Elvish Lesson 1.01

Question 1

C

Answer 1

Always hard, like in Kite, not like Cent

Question 2

F

Answer 2

Beginning of word; soft as in ‘father’. Anywhere else in the word; a ‘v’ as in ‘verge’

Question 3

G

Answer 3

Always hard, as in ‘get’, never soft like the word ‘edge’

Question 4

I

Answer 4

becomes a ‘y’ as in ‘yacht’ if before a vowel or starting a word

Question 5

L

Answer 5

Clear as in ‘let’ or ‘leaf’, never ‘dark L’ as in British English ‘bottle’

Question 6

R

Answer 6

Trilled at the front of the mouth, as in Spanish

Question 7

CH

Answer 7

Never as in ‘church’, always as in ‘loch’ or ‘bach’ from Scots/German DH The voiced ‘th’ sound as in ‘these’, or ‘those’

Question 8

HW

Answer 8

The older British English pronunciation of ‘white’, or with a slight breath before the ‘w’ as if the letters WH in ‘white’ were reversed

Question 9

LH

Answer 9

The Welsh LL sound. For an approximation, pronounce this as if the letters were reversed and written HL
NG At the beginning or end of a word, as in the English ‘ring’ or ‘sing’, otherwise as in ‘finger’

Question 10

NG

Answer 10

At the beginning or end of a word, as in the English ‘ring’ or ‘sing’, otherwise as in ‘finger’

Question 11

PH

Answer 11

An ‘f’ sound as in ‘phonic’ or ‘phone’ RH This is an un-trilled R (pronounce it just like the normal English R in ‘red’, ‘bread’)

Question 12

TH

Answer 12

A soft ‘th’ as in ‘thing’ or ‘thick’

Question 13

W

Answer 13

At the end of a word you have two options for pronunciation. The Elves pronounced this like a W in ‘woe’, ‘wight’, but this is very difficult for a Man to replicate as you have to be exceptionally careful not to add in a ‘schwa’ (the vowel sound of the ER in ‘butter’, ‘brother’, or the AR in ‘wizard’). The Gondorians pronounced a final W like a Sindarin U. Anywhere else in a word a W should be pronounced as in ‘wet’ or ‘woe’ 9 Vowel/Consonant combinations

Question 14

ER

Answer 14

As in the word ‘fair’ IR As in ‘dear’ or ‘ear’

Question 15

UR

Answer 15

As in the word ‘fur’ Diphthongs AI Like the ‘i’ in ‘fine’ or ‘light’, not like the ‘ai’ in the word ‘straight’Value

Question 16

AE

Answer 16

Same as for AI, the ‘i’ in ‘fine’ or ‘bright’

Question 17

AU

Answer 17

Pronounce like the ‘ou’ in ‘loud’ or the ‘ow’ in ‘now’

Question 18

AW

Answer 18

pronounce like the ‘ou’ in ‘loud’ or the ‘ow’ in ