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--- black_speech_evolution [2020/05/10 15:57] – morgoth
+++ black_speech_evolution [2023/09/07 19:38] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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 ====== Internal history of the Black Speech (fictional) ======
+Analysis of the Ring Verse inscription((published in PE 17)), some geographical and personal names gives us such distinct features as:
+  * Adjectives and other descriptive words are placed //after// the word they describe, but this rule is not very strict even for Tolkien's sources;
+  * Nouns do not have plural form, but verbs and pronouns //possibly// do;
+  * Subjective personal pronouns are //prefixed// to verbs;
+  * Objective personal pronouns are //suffixed// to verbs;
+  * The verb have special form combining features of infinitive, participle and gerund.
-If the A. Nemirovsky's hypothesis about connection between Black Speech and Hurrian languages is right then we can assume following things to be typical for early Black Speech:
+If the [[Alexandre Nemirovsky]]'s [[hurrian_hypothesis|hypothesis]] about connection between [[Black Speech]] and Hurrian languages is right then we can assume following things to be typical for early Black Speech:
-  * The language initially had [[wp>Ergative–absolutive_language|Ergative]] alignment with SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) sentence structure;
   * Nouns and verbs have numerous grammar forms expressed by long chain of suffixes;
   * //Post//positions and case suffixes are used instead of prepositions;
-  * Pronouns are placed after the corresponding word or attached to it as a suffix (or clitic);
+But the significant feature of Hurrian language is [[wp>Ergative–absolutive_language|Ergative]] alignment with SOV (Subject--Object--Verb) sentence structure, which has no evidence in known Tolkien's material.
-Analysis of the Ring Verse inscription, some geographical and personal names gives us such distinct features as:
-  * Adjectives and other descriptive words are placed //after// the word they describe, but this rule is not very strict even for Tolkien's sources;
-  * Nouns do not have plural form, but verbs and pronouns //possibly// do;
-Nûrlâm is considered to exist in time between Classical Black Speech and orcish dialects (Svartiska, Shadowlandian, etc.), and following changes occurred in it:
+[[Nûrlâm]] is considered to exist in time between Classical Black Speech and orcish dialects (Svartiska, Shadowlandian, etc.), and following changes occurred in it:
-  * Move to Nominative-Accusative alignment with SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) structure;
   * Restricting number of cases to 15 and make others standalone postpositions;
-  * Added prefixes and prepositions;
+  * Added prepositions and more prefixes.
+However some hypothetical features of Classical Black Speech are used for [[archaic style]] of Nûrlâm.
 Taking in account rules of other dialects, their real use and common mistakes, modern Black Speech has tendency to copy English grammar and syntax:
@@ Line 23: / Line 25: @@
   * Adjectives, adverbs, pronouns start being spelled before the words they describe;
   * Adding small hints of animacy and gender categories;
+  * Infinitives merged with gerundives taking suffix //-at//, they become used for 3rd person or even all verbs.
-Nûrlâm dialect supports these tendencies too but considering them as colloquial or dialectical.
+Nûrlâm dialect supports these tendencies too but considers them as [[syntax_analytic|colloquial]] or dialectical.
 ------------------------
@@ Line 32: / Line 35: @@
 \\
 ==== Syntax ====
-^ Feature ^   Dialects   ^^^^^^^^
+^ Feature ^   Dialects   ^^^^^^^
-^ :::     ^ Tolkien's Classical Black Speech((as in [[ring-verse|Ring Inscription]])) ^  Neo-Black Speech  ^^^^^^ Tolkien's\\ Debased Black Speech((as in [[Orcish Curse]])) ^
+^ :::     ^ Tolkien's Classical Black Speech((as in [[ring-verse|Ring Inscription]])) ^  Neo-Black Speech  ^^^^^ Tolkien's\\ Debased Black Speech((as in [[Orcish Curse]])) ^
