Welcome Guest 

Register

Forum Home » Languages » Sindarin Discussion » Letter marks question... !!!
Author Topic:
spock
Council Member
Posts: 3
Send Message
Avatar
Post Letter marks question... !!!
on: March 21, 2005 05:50
This has been bothering me for a long time:

In Quenya, do the two dots above some 'e' letters have any significance? I have read elsewhere that they are just to clear up pronunciation....

Can someone help me a bit here?
Naneth
Elvish 101 Moderator
Posts: 568
Send Message
Avatar
Post RE: Letter marks question... !!!
on: March 21, 2005 10:30
Here's a quote from HKFauskanger's Quenya course intro:

In many cases, Tolkien adds a diaeresis, two dots, above a vowel, for instance ä, ö, ë in the names Eärendil, Eönwë. This is only to clarify the pronunciation, primarily for readers used to English orthography. It should be emphasized that the diaeresis is not in any way "necessary" to write correct Quenya. Tolkien wrote about the spelling ë that it is "only a device of transcription, not needed in the original" – that is, in the supposed "original" Tengwar writing (PM:343). It is not really "needed" in the transcription either – Tolkien never used it in the Etymologies – and it can safely be left out in e-mail. Indeed some scholars advocate leaving it out altogether in all media, perceiving it as a superfluous graphic encumbrance useful only to people who don't know the first thing about Quenya (and to people used to the orthographies of such languages as German, Swedish or Finnish, it can be downright misleading). But I don't know; I guess I like to see the diaeresis in carefully presented texts, even if it doesn't tell me anything I don't know beforehand. It adds an exotic tint to the texts, and also represents a nod in the direction of the visual impression made by written Finnish, since Finnish orthography employs letters like ä and ö – that however denote sounds distinct from normal a, o, which is not the case in Quenya spelling.

The Quenya forum is right above this one !!
spock
Council Member
Posts: 3
Send Message
Avatar
Post RE: Letter marks question... !!!
on: March 22, 2005 11:59
the Quenya forum is above this one?
I went and looked and coudent find. Ill go look again....

Thanx tho.
Members Online
Print Friendly, PDF & Email