Sounds of Sindarin
Consonants
Sindarin, like Quenya, contains six places of articulation: labial, dental, alveolar, palatal, velar, and glottal. However, Sindarin contains only a couple more consonants than Quenya does.
The consonants are as follows:
Stops: p [p], b [b], t [t], d [d], c [k], and g [g]
Fricatives: f [f], f [v], ph [f], v [v], th [θ], dh [ð], s [s], lh [ɬ], ch [x], and h [h]
Nasals: m [m], n [n], ng [ŋ], and ng [ŋg]
Liquids: l [l] and l [ʎ]
Trills: r [r] and rh [r̥]
Approximates: y [j], i [j], hw [ʍ], and w [w]
Some of the consonant clusters that may occur: cha [xʍ], gw [gw], nth [nθ], nth [nth].
The consonants are as follows:
Stops: p [p], b [b], t [t], d [d], c [k], and g [g]
Fricatives: f [f], f [v], ph [f], v [v], th [θ], dh [ð], s [s], lh [ɬ], ch [x], and h [h]
Nasals: m [m], n [n], ng [ŋ], and ng [ŋg]
Liquids: l [l] and l [ʎ]
Trills: r [r] and rh [r̥]
Approximates: y [j], i [j], hw [ʍ], and w [w]
Some of the consonant clusters that may occur: cha [xʍ], gw [gw], nth [nθ], nth [nth].
Vowels
Sindarin, unlike Quenya, has six monophthongal vowels: a [a], e [ɛ], i [i], o [ɔ], u [u], and y [y].
Like Quenya, these vowels can be elongated to form: á [aː], é [eː], í [iː], ó [ɔː], and ú [uː].
Sindarin also has its own set of diphthongs: ae [aɛ], ai [aj], au [aw], ei [ej], and oe [oɛ].
Like Quenya, these vowels can be elongated to form: á [aː], é [eː], í [iː], ó [ɔː], and ú [uː].
Sindarin also has its own set of diphthongs: ae [aɛ], ai [aj], au [aw], ei [ej], and oe [oɛ].
The Phonology of Sindarin
Syllable Structure
Sindarin has a similar syllabic structure to Quenya. There are subtle differences, like the fact that different consonants are used. Without further ado, here are the basic rules for syllable structure in Sindarin:
Like Quenya, Sindarin also has light, heavy, open, and closed syllables. As for syllabic stress, Sindarin follows the same rules that Quenya does.
- One syllable contains at least one vowel and attached consonants.
- The number of vowels determines the number of syllables; the simplest of syllables are but one vowel.
- Vowels can be preceded by one or two consonants and followed by up to two consonants.
- Syllables can also contain diphthongs with attached consonants.
- If more than one consonant begins a syllable, that second consonant must be l, r, or w (the latter of the three only occurs in gw).
- When no consonant follows a vowel and the vowels don't make a diphthong, the break between syllables falls between vowels.
- When only one consonant follows a vowel, the syllable breaks almost always before the following consonant, except where the consonant is in the ending position of the word. An exception to this is m.
- When two consonants follow each other in the middle of a word, the syllable division always follows between them.
- When three consonants follow each other in the middle of a word, syllable break can either fall between the first and second consonant or between the second and third consonant.
- The syllable break falls between the first and second consonant when the second and third consonants are permissible syllable beginnings (l, r, or w).
- In cases where the second and third consonants are not permissible beginnings to a word or syllable, the syllable break falls between the second and third consonant.
Like Quenya, Sindarin also has light, heavy, open, and closed syllables. As for syllabic stress, Sindarin follows the same rules that Quenya does.
Some Things to Know before Continuing
In Sindarin, there are two definite articles, one singular and one plural, that will be mentioned a lot when I discuss the different phonological rules as they do cause a few of the phonological changes I will be discussing. The singular definite article is "i" while it's plural form is "in." In Sindarin, adjectives have to agree with the nouns in number, hence the need for a plural definite article.
Lenition
There are many different phonological rules that occur in Sindarin as it relies a lot on sound and the proper "flow" of words. The most common of these phonological rules is lenition, also known as soft mutation as it softens the consonants at the beginning of words. There are a variety of causes for this that were listed by the German linguist Thorsten Renk in Pedin Edhellen a Sindarin Course.
Historically, the cause of lenition in Sindarin is the changes in words from Old Sindarin to Classical Sindarin.
Patterns of Lenition:
- A noun that follows the singular definite article "i" is weakened.
- A adjective which determines a noun and is in the trailing position is often mutated.
- An adjective that comes before a noun may weaken consonants in the noun.
- An adverb written behind the verb it describes may be weakened.
- An adverb written before the verb it describes might weaken consonants in the verb.
- A direct object is weakened.
- A verb directly following the subject of a sentence may be changed.
- In a compound word, the second element is often subject to weakening.
- After certain prefixes, particles, or prepositions.
Historically, the cause of lenition in Sindarin is the changes in words from Old Sindarin to Classical Sindarin.
