The Signs
The native writing systems for Quenya were devised by elves in Aman. The script of Rúmil went out of use before the classical period. On the other hand, the script of Feanor was brought by Noldor after the Exile with them to the Middle-Earth, and there it was applied to a variety of languages.
Other scripts include the runic script of Angerthas Daeron used by the elves in Eregion, and Latin, first used to transcribe elvish languages by the Anglo-Saxon traveler Ælfwine. With that, Latin now is the most common script to write in Quenya.
Tengwar Script
We will discuss three main systems of tengwar as used in Quenya:
- as an abugida: each symbol is a consonant or a combination of consonants, followed by /a/;
- as an alphasyllabary: each symbol is a consonant or a combination of consonants;
- and as an alphabet: both consonants and vowels are drawn by independent symbols.
Letters and Signs of Tengwar
The tengwar is commonly represented by a table, consisting of twenty-eight regular shapes divided into four series and seven grades and additional twelve irregular shapes:
| I | II | III | IV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | | | |
| 2 | | | | |
| 3 | | | | |
| 4 | | | | |
| 5 | | | | |
| 6 | | | | |
| 7 | | | | |
| Irregular Shapes | ||||
| 8 | | | | |
| 9 | | | | |
| 10 | | | | |
The values of these letters vary depending on the language, the time period and the mode.
Tengwar as Abugida
In the most common use each letter represents a consonant (or a cluster of them) followed by a sound /a/. Other vowels are marked as diacritics.
Consonants
The four series denote the place of articulation: I dentals, II labials, III velars, IV labialized velars. The grades in Parmaquesta period denoted the manner of articulation: 1 voiceless stops, 2 nasalized voiced stops, 3 voiceless fricatives, 4 nasalized voiceless stops, 5 nasals, 6 approximants. In Tarquesta some symbols changed their values or went out of use, so this system doesn't strictly hold true.
The letters in Goldorin then read:
| I | II | III | IV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | /ta/ | /pa/ | /ka/ | /kwa/ |
| 2 | /nda/ | /mba/ | /ŋga/ | /ŋgwa/ |
| 3 | /sa/ | /fa/ | /ha/ | /xwa/ |
| 4 | /nta/ | /mpa/ | /ŋka/ | /ŋkwa/ |
| 5 | /na/ | /ma/ | /ŋa/ | /ŋwa/ |
| 6 | /ra/ | /va/ | /a/ | /wa/ |
| 7 | /sta/ | /wta/ | /χta/ | — |
| Irregular Shapes | ||||
| 8 | /ra/ | /rda/ | /la/ | /lda/ |
| 9 | /sa/ | /sːa/ | /a/ | /aː/ |
| 10 | /ha/ | /ja/ | /wa/ | — |
Vowels
The vowels other than /a/ are marked by a diacritic sign over the letter:
| <a> | <e> | <i> | <o> | <u> | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| after a consonant | | | | | |
| initially, in hiatus | | | | | |
| long (a) | | | | | |
| long (b) | — | | | | |
| nasal | | | | | |
Additional Diacritics
| mark | comment |
|---|---|
| | no following vowel |
| | special swashes for final consonants |
| | common combinations with /s/ |
| | gemmination |
| | palatal series and following /j/ |
| | following /w/ |
Recommendations for Print
There is a great variation in orthography, as tengwar was never standartized. Here are a few guidelines for its use in a print medium:
Use of letters with the same values:
- is still used to denote old voiceless liquids which disappeared in Noldorin. is used initially and medially: /raj/, /hanːo/, /aha/.
- is used before a consonant, and before a vowel: /raːma/, /kerta/, /orto/.
- is used before a consonant, and before a vowel: > /javanːa/, / /ujnen/, /ajːa/.
- is used before a consonant, and after: /awre/, /vilwa/, /nawːe/.
- is only used with yá-tehta as /j/.
- Etymological spelling of initial is not maintained.
- Etymological spelling of is maintained.
Late TQ
Eventually the etymological spelling was abandoned, and , became used for /st/, /χt/, while the long-stemmed , , were discarded.
Use of marks:
- The swashes (or rince) for the final /n/, /s/, and /r/ are not used.
- The anda-tehta and yá-tehta should be placed below the letter.
- To avoid mark-stacking issues, wá-tehta is not used.
Tengwar as Alphasyllabary
The only difference with the previous mode is that /a/ is not assumed after every letter. Instead, a special diacritic is employed, while has no use. This mode was used in ornamental and decorated writing.
