Nûrlâm –
Black Speech
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lessons:pronunciation [2023/07/30 22:26] – "see also" section morgothlessons:pronunciation [2024/04/13 20:42] (current) – [Digraphs] morgoth
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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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