Nûrlâm –
Black Speech
dialect wiki

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lessons:pronunciation [2023/07/30 22:17] – created morgothlessons:pronunciation [2024/04/13 20:42] (current) – [Digraphs] morgoth
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 ====== Orthography, pronunciation, phonology ====== ====== Orthography, pronunciation, phonology ======
 ===== Orthography ===== ===== Orthography =====
-In J.R.R. Tolkien's universe the Black Speech was written by Sauron using [[:Tengwar]] while Orcs preferred more simple [[:Cirth]]. But all lessons and articles in the Nûrlâm's wiki use romanization for learner's comfort. Following Tolkien's transliteration of the [[:ring-verse|One Ring inscription]] and [[:orcish_curse|Orc-curse]] Nûrlâm utilizes digraphs for consonants not found Latin, while they have distinct letters in Tengwar and Cirth. However, some vowels have diacritic signs.+In J.R.R. Tolkien's universe the Black Speech was written by Sauron using [[:Tengwar]] while Orcs preferred more simple [[:Cirth]]. Some fans invented their own alphabets, but they didn't become widespread. 
 + 
 +All lessons and articles in the Nûrlâm's wiki use romanization for learner's comfort. Following Tolkien's transliteration of the [[:ring-verse|One Ring inscription]] and [[:orcish_curse|Orc-curse]] Nûrlâm utilizes digraphs for consonants not found Latin, while they have distinct letters in Tengwar and Cirth. However, some vowels have diacritic signs.
  
 The alphabet of Nûrlâm consists of 19 letters: The alphabet of Nûrlâm consists of 19 letters:
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 ^  Letter  ^  IPA  ^ Comments ^ ^  Letter  ^  IPA  ^ Comments ^
 |  a  | [a] (([[wp>Open_front_unrounded_vowel]]))  | | |  a  | [a] (([[wp>Open_front_unrounded_vowel]]))  | |
-|  â  | [a]ː  | |+|  â  | [aː]  | |
 |  i  | [i] (([[wp>Close_front_unrounded_vowel]]))  | [ɪ] (([[wp>Near-close_near-front_unrounded_vowel]])) in diphthongs (see below) and some sub-dialects, especially after //l//, //sh// and //zh// | |  i  | [i] (([[wp>Close_front_unrounded_vowel]]))  | [ɪ] (([[wp>Near-close_near-front_unrounded_vowel]])) in diphthongs (see below) and some sub-dialects, especially after //l//, //sh// and //zh// |
-|  î  | [iː]  | [y] (([[wp>Close_front_rounded_vowel]])) in some dialects, but not welcomed in Nûrlâm |+|  î  | [iː]  | |
 |  o  | [o] (([[wp>Close-mid_back_rounded_vowel]]))  | | |  o  | [o] (([[wp>Close-mid_back_rounded_vowel]]))  | |
 |  ô  | [oː]  | | |  ô  | [oː]  | |
 |  u  | [u] (([[wp>Close_back_rounded_vowel]]))  | [ʊ] (([[wp>Near-close_near-back_rounded_vowel]])) in diphthongs (see below) and some sub-dialects | |  u  | [u] (([[wp>Close_back_rounded_vowel]]))  | [ʊ] (([[wp>Near-close_near-back_rounded_vowel]])) in diphthongs (see below) and some sub-dialects |
-|  û  | [uː]  | |+|  û  | [uː]  | [y] (([[wp>Close_front_rounded_vowel]])) in some dialects, but not welcomed in Nûrlâm |
  
 Letter //i// does **not** palatalize the previous consonant. Letter //i// does **not** palatalize the previous consonant.
  
