Re: "The Enshadowed Wood", Rokbeigalmki, and Proto-Elven

On Wed, 13 Jun 2001 13:30:05 -0400 Andreas Johansson <and_yo@...>
writes:
> Steg Belsky wrote:
> > > So, something like _Tauree Spaaroophuineewaa_ "Forest of
> > > Hunter-Shadow" (in
> > > all likelihood, the long e of *phuinee will revert here).
> >something like:
> >[tawre: spa:ro:p<h>ujne:wa:]   ?
> Leaving stress aside, it'd probably be pronounced something like
> [tawre:
> spA:ro:p_hujne:wA:]. So, pretty  much like you thought.
> >Rokbeigalmki-ized that would turn into something like:
> >Taorei Sparofoineiwa -- [tawrej sparoPOjnejwa]
> [P] is voicells bilabial fricative?
-

Yup... Rokbeigalmki's voiceless fricative <f> is bilabial /P/, but it's
voiced fricative <v> is labiodental /v/.  It's a very unstable situation
that happened by accident and may be changing now.

> No long monophtongs in Rokbeigalmki? How very untolkienian! We'll,
> at least
> you've introduced some short syllables, which the PQ form was in
> dire need
> of ... seven long syllables in a row.
-

I've never really been able to pronounce short vs. long vowels, except
for stressed syllables, which tend to become automatically longer.
That's why Rokbeigalmki has long vowels which are completely governed by
stress, and ultra-long vowels that can be anywhere, and last as long as
saying a vowel twice.

> >And then _foinei_ would become the word for "bad shadow" in
> Rokbeigalmki.
> It does have a slightly evil sound to my ears, unlike Q _huine_ of
> much the
> same meaning.
>                                                      Andreas
-

So i guess it's settled then:
The Rokbeigalmki 'place of nightmares' is _Táórei Sparofóíneiwa_, whose
name is explained to those who don't speak Proto-Elven as _aurdzasht-a
tza'foineim oolu-trorip_, roughly "the forest of hunting shades".  Hmm...
interestingly, it's _foineim_ and not _foineidm_, without the common _-d_
ending of sentient creatures.  It's as if the Rokbeigalm refuse to grant
the 'shadow-shapes above Cuiviénen' any kind of sentient status.
Thanks!


-Stephen (Steg)
 "verbing weirds language." ~ calvin (& hobbes)