel, or any silent vowel. This is mostly used in the Mode of Beleriand.

strongly discouraged because of some of the confusion that could occur when reading.

Down:

War:

The word miscellaneous has two consecutive, but different S sounds. The sound difference can be acknowledged or ignored.

Miscellaneous:

Sometimes a tehta can be placed and read as though it followed the tengwa its placed above. When this is done its to avoid having to place a carrier after the tengwa in a word -final position. Doing this should be avoided.

Doubled Tehtar vs. Long Carrier: I recommend using a doubled tehtar for an initial long vowel.

However you can use a doubled tehta or a long carrier for a medial long vowel.

R @ P R @ P 9

P @ # @ # 9 P

Keep:

Pete:

  @9

  Q

 P H 9 

  % P

Open:

vs.

Even:

0 $ 0  B I

This:

Too:

Was:

DA

H E H E H 9 % 

G EFC 4 B3C A 4C

This:

"A @ 9$  8 6 4 3 B "A @ $  8 74 5 3 9 6 2

Miscellaneous:

Too:

Was:

vs.

% ' % (' 

& " # 

0 1 0  & % $#

 % )  " ! 

Down:

Count:

You:

Miscellaneous: We occasionally see both JRRT and CJRT switch the

 

   

 

Seven:

Woman:

And:

  

 

Save:

Return:

Return:

(discouraged)

and . Using

as a replacement for

is

42 Is there anything you would like to see clarified or added to this document? If so send me a letter: [email protected] www.geocities.com/tengwar2001/ Comments and corrections are, as always welcomed.