 +Distinction between short and long vowels is important in Black Speech. While Nûrlâm tries to reduce amount of words where difference completely changes their meaning, it still can. For example: "l**u**g" (tower) vs. "l**û**g" (serpent, dragon), or with less drastic change "burz" (noun "darkness") vs. "bûrz" (adjective "dark").
 ==== Diphthongs ==== ==== Diphthongs ====
 The following diphthongs are attested in Tolkien's writing: //ai//, //au// and //oi//. Nûrlâm treats their ending as vowels [aɪ], [aʊ̯], [oɪ], not as approximants (semi-vowels) [aj], [aw], [oj] for the sake of aligning with grammatical features, while you can pronounce them both ways. The following diphthongs are attested in Tolkien's writing: //ai//, //au// and //oi//. Nûrlâm treats their ending as vowels [aɪ], [aʊ̯], [oɪ], not as approximants (semi-vowels) [aj], [aw], [oj] for the sake of aligning with grammatical features, while you can pronounce them both ways.
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 |  m  | [m]  | as in "**m**ud" | |  m  | [m]  | as in "**m**ud" |
 |  n  | [n]  | as in "**n**ut" | |  n  | [n]  | as in "**n**ut" |
-| ::: | [ŋ] (([[wp>Voiced_velar_nasal]])) | [[wp>Allophone|allophone]] of //n// before some consonants: //ng//, //nk//, //nd//, //nt//; but unlike English "ri**ng**" [riŋ], //g// is still pronounced |+| ::: | [ŋ] (([[wp>Voiced_velar_nasal]])) | [[wp>Allophone|allophone]] of //n// before some consonants: //ng//, //nk//, //nd//, //nt//; but unlike English "ri**ng**" [rɪŋ], //g// is still pronounced |
 |  p  | [p]  | never aspirated, as in English "s**p**in" or "ma**p**", not in "**p**it" | |  p  | [p]  | never aspirated, as in English "s**p**in" or "ma**p**", not in "**p**it" |
-|  r  | [ʀ] (([[wp>Voiced_uvular_trill]])) | as in German "**r**ot" before vowels or word-initially; may be "full" or "rolled" R [r] (([[wp>Voiced_alveolar_trill]])) as in Russian or Spanish |+|  r*  | [ʀ] (([[wp>Voiced_uvular_trill]])) | as in German "**r**ot" before vowels or word-initially; may be "full" or "rolled" R [r] (([[wp>Voiced_alveolar_trill]])) as in Russian or Spanish |
 | ::: | [ʁ] (([[wp>Voiced_uvular_fricative]])) / [ɹ] (([[wp>Voiced_alveolar_and_postalveolar_approximants]])) | as in French and Standard German before other consonants or word-finally | | ::: | [ʁ] (([[wp>Voiced_uvular_fricative]])) / [ɹ] (([[wp>Voiced_alveolar_and_postalveolar_approximants]])) | as in French and Standard German before other consonants or word-finally |
 |  s  | [s̪] | as in "ki**ss**", more dental as in Russian | |  s  | [s̪] | as in "ki**ss**", more dental as in Russian |
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 |  y  | [j] | as in "**y**ard"; occurs only word-initially before vowels | |  y  | [j] | as in "**y**ard"; occurs only word-initially before vowels |
 |  z  | [z̪] | as in "bu**zz**", more dental as in Russian | |  z  | [z̪] | as in "bu**zz**", more dental as in Russian |
 +* both variants of //r// are non-contrasting allophones
 ==== Digraphs ==== ==== Digraphs ====
-Digraphs represent less common sounds and may be difficult to pronounce, so all of them have at least two variants of pronunciation.+Digraphs (combinations of two letters) represent less common sounds, and may be difficult to pronounce, so all of them have at least two variants of pronunciation.
  