Patterns of Lenition:
- [p] becomes the voiced bilabial stop [b].
- [t] becomes the voiced alveolar stop [d].
- [k] becomes the voiced velar stop [g].
- [b] becomes the voiced labiodental fricative [v].
- [d] becomes the voiced dental fricative [ð].
- [g] disappears.
- [h] becomes the voiceless velar fricative [x].
- [s] becomes the voiceless glottal fricative [h].
- [m] becomes the voiced labiodental fricative [v].
- [ʍ] becomes [xʍ].
- [r̥] becomes [θr].
- [ɬ] becomes [θl].
- [r̥] becomes voiced [r].
- [ɬ] becomes voiced [l].
Nasalization
Nasal mutation generally occurs after the plural definite article "in," the preposition "an," and the preposition "dan."
Nasal Mutation Patterns:
Nasal Mutation Patterns:
- [p] becomes the labiodental fricative [f] (spelled ph).
- [t] becomes the dental fricative [θ].
- [k] becomes the fricative [x].
- [b] becomes the nasal [m].
- [d] becomes the nasal [n].
- [g] becomes the nasal [ŋ], though not if it appears in the consonant clusters gl, gr, or gw.
- [h] becomes [x].
- [ʍ] undergoes h-deletion and becomes voiced.
- [ɬ] becomes [θl].
- [r̥] becomes [θr]
Liquid Mutation
Liquid mutation hasn't been verified by Tolkien, but many linguists attest to it's existence in Sindarin. They believe it to be caused by the preposition "or" (above) and other prepositions ending in liquids.
Patterns of Liquid Mutation:
Patterns of Liquid Mutation:
- [p] becomes [f] (spelled ph).
- [t] becomes [θ].
- [k] becomes [x].
- [ɬ] becomes 'l due to h-deletion.
- [r̥] becomes 'r due to h-deletion.
Hard Mutation
Hard mutation is caused by the prepositions "o" (of, coming from) "ned" (into, on (debating vague time)), and "ed" (out of).
Patterns of Hard Mutation:
Patterns of Hard Mutation:
- [p] becomes [f] (spelled ph).
- [t] becomes [θ].
- [k] becomes [x].
- [h] becomes [x].
- [ʍ] becomes the voiced [w].
- [ɬ] becomes [θl].
- [r̥] becomes [θr].
Mixed Mutation
Mixed mutation usually occurs in nouns that follow the article "en" (of the) and the prepositions "ben" (according to the), "erin" (on the), "nan" (to the), "uin" (from the) and "non" (to/for).
Patterns of Mixed Mutation:
Patterns of Mixed Mutation:
- Hard sounds are changed as if it were lenition:
- [p] becomes voiced [b].
- [t] becomes voiced [d].
- [k] becomes voiced [g].
- [pr] becomes [mr], voicing and nasalizing the "p."
- [bl] becomes [ml], nasalizing the "b".
- [br] becomes [mr].
- [r̥] becomes voiced as [r] through h-deletion.
- [ɬ] becomes voiced as [l] through h-deletion.
- [s] becomes glottalized as [h].
Miscellaneous Phonological Rules
These rules have nothing to do with mutations and more to do with sound positions in words. For starters, the letter "f" makes both the voiced and voiceless versions of the labiodental fricative. It makes the sound [v] only at the ends of words (such as in "Nindalf" meaning "wet land") and before the [n] (such as in "lifnui" meaning "fifth"). Elsewhere, the sound "f" makes is [f]. In addition to [f] being made by "f," [f] can also be made by the letters "ph," which is used at the end of words to denote [f] instead of [v] (such as in "alph" meaning "swan"). It is also used in places where [f] derived from [p], or it is found in the middle of words to denote an elongated [f]. In addition to that, [v] can also be denoted by the letter "v" in places that aren't the syllable final position.
The letters "ng" can make both the sound [ŋ] and the sound [ŋg]. The former occurs initially in the word, finally, and before consonants that aren't l, r, or w. The latter, however, occurs between vowels or before the consonants l, r, and w.
"L" can make both the [l] sound and the [ʎ] sound (the latter of which sounding very much like the "ll" in the Spanish "millón"). The latter sound is made between "e" or "i" and and a consonant. The former sound is made in all other cases.
The letter "i" can denote the consonant sound [j] in diphthongs, but elsewhere, it denotes the vowel sound [i].
The letters "ng" can make both the sound [ŋ] and the sound [ŋg]. The former occurs initially in the word, finally, and before consonants that aren't l, r, or w. The latter, however, occurs between vowels or before the consonants l, r, and w.
"L" can make both the [l] sound and the [ʎ] sound (the latter of which sounding very much like the "ll" in the Spanish "millón"). The latter sound is made between "e" or "i" and and a consonant. The former sound is made in all other cases.
The letter "i" can denote the consonant sound [j] in diphthongs, but elsewhere, it denotes the vowel sound [i].