-^ :::     ^ ::: ^ Zhâburi B ^ Archaic Nûrlâm ^ Standard Nûrlâm ^ Svartiska ^ Shadowlandian ^ Colloquial Nûrlâm ^ ::: ^
+^ :::     ^ ::: ^ Zhâburi B ^ Standard Nûrlâm ^ Svartiska ^ Shadowlandian ^ Colloquial Nûrlâm ^ ::: ^
-| Syntactical alignment | ? | ergative | ergative | nominative-accusative |||||
+| Syntactical alignment | ? | ergative | nominative-accusative |||||
-| Subject, object and verb's word order | ? | SOV | SOV | SVO |||||
+| Subject, object and verb's word order | ? | SOV | SVO |||||
-| Determiner's word order (adjectives, numerals) (before/after noun) | before (except compound words) | before | after | before (except compound words) | vary | after | before (except compound words) ||
+| Determiner's word order (adjectives, numerals) (before/after noun) | before (except compound words) | before | before (except compound words) | vary | after | before (except compound words) ||
 \\
 ==== Grammar ====
-^ Feature ^   Dialects   ^^^^^^^^
+^ Feature ^   Dialects   ^^^^^^^
-^ :::     ^ Tolkien's Classical Black Speech((as in [[ring-verse|Ring Inscription]])) ^  Neo-Black Speech  ^^^^^^ Tolkien's\\ Debased Black Speech((as in [[Orcish Curse]])) ^
+^ :::     ^ Tolkien's Classical Black Speech((as in [[ring-verse|Ring Inscription]])) ^  Neo-Black Speech  ^^^^^ Tolkien's\\ Debased Black Speech((as in [[Orcish Curse]])) ^
-^ :::     ^ ::: ^ Zhâburi B ^ Archaic Nûrlâm ^ Standard Nûrlâm ^ Svartiska ^ Shadowlandian ^ Colloquial Nûrlâm ^ ::: ^
+^ :::     ^ ::: ^ Zhâburi B ^ Standard Nûrlâm ^ Svartiska ^ Shadowlandian ^ Colloquial Nûrlâm ^ ::: ^
-| Animacy | no | no | no | affects 3rd person pronouns | ? | affects 3rd person pronouns and noun's plural form | affects 3rd person pronouns ||
+| Animacy | no | no | affects 3rd person pronouns | ? | affects 3rd person pronouns and noun's plural form | affects 3rd person pronouns | probably |
-| 3rd person pronoun gender | no | no | no | no | yes (f, m, n) | yes (common / feminine) | (f, m, n) only for standalone pronouns | probably |
+| 3rd person pronoun gender | no | no | no | yes (f, m, n) | yes (common / feminine) | (f, m, n) only for standalone pronouns | probably |
-| Gender modifier | ? | no | no | yes (-niz) | ? | yes (-lob) | yes (-niz) | not attested |
+| Gender modifier | ? | no | yes (-niz) | ? | yes (-lob) | yes (-niz) | not attested |
-| Number | no | no | only for 3rd person (pronouns and verbs) | for all verbs and 3rd person pronouns | all ||||
+| Number | no | no | for all verbs and 3rd person pronouns | all ||||
-| Declension classes | ? | 3 ((only for definite article)) | 2 ||||| ? |
+| Declension classes | ? | 3 ((only for definite article)) | 2 |||| ? |
-| Cases | many | 8 | 15 | 14, no ergative, accusative = nominative for nouns | 7 (3 – 4 in colloquial speech) | many or 6 (with accusative = nominative for nouns) depending on treatment | nominative, possessive and objective only for pronouns | no |
+| Cases | many | 8 | 14, accusative = nominative for nouns | 7 (3 -- 4 in colloquial speech) | many or 6 (with accusative = nominative for nouns) depending on treatment | nominative, possessive and objective only for pronouns | no |
-| Postpositions | yes | yes | ~2/3 || few | yes | few | no |
+| Postpositions | yes | yes | ~2/3 | few | yes | few | no |
-| Prepositions | no | no | ~1/3 || yes | few | yes | yes |
+| Prepositions | no | no | ~1/3 | yes | few | yes | yes |
 \\
 ==== Morphology ====
-^ Feature ^   Dialects   ^^^^^^^^
+^ Feature ^   Dialects   ^^^^^^^
-^ :::     ^ Tolkien's Classical Black Speech((as in [[ring-verse|Ring Inscription]])) ^  Neo-Black Speech  ^^^^^^ Tolkien's\\ Debased Black Speech((as in [[Orcish Curse]])) ^
+^ :::     ^ Tolkien's Classical Black Speech((as in [[ring-verse|Ring Inscription]])) ^  Neo-Black Speech  ^^^^^ Tolkien's\\ Debased Black Speech((as in [[Orcish Curse]])) ^
-^ :::     ^ ::: ^ Zhâburi B ^ Archaic Nûrlâm ^ Standard Nûrlâm ^ Svartiska ^ Shadowlandian ^ Colloquial Nûrlâm ^ ::: ^
+^ :::     ^ ::: ^ Zhâburi B ^ Standard Nûrlâm ^ Svartiska ^ Shadowlandian ^ Colloquial Nûrlâm ^ ::: ^
-^  Typology  |||||||||