 ^  Digraph  ^ IPA ^ Comments ^ ^  Digraph  ^ IPA ^ Comments ^
-|  bh  | [β] (([[wp>Voiced_bilabial_fricative]])) | imagine trying to pronounce v, b and w at the same time; similar to Spanish b~v merger "hue**v**os" but a little bit closer to //b//; may also resemble Ukrainian "в" word-initially before vowels. | +|  bh  | [β] (([[wp>Voiced_bilabial_fricative]])) | imagine trying to pronounce //v//, //b// and //w// at the same time; similar to Spanish //b//~//v// merger "hue**//v//**os" but a little bit closer to //b//; may also resemble Ukrainian "//в//" word-initially before vowels. | 
-| ::: | [bʰ] / [bʱ] | aspirated or "breathy-voiced" b -- in some dialects, especially after vowels | +| ::: | [bʰ] / [bʱ] | aspirated or "breathy-voiced" //b// -- in some dialects, especially after vowels | 
-| ::: | [v] | as in "**v**oice" -- use regular //v// only if you struggle with other options; similar to how Ancient Greek letter "phi" (φ) with sound [pʰ] became Modern Greek [f] | +| ::: | [v] | as in "**//v//**oice" -- use regular //v// only if you struggle with other options; similar to how Ancient Greek letter "phi" (//φ//) with sound [pʰ] became Modern Greek [f] | 
-|  dh  | [ð] (([[wp>Voiced_dental_fricative]])) | as in "brea**th**e" | +|  dh  | [ð] (([[wp>Voiced_dental_fricative]])) | as in "brea**//th//**e" | 
-| ::: | [dʰ] | aspirated //d// in some dialects, especially after vowels | +| ::: | [d̪ʰ] | aspirated //d// in some dialects, especially after vowels | 
-|  gh  | [ɣ] (([[wp>Voiced_velar_fricative]])) | partially devoiced //g//; as in second syllable of this [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Ady-%D1%87%D1%8A%D1%8B%D0%B3%D1%8B.oga|sample]]; as //g// before voiced consonants in Icelandic; as Ukrainian //г// or Russian //г// in some dialects, at words' boundaries when first word ends with //г//, and the second starts with voiced consonants, or in some borrowed words or few interjections, e.g. "бо**г д**ал", "бу**хг**алтер", "у**г**у"; \\ please note that many examples in Wikipedia article provided resemble more to some sort of "R" rather than "G". |+|  gh  | [ɣ] (([[wp>Voiced_velar_fricative]])) | partially devoiced //g//; as in second syllable of this [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Ady-%D1%87%D1%8A%D1%8B%D0%B3%D1%8B.oga|sample]]; as //g// before voiced consonants in Icelandic; as Ukrainian //г// or Russian //г// in some dialects, at words' boundaries when first word ends with //г//, and the second starts with voiced consonants, or in some borrowed words or few interjections, e.g. "бо**//г д//**ал", "бу**//хг//**алтер", "у**//г//**у"; \\ please note that many examples provided in Wikipedia article are closer to some sort of "r" rather than "g". |
 | ::: | [gʰ] | aspirated //g// in some dialects, especially after vowels | | ::: | [gʰ] | aspirated //g// in some dialects, especially after vowels |
-|  kh  | [x] (([[wp>Voiceless_velar_fricative]])) | as in Scottish English "lo**ch**"; as in Standard German "Bu**ch**" (but not "i**ch**"!); as Russian letter "х" |+|  kh  | [x] (([[wp>Voiceless_velar_fricative]])) | as in Scottish English "lo**//ch//**"; as in Standard German "Bu**//ch//**" (but not "i**//ch//**"!); as Russian letter "//х//" |
 | ::: | [kʰ], [q](([[wp>Voiceless_uvular_plosive]])) | aspirated //k// in some dialects, especially after vowels | | ::: | [kʰ], [q](([[wp>Voiceless_uvular_plosive]])) | aspirated //k// in some dialects, especially after vowels |
-|  sh  | [ʂ] (([[wp>Voiceless_retroflex_fricative]])) | Russian "ш", found in many other Slavic languages (usually represented with //š//); also frequent in Turkic languages. | +|  sh  | [ʂ] (([[wp>Voiceless_retroflex_fricative]])) | Russian "//ш//", found in many other Slavic languages (usually represented with //š//); also frequent in Turkic languages. | 
-| ::: | [ʃ] (([[wp>Voiceless_postalveolar_fricative]])) | as in "**sh**ip" | +| ::: | [ʃ] (([[wp>Voiceless_postalveolar_fricative]])) | as in "**//sh//**ip" | 
-|  th  | [θ] (([[wp>Voiceless_dental_fricative]])) | as in "**th**ink" | +|  th  | [θ] (([[wp>Voiceless_dental_fricative]])) | as in "**//th//**ink" | 
-| ::: | [tʰ] | aspirated //t// in some dialects, especially after vowels | +| ::: | [t̪ʰ] | aspirated //t// in some dialects, especially after vowels | 
-|  zh  | [ʐ] (([[wp>Voiced retroflex fricative]])) | Russian "ж", found in many other Slavic languages (usually represented with //ž//); also frequent in Turkic languages. | +|  zh  | [ʐ] (([[wp>Voiced retroflex fricative]])) | Russian "//ж//", found in many other Slavic languages (usually represented with //ž//); also frequent in Turkic languages. | 
-| ::: | [ʃ] (([[wp>Voiced_postalveolar_fricative]])) | as in English "plea**s**ure" or French "bon**j**our" |+| ::: | [ʒ] (([[wp>Voiced_postalveolar_fricative]])) | as in English "plea**//s//**ure" or French "bon**//j//**our" |
  
 +The distinction between //g//, //gh//, //k//, //kh// and //h// is very important in Nûrlâm, as mutations between these 5 consonants are often used to make new words or modify the word's meaning: "**gh**âsh" = "fire", "**g**ash" = "heat", "**kh**ash" = "warmth".
 ==== Hyphenation ==== ==== Hyphenation ====
-Hyphens are used to indicated that digraphs should be read as two separate phonemes, especially in combined words like "búb-hosh" (['buːb hoʂ], not ['buːβoʂ]) or "Uruk-hai" (['uruk haɪ], not ['uruxaɪ]). They may also indicate a pause or glottal stop occuring when appending words starting with vowel, e. g. "burzum-ishi" should be read as ['buʁzum.ˌiʂɪ] not ['buʁzuˌmiʂɪ].+Hyphens are used to indicate that digraphs should be read as two separate phonemes, especially in combined words like "búb-hosh" (['buːb.hoʂ], not ['buːβoʂ]) or "Uruk-hai" (['uruk.haɪ], not ['uruxaɪ]). They may also indicate a pause or glottal stop occuring when appending words starting with vowel, e. g. "burzum-ishi" should be read as ['buʁzum.ˌiʂɪ] not ['buʁzuˌmiʂɪ].
  
 --------------------- ---------------------
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 Use "shouting" tone even in questions. Use "shouting" tone even in questions.
  
 +----------------------------
 +===== See also =====
 +  * [[:lessons|All lessons]]
 +  * [[:phonology|Phonology, phonetics and orthography of Nûrlâm]]
 +  * [[:cirth|Cirth]]
 +  * [[:tengwar|Tengwar]]
lessons/pronunciation.1690744679.txt.gz · Last modified: 2023/09/07 15:32 (external edit)
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