The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Just how do you pronounce Aulë's Valarin Name

Aiwendil · 04-08-2008, 09:18 PM

I believe the special 'g' that's often rendered '3' represents a voiced back spirant - something like the 'ch' in 'Bach' or 'Chanukah' but with the vocal chords vibrating (like the 'gh' in Klingon 'gagh' if you're a Trekkie).

The vowels are undoubtedly supposed to be the continental pronunciation - 'a' as in 'father', 'u' as in 'rule', 'e' like the vowel in 'late'. The circumflexes (actually, I think Tolkien used macrons in Valarin) indicate the 'quantity' or length of the vowel.

The 'l' and 'z' are probably just like English.

That's my best guess, anyway.

04-08-2008, 09:18 PM	#3
Aiwendil Late Istar Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,224	I believe the special 'g' that's often rendered '3' represents a voiced back spirant - something like the 'ch' in 'Bach' or 'Chanukah' but with the vocal chords vibrating (like the 'gh' in Klingon 'gagh' if you're a Trekkie). The vowels are undoubtedly supposed to be the continental pronunciation - 'a' as in 'father', 'u' as in 'rule', 'e' like the vowel in 'late'. The circumflexes (actually, I think Tolkien used macrons in Valarin) indicate the 'quantity' or length of the vowel. The 'l' and 'z' are probably just like English. That's my best guess, anyway.