Sindarin lessons 6 through 10



Lesson 6-More consonant mutation



Nasal mutation

This is the second mutation, caused by words ending in a nasal n, which collides with the following word's first consonant. This mutation is caused by certain articles or prepositions; in (plural the), in (plural genitive form of the), nin (plural to/of the), dan (against) and an (for/to). With nasal mutation, the first consonant of the next word and the last consonant of the preposition changes, with a few exceptions.

Here are some examples:

in + b = i m dan + b = dam m an +b = am m
in + bl = i ml dan + bl = da ml an +bl = a ml
in + br = i mr dan + br = da mr an +br = a mr
in + c = i ch dan + c = da ch an +c = a ch
in + cl = i chl dan + cl = da chl an +cl = a chl
in + cr = i chr dan + cr = da chr an +cr = a chr
in + d = i n dan + d = dan n an +d = an n
in + dr = in dr dan + dr = dan dr an +dr = an dr
in + f = i f dan + f = daf f an +f = af f
in + g = i ng dan + g = dan ng an +g = an ng

Mixed mutation
Like nasal mutation, mixed mutation is caused by nasal sounds, and tends to do two things;

-make the following sounds more nasal, or
-make the following sounds more voiced.

This mutation is caused by the following: en (genitive only article), ben (according to/like the), erin (on the), nan (to the), uin (from the/of the) and 'nin (to/for the singular form only). The apostrophe on 'nin is very important. Only en changes it's form, whereas the others stay the same, but mutate the consonant following it. For the full details, consult the Mutations Chart mentioned before.

What it does

EN + B = E-B
EN + BL = E-ML
EN + BR = E-MR
EN + C = E-G
EN + CL = E-GL
EN + CR = E-GR
EN + D = E-D
EN + DR = EN-DR
EN + F = EN-F
EN + G = E-G
EN + GL = EN-GL
EN + GR = EN-GR
EN + GW = EN-GW
EN + H = E-H
EN + HW = E-'W
EN + L = E-L
EN + LH = E-'L
EN + M = E-M
EN + N = EN-N
EN + P = E-B
EN + PR = E-MR
EN + R = EDH-R
EN + RH = E-'R
EN + S = E-H
EN + T = E-D
EN + TH = E-TH
EN + TR = EN-DR

Special cases

B = E-MB
D = E-ND
G = EN-G

Nan and 'nin

Nan is considered a locative word, meaning it says something about places, whereas 'nin is considered a possessive word, meaning says something about giving.

Apostrophe

The apostrophe indicates a lost sound, from primitive Elvish. The h is lost and becomes an apostrophe before the consonant.


Lesson 7- The last of the mutations



Stop mutation

This mutation is caused by sounds called stops, which literally stop the flow of air out of the mouth momentarily, and release them. This is caused by prepositions ending in stops; ed (out of), ned (in) and o (from). This mutation will pull the final sounds of both preposition and following word to a "common place of articulation", meaning that the d of ed and ned usually drops.

What it does:

ED + B = E B
ED + BL = E BL
ED + BR = E BR
ED + C = E CH
ED + CL = E CHL
ED + CR = E CHR
ED + D = E D
ED + DR = E DR
ED + F = E F
ED + G = E G
ED + GL = E GL
ED + GR = E GR
ED + GW = E GW
ED + H = E CH
ED + HW = E W
ED + L = ED L
ED + LH = E THL
ED + M = E M
ED + N = E N
ED + P = E PH
ED + PR = E PHR
ED + R = ED R
ED + RH = E THR
ED + S = ES S
ED + T = E TH
ED + TH = ETH TH
ED + TR = E THR

Special cases

ED + B = E MB
ED + D = E ND
ED + G = EN G
Note: ed and ned behave in pretty much the same way. Also, o causes the same mutations, but the o itself does not change.

Liquid mutation
This mutation is caused by the sounds made by l and r, and, consequently, any prepositions ending in these letters (such as or, meaning above). As a result, the stops become spirants.

