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Babel's Tower
“The Tower of Babel” is the fragment from the Old Testament (Genesis 11: 1–9) telling a story of separating a common language of all people into individual languages. This fragment is often used as a translation exercise or a language showcase for both real and constructed languages. This story especially suits situation with orcs of the Third Age (“they could not understand one another’s orc-speech” - LOTR II, Book Three, Chapter III: The Uruk-hai) and with numerous incompatible fan's reconstructions of Black Speech.
The text is cited from “New King James” Bible version (1982):
1. Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.
2. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
3. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.
4. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5. But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
6. And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.
7. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
8. So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
9. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
The first attempt to translate the story of Babel's Tower was made by Diego T. Guimarães (aka Ya'qūb 'Abd Al-Jabbār) for Omniglot site in Shadowlandian dialect (using early Nûrlâm prototype, Un4given's Orc analysis at Black Speech School forum).
Translation in Nûrlâm
I will not list all the words required to translate the text, except very specific ones. The following conventions were used to translate words alien to Middle-Earth (keeping the perfect version by Diego T. Guimarães)
| Name | Translation |
|---|---|
| LORD | Instead of title, the name “Jehova/Yahweh/YHWH” transcribed as “Yahuah” is used |
| Babel, Babylon | Bâbil |
| Shinar | Shinâr, probably to avoid confusion with “shinar” = “without” |
To add archaic flavour to the text, the following methods were used:
- Explicit accusative case ending -ish
- The verb "to be" is always present, including the present tense
- Verb–Subject–Object (VSO) word order
- all modifiers are placed after the words they describe, including prepositions becoming postpositions, but except number “ash” = “one” and conjunctions
- singular form of pronouns is used for plural pronouns too
- lack of plural form in Nûrlâm will suit well biblical pluralization of the name Elohim
Resulting translation:
| Line | Nûrlâm | Gloss, back translation and comments |
|---|---|---|
| Lug Bâbilob | ||
| 1 | Zil brusuzâ uzgûk ash lâmish agh ash gashnurmish | Now have-PST-3SG land=all one language-ACC and one speak-NMLZ-ACC |
| 2 | Agh ghugshuzâ kusn mûlurmtabish ghânshah zamash tagimbuz ash uzgokish uzgumor Shinârob agh tafulguz zîgin | And happen-PST-3SG.SBJ during road-NMLZ=3.GEN-ACC East=ELA that 3=find-PST one flatland-ACC land-DEF=INE Shinar-GEN and 3=dwell-PST that.place |
| And it happened during their journey from East that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they dwelled there | ||
| 3 | Zîgil tagashnuz ash iskûr, “Skât, gâkh kramput thlarish agh mazgutul girkharz”. Tabrusuz thlarish gundûr agh tabrusuz thûfish raukûr. | That.time 3-say-PST one another-DAT, “Come, let's make-INF brick-ACC and bake-INF-3.OBJ care-ADV.” 3-have brick-ACC stone-DAT agh 3-have tar-ACC mortar-DAT |
| Then they said one to another, “Come, let's make bricks and bake them carefully.” They had brick for stone, and they had tar for mortar. | ||
| 4 | Agh tagashnuz, “Skât, gâkh tumbut îmish ash goish, agh ash lugish amashob kulâ dîlg nûtumor; gâkh kramput ash îzish îmûr, narkulat bûsnaga palarz thakumti uzgumobûk dazûr” | And 3-say-PST, “Come, let's build-INF self-DAT one city-ACC, and tower-ACC which-GEN be-3SG roof sky-DEF-INE; let's make-INF one name-ACC self-DAT, NEG-be-GERV scatter-PTCP.PST.PASS broad-ADV face-DEF=over land-DEF-GEN=all 1-DAT” |
| And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose roof is in the sky; let's make a name for ourselves, for us to be not scattered abroad over the face of the all lands.” | ||
| 5 | But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. | |
| 6 | And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. | |
| 7 | Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” | |
| 8 | So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. | |
| 9 | Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. | |
