Gandalf or Gadalv?

[Manwe]

I was just looking in the Apendix and realised that f in the end of words hav a value of v. Is Gandalf then Gandalv? I'm rather confused because noone has ever said Gandlav.

[Elenhin]

The appendix talks about Elvish words only. 'Gandalf' is not Elvish, but Old Norse (representing an old northern speech in LotR). So 'Gandalf' is not said as 'Gandalv'.

[Elrian]

That appendix does not state that it is only for Elvish words.

[Maeglin]

Is it like this?

Elven: Mithrandir
Human(Old Norse): Gandalf

[Mayla Took]

Hummm, I don't remember seeing a "Gandalv" in the appendics. Where exactly is it? Then maybe I can give my oppinion.... smilies/confused.gif

[Elenhin]

Elrian: Then did Tolkien mean 'Dwarrowdelv' when he wrote 'Dwarrowdelf'? Or 'dwarv' when he wrote 'dwarf'?

There is no pronunciation guide for Rohirric or the related old northern languages in the appendices of LotR, because those languages were Old English and related old Scandinavian languages. The appendices deal with Tolkien's invented languages only (you'll note that all the example words are Elvish, Khuzdul or Adunaic).

Take a look at the entry for Gandalf (http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm?http://www.glyphweb) in the Encyclopedia of Arda, if you don't want to take my word only for this.

[Hama]

From what I remember of the appendix, the chief reason Tolkien used Dwarves, Dwarven and Elves and Elven etc was to avoid "Dwarfs" and "Elfin", which he felt were words with inappropriate connotations for the noble races he envisaged.

Also, the Elves name for Gandalf was "Mithrandir", not Gandalf, which was what the humans called him

[Jjudvven]

Aye, It's funny, when the editors first edited TLoTR or the Hobbit, they replaced 'Elven' with 'Elfin', yadayada.... He got SO mad. smilies/mad.gif

[Birdland]

Here's a quote from Bill Welden, Tolkien language scholar for 30 years, and advisor for the Lord of the Ringsfilms:

"there is a natural tendency for English speakers to darken the second "a" in "Gandalf" and swallow the "l" (so that is sounds more like "Gandoff")."

If you say it like Mr Welden suggests, with a short "a" in both syllables, and emphasize the "L", you get a sound almost like "Gan-DALV". Pretty close, anyway.