+^  Typology  ||||||||
-| Agglutinative | highly | highly | highly | highly | optionally | highly | optionally | no |
+| Agglutinative | highly | highly | highly | optionally | highly | optionally | no |
-| Polysynthetic | yes | yes | yes | yes | word derivation | yes | no | no |
+| Polysynthetic | yes | yes | yes | word derivation | yes | no | no |
-| Fusional | no | ? | little | little | little | due to sound merging | no | no |
+| Fusional | no | ? | little | little | due to sound merging | no | no |
-| Analytical | no | no | little | little | optionally | some | optionally | highly |
+| Analytical | no | no | little | optionally | some | optionally | highly |
-^  Morphology  |||||||||
+^  Morphology  ||||||||
-| Suffixes | yes ||||||| yes |
+| Suffixes | yes |||||| rare |
-| Prefixes | not attested || rare | yes |||| (very) possible |
+| Prefixes | yes((at least subject pronouns)) | rare | yes |||| (very) possible |
-| Clitics | yes |||||| rare ||
+| Clitics | yes ||||| rare ||
 \\
 ==== Phonology ====
-^ Feature ^   Dialects   ^^^^^^^^
+^ Feature ^   Dialects   ^^^^^^^
-^ :::     ^ Tolkien's Classical Black Speech((as in [[ring-verse|Ring Inscription]])) ^  Neo-Black Speech  ^^^^^^ Tolkien's\\ Debased Black Speech((as in [[Orcish Curse]])) ^
+^ :::     ^ Tolkien's Classical Black Speech((as in [[ring-verse|Ring Inscription]])) ^  Neo-Black Speech  ^^^^^ Tolkien's\\ Debased Black Speech((as in [[Orcish Curse]])) ^
-^ :::     ^ ::: ^ Zhâburi B ^ Archaic Nûrlâm ^ Standard Nûrlâm ^ Svartiska ^ Shadowlandian ^ Colloquial Nûrlâm ^ ::: ^
+^ :::     ^ ::: ^ Zhâburi B ^ Standard Nûrlâm ^ Svartiska ^ Shadowlandian ^ Colloquial Nûrlâm ^ ::: ^
-| a, i, u | yes ||||||||
+| a, i, u | yes |||||||
-| o | rare ||||||| quite frequent |
+| o | rare |||||| quite frequent |
-| e | no | in borrowed words | no | no | yes | Svartiska borrowings | no | probably rare |
+| e | no | in borrowed words | no | yes | Svartiska borrowings | no | probably rare |
-| p, b, t, d, th, s, z, sh, k, g, gh, m, n, f, h, l, r | yes ||||||||
+| p, b, t, d, th, s, z, sh, k, g, gh, m, n, f, h, l, r | yes |||||||
-| dh, zh, kh (ch), ng | not attested | yes | yes ||||| kh, others probably |
+| dh, zh, kh (ch), ng | not attested | yes | yes |||| kh, others probably |
-| v | not attested | yes | no | no | yes | no | no | not attested |
+| v | not attested | yes | no | yes | no | no | not attested |
-| j, y | not attested | no | rare | rare | yes | rare | rare | rare |
+| j, y | not attested | no | rare | yes | rare | rare | rare |
-| qu | no ||||| yes, Quenya borrowings | no | no |
+| qu | no |||| yes, Quenya borrowings | no | no |
 -----------------------------------------------
 ===== Relation to other languages of Arda =====
-While small corpus of Classical Black Speech contains at least two words from Valarin, a mother-tongue of Sauron who was the author of Black Speech, it has also words from various languages of Elves. As it's believed that orcs were made from captured, tortured and corrupted elves (at least until greater Uruk-hai were bred), Elvish influence on languages is obviously natural. So if we group languages or Arda into groups and families as for real ones, Black Speech will definitely belong to Elvish family.
+While small corpus of Classical Black Speech contains at least two words from Valarin, a mother-tongue of Sauron who was the author of Black Speech, it has also words from various [[elven_languages|languages of Elves]]. As it's believed that orcs were made from captured, tortured and corrupted elves (at least until greater Uruk-hai were bred), Elvish influence on languages is obviously natural. So if we group languages or Arda into groups and families as for real ones, Black Speech will definitely belong to Elvish family.
 Orcs used Common Speech (Westron) in communication between different breeds and tribes as it stated in LOTR, but no traces of it found in Debased Black Speech, which still has a lot of elvish words.

Nûrlâm –Black Speech dialect wiki

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Nûrlâm –
Black Speech
dialect wiki