Tengwar as Alphabet
For their own writings Noldor developped a fully alphabetical system, where each vowel had their own symbol:
| <a> | <e> | <i> | <o> | <u> | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | | | | | |
| long | | | | | |
| diphthong | , | | | | |
| nasal | | | | | |
Most notes from (@@) apply, except:
- is used for /j/ consistently;
- wá-tehta is permitted;
- anda-tehta is replaced by e-tehta: /lː/, /nː/.
Latin Script
Conceptually there are three different approaches to Quenya transcription:
- Ælfwine's transcription, closely following Latin orthography;
- phonetic transcription;
- tradition of Lord of the Rings.
Phonetic Transcription
Consonants
| I | II | III | IV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | <t> | <p> | <k> | <kw> |
| 2 | <nd> | <mb> | <ng> | <ngw> |
| 3 | *<þ> | <f> | <h> | <hw> |
| 4 | <nt> | <mp> | <nk> | <nkw> |
| 5 | <n> | <m> | *<ñ> | <ñw> |
| 6 | <r> | <v> | *— | <w> |
| 7 | <st> | <pt> | <ht> | — |
| 8 | <r> | <rd> | <l> | <ld> |
| 9 | <s> | <ss> | — | — |
| 10 | <h> | <i> | <u> | <h> |
Vowels
| /a/ | /e/ | /i/ | /o/ | /u/ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | <a> | <e> | <i> | <o> | <u> |
| long | <á> | <é> | <í> | <ó> | <ú> |
| *nasal | <ã> | <ẽ> | <ĩ> | <õ> | <ũ> |
| diphthong | <ai> | <eu> | <iu> | <oi> | <ui> |
Note
- Most texts don't distinguish <s> and <þ>, <n> and <ñ>.
- has no Latin equivalent, but following yá-tehta is transcribed as <y>: <y>; <ty>; <ly>; <ny> etc.
- Nasal vowels are not commonly distinguished from long vowels. Sometimes appearing <ą́>, <ę́>, etc. are ambiguous.
Warning
Just like in tengwar, the spelling <pt> for P is conventional and not phonetical, since a word like <opto> is actually pronounced /owto/.
Traditional Transcription
This method is mostly identical with phonetical transcription, but borrows a few conventions from classical spelling (TBD):
- \<k> is spelled \<c>;
- \<kw> is spelled \<qu>;
- \<þ> is spelled as \<th> if (rarely) distinguished from \<s>.
- nasal vowels are not spelled out;
- final /e/ is spelled \<ë>;
- the first vowel in hiatus is marked with diaresis: \<ëa>, \<öa>, etc. If the first letter is capital, the second one takes diaresis: \<Eä>, \<Oä>, etc.
Modified Traditional Transcription
While the phonetical transcription is well-suited to bridge the gab between tengwar spelling and use of Latin characters, the aesthetics of Latin spelling took an important place in devising the spelling for Quenya. Here we list some modifications to LotR spelling which ensure the Latin feel, but also provide a direct correspondence to the tengwar spelling:
| I | II | III | IV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | <t> | <p> | <c> | <qu> |
| 2 | <nd> | <mb> | <ng> | *<ngu> |
| 3 | *<z> | <f> | <h> | *<hu> |
| 4 | <nt> | <mp> | <nc> | <nqu> |
| 5 | <n> | <m> | *<g> | *<gu> |
| 6 | <r> | <v> | *— | <v, u> |
| 7 | <st> | <pt> | *<ct> | — |
| 8 | <r> | <rd> | <l> | <ld> |
| 9 | <s> | <ss> | — | — |
| 10 | <h> | <i> | <u> | *<h, h·> |
- <þ> is consistently distinguished from <s> and is spelled <z>: <azea> for
; - <ñ> is consistently distinguished from <n> and is spelled <g>: <goldo> for <ñoldo>;
- the nasal vowels are marked with the following <g>: <tegma> for <tẽma>;
<gw, hw, ñw> are spelled <gu, hu, gu>: <tengua> for <tengwa>;- diaresis is not used for marked vowels in hiatus or final /e/;
- diaresis can be optionally used to mark a short final vowel, particularly final /e/ and /o/ which turn into /i/ and /u/ in inflection: <surë>, <ortä> as opposed to <orta>;
diaresis is also used with <u> to distinguish syllabic quality: <huinde> birch, but <hüine> darkness- <ht> is spelled <ct>: <nacte> for <nahte>;
- vowels stressed in violation of main stress rules (→2 can be optionally marked with a grave: <ovèa>;
- grave is also used to distinguish homonyms: <auta> go away, but <àuta> devise; <runya> footprint, but <rùnya> red fire;
- a running h (@@) is marked with middle point: <h·orro> alas.