Ivrinel: Amdiron, henair egor nethil vi nost gîn?
Amdiron: Muinthel, en eneth în Elil. Sâf chent luin a finnel nimp.
Ivrinel: A sevig finnel morn a hent varan!
Ivrinel: Amdiron, do you have brothers or sisters?
Amdiron: I have a sister, her name is Elil. She has blue eyes and white hair.
Ivrinel: And you have black hair and brown eyes!
Amdiron: Muinthel, en eneth în Elil. Sâf chent luin a finnel nimp.
Ivrinel: A sevig finnel morn a hent varan!
Ivrinel: Amdiron, do you have brothers or sisters?
Amdiron: I have a sister, her name is Elil. She has blue eyes and white hair.
Ivrinel: And you have black hair and brown eyes!
The most important thing to understand about Sindarin is that the letters at the beginning of words change depending on where they come in a sentence or what comes before them. This is used in both spoken and written Sindarin, and must be applied - it is an intrinsic part of the language.
The Sindarin word for soft mutation is prestanneth. Other sites and lessons may call it 'Vocalic mutation' or 'Lenition'.
Translating Sindarin invariably involves descriptions, and the Elves loved to have many words for their colours to describe things, from the colours of snow to falling leaves. First of all, here is a list of the colours, in both Sindarin and English.
Sindarin |
English |
Caran |
Red |
Coll |
Scarlet, golden-red, orange |
Luin |
Blue |
Elu |
Pale blue |
Malen |
Yellow |
Calen |
Green |
Morn |
Black |
Baran |
Golden brown |
Rhosc |
Brown, russet |
Faen, Fain, Nimp |
White |
Gloss |
White as snow |
Glân |
Bright shining white |
Mith |
Pale grey |
Hithren |
Grey |
Rustui |
Coppery |
Celebren |
Silvery |
Mallen |
Golden (the colour of actual gold) |
Melingarn |
Orange, tawny |
Glóriel |
Golden, the bright yellow of flowers |
Three different words for white?
The Elves were very fond of words for white, but there are subtle differences between them analogous to the albus/candida distinction in Latin (albus 'dull white', candida 'bright white').
Faen = Radiant, white
Glân = Bright, shining white
Fain = White, also the noun 'cloud'
Nimp = Pale, white
The Elves were very fond of words for white, but there are subtle differences between them analogous to the albus/candida distinction in Latin (albus 'dull white', candida 'bright white').
Faen = Radiant, white
Glân = Bright, shining white
Fain = White, also the noun 'cloud'
Nimp = Pale, white
Here is the list of colours again, but this time with their mutated forms next to them, so you can start to see which letters change, and which don't (you will notice that not every letter changes). This lesson does not cover every change that occurs with soft mutation, this will be covered in Lesson 11.
Original Sindarin |
With soft mutation |
Caran |
Garan |
Coll |
Goll |
Luin |
Luin (L does not change) |
Elu |
Elu (vowels do not change) |
Malen |
Malen (M does not change) |
Calen |
Galen |
Morn |
Morn |
Baran |
Varan |
Rhosc |
Rosc |
Faen, Fain, Nimp |
Faen, Fain, Nimp (F and N do not change) |
Gloss |
'loss (G disappears) |
Glân |
'lân |
Mith |
Mith |
Hithren |
Chithren |
Rustui |
Rustui (R does not change) |
Celebren |
Gelebren |
Mallen |
Mallen |
Melingarn |
Melingarn |
Glóriel |
'lóriel |
Examples
en iaul morn = the black cat
e loth goll = the golden-red flower
e higil luin = the blue necklace
sigil luin = a blue necklace
sigil garan = a red necklace
e chû fain = the white dog
hû varan = a brown dog
en annabon vallen a gelebren = the golden and silvery elephant
en annabon vallen a en annabon gelebren = the golden elephant and the silvery elephant
e loth goll = the golden-red flower
e higil luin = the blue necklace
sigil luin = a blue necklace
sigil garan = a red necklace
e chû fain = the white dog
hû varan = a brown dog
en annabon vallen a gelebren = the golden and silvery elephant
en annabon vallen a en annabon gelebren = the golden elephant and the silvery elephant
Testing your knowledge
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