What it does:

OR + B = OR V
OR + BL = OR VL
OR + BR = OR VR
OR + C = OR CH
OR + CL = OR CHL
OR + CR = OR CHR
OR + D = OR DH
OR + DR = OR DHR
OR + F = OR F
OR + G = OR '
OR + GL = OR 'L
OR + GR = OR 'R
OR + GW = OR 'W
OR + H = OR CH
OR + HW = OR CHW
OR + L = OR L
OR + LH = OR 'L
OR + M = OR V
OR + N = OR N
OR + P = OR PH
OR + PR = OR PHR
OR + R = OR R
OR + RH = OR 'R
OR + S = OR S
OR + T = OR TH
OR + TH = OR TH
OR + TR = OR THR

Special cases

OR + B = OR B
OR + D = OR D
OR + G = OR G


Lesson 8-Adjectives



Adjectives are words that describe things. In Sindarin, these are usually placed after the noun, unlike in English, which places them before the noun. Adjectives are lenited when they follow a noun and agree in number with the noun they describe. Sometimes, an adjective will come before the noun, phenomenon usually occuring in poetry or to add emphasis to a word. The adjective is not lenited in this case.

The types of adjectives

Comparitive and superlative

These two forms of adjectives denote how much, to what extent. The comparative is formed by adding an-, the equivalent of the English suffix -er or the word most, to the adjective, part of which should be lenited. The superlative is formed by adding -wain, meaning -est or most in English. The suffix is not lenited.

Indefinite

The Sindarin indefinite adjective pān (plural form pain) apparently corresponds to English all and denotes an unspecified amount of something.

Demonstrative

This form of adjectives denote the proximity and plurality of something. They are:
sen/sin (this/these)
te/ti (that/those)

Numerals

These are considered adjectives since they denote the order or number of the noun they describe. They follow the nouns they describe (and are lenited).

Adjectival suffixes

It is possible to transform a noun into an adjective with adjectival suffixes, which are -eb, -ren and -ui. These endings can be used to create new adjectives, but be careful! There is no written rule on which ending to use, but it is suggested to use whichever one sounds the best on an adjective. Be sure to consult a Sindarin dictionary beforehand, however.


Lesson 9- Pronouns


Sindarin pronouns are usually placed after nouns in a sentance, though this is not always the case. This will be seen in more detail in a later lesson.

Some definitions before we begin, which are essential to this lesson;
The noun cases:
nominative- used for the subject of a sentance
possessive- used to denote to who something belongs
dative- used for the indirect object of a sentance
accusative- used for the direct object of a sentance
long dative- a dative form, with the dative prepositions an (to/for)
reflexive- this form consists of the dative prepositions an with the nominative form of a pronoun


Note: there are other forms of pronouns, not seen here, such as reverential and formal pronouns, reverential being used when respect is to be given. Formal is for, of course, more formal circumstances. This may be hard to stomach all at once, but there will be more on these in the last lesson. Also, it is important to note that Sindarin has no seperate masculine and feminine pronouns.

Interogative adverbs and pronouns

There are relative pronouns (used to relate two clauses, or parts of sentances):
ias- where
ir- when
ian- who, what
ianen- how
and interrogative pronouns (used for asking a question):
mas- where
mar- when
man- who, what
manen- how

Independant pronouns
These stand by themselves in a sentence, without being attached to either a verb or a noun. These are occasionaly seen in Sindarin, mostly when using the third person.

Pronouns appended to verbs

Nominative suffix form are pronouns appended to the end of verbs, considered the "normal" way to use pronouns in Sindarin. They are the following:

singular plural
1st -n (I) -m (we)
2nd f -ch (you) -ch (you)
2nd r -l (you) -l (you)
3rd none -r (they)

Pronouns appended to nouns

Pronouns are also added to the end of nouns. Certain endings cause certain changes in the word:

-m and n double before endings that have a consonant cluster of mb or nd at the end. These endings are from primitive Elvish and can be looked up on the Dragonflame dictionary.
-an e is inserted before the pronominal ending, except if the noun ends in a vowel.

For the possessive pronominal endings, except for -en (my), see the chart in pronouns appended to verbs above.

General reflexive pronouns

This type of pronoun only has meaning when put in a sentance and can mean his, her, their, its, your. It refers to the subject of the sentance. This pronoun is īn (translating to his/her/their/its/your own).

Relative pronouns

This pronoun is used to relate different parts of a sentance. It is substatuted in the second part of the sentance for a thing (or person) mentioned in the first, so it can mean, for example, who or that (The person that did this. The woman who told us). The relative pronoun is i, with the plural form in. Don't confuse it with the definite article (the), the context will determine which is being used.

on mutation: as far as we can tell, singular relative pronouns don't mutate, but plurals seem to suffer a nasal mutation.