Re: Tolkien's "hidden" conlang

On Sep 27, 2004, at 12:27 PM, Wesley Parish wrote:
> the one the Dwarves spoke.
> It seems to have triconsonantal bases.  Eg, the Moria tomb inscription:
> Balin Fundinul
> Uzbadkazaddu:mu
> Balin son of fundin lord of moria
> and Gimli's war-cry before Helm's Deep:
> Baruk Khazad!  Khazad ai-menu
> Assuming Fundin to be a human name like Balin, -ul is then a
> patronymic.
> uzbad would be z-b-d, to rule, with zero grade between z-b and a prefix
> indicating the actor - ie, the lord.  du:mu would likewise be d-w-m -
> to dig,
> with a genitive -u.  b-r-k is "edged weapon", "axe", with the vowel
> pattern
> -a-u- indicating the plural.  One would expect Khazud for "Dwarves".
> The major problem is these are the only traces of the language Tolkien
> took the time to develop.
> Am I talking through a hole in my head?
> --
> Wesley Parish
> * * *

No you're not!
Although "Dwarves" is attested - _khazâd_.
The -a-u- pattern of _baruk_ might be a plural *construct* form.

Check out:
http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/khuzdul.htm


-Stephen (Steg)
  "Let them come.
   There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath."
      ~ gimli son of gloin, LotR:FotR (movie version, at least)

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