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Full Ring Verse

Tolkien left us translation of the Ring inscription into Black Speech. The whole verse was however longer:

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

There was a translation by Elerrina (EL) in journals “Quettar” #16 (pp. 6–7, 1982) and “Vinyar Tengwar” #13 (pp. 13–15, 1990). It was not flawless but became the additional word base for later Black Speech dialects.

Gakh Nazgi Ilid/Albai/Golug durub-uuri lata-nuut.
Udu takob-ishiz gund-ob Gazat-shakh-uuri.
Krith Shara-uuri matuurz matat duumpuga.
Ash tug Shakhbuurz-uur Uliima-tab-ishi za,
Uzg-Mordor-ishi amal fauthut burguuli.
[Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul
Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul]
Uzg-Mordor-ishi amal fauthut burguuli.

It is not very accurate, as it translates back into English as:

Three rings for elven rulers under the sky
Seven for Dwarf-lords in theirs of stone 
Nine for mortal men doomed to die
One only for Dark Lord in this his throne
In Mordor land where Shadows lie
[One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them]
In Mordor land where Shadows lie

This translations doesn't satisfy objectives of Nûrlâm, so we need to translate following words into the Black Speech:

English Black Speech Etymology and Comments
dark bûrz EL, from burzum (darkness)
die mat- EL
doomed dûmpuga EL, either from Etym. “MBAD” written reversed (“MB” is one letter in Elvish writing systems), see also Quenya “umbar”, or just stylized English word (possibly both)
dwarf gazat EL, from Khuzdul “khazad” (dwarves)
elven golug TK1), Angband Orkish “golug” (Noldor elves) from ÑGOLOD, Noldorin “golodh” (one of the wise folk, Gnome2))
ilid EL, from “ÉLED” (“Star-folk”, “Firstborn”, Eldar, departed elves)
albai EL
for ûr EL, dative case suffix
hall ru from Shadowlandian (LOS) and Horngoth Orkish, omitted in original translation by Elerrina
king durub EL, translated as rulers from “durbat” (to rule)
land uzg EL
lie kât- LOS, from Quenya “caita” < KAY
fauth- original translation by Elerrina was “fauth-” (lie hidden)
lord goth LOS < Sindarin, from Melkor's epithetic name Morgoth (Dark Enemy or Black Foe)
shakh EL, Persian word for “king”
man, men tark TK, applies only to Númenóreans
shara EL, from Isengard Orkish “sharkû” (old man)
Mordor Uzgbûrz NL, this name means “Dark Land” in Sindarin, was not translated by Elerrina, therefore it was translated into Black Speech
mortal matûrz EL
nine krith EL
of ob EL, genitive/possessive case suffix
only tug EL, absent in original English translation, put into “One (only) for the Dark Lord on (this) his dark throne”
seven udug NL < EL “udu”, from OT- > Noldorin “odog”, spelling normalized according to Nûrlâm rules
udu EL, from OT- > Noldorin “odog”
shadow
burgûl EL, from “bûrz” + “gûl” (dark spirit, ghost)
sky nût EL
stone gund EL, from Etym. “GOND”, compare with “Gondor” meaning “Stone Land” in Sindarin or “Gondolin”
their ulub LOS, from TK “ul” (them) and EL “ob” (of)
takob EL, original translation was “tak-ob”
this za EL, absent in original English translation, put into “One (only) for the Dark Lord on (this) his dark throne”
three gakh EL
throne
ulîma EL
under lata EL
where amin NL, relative prefix “a-” (EL) + interrogative prefix “m-” (EL) + “in” < Quenya “en” (there, look!) < Etym. “EN-” (over there, yonder)
amal EL

1)
Tolkien
2)
Elves were called Gnomes in early works
elerrina_list.1580496754.txt.gz · Last modified: 2023/09/07 14:47 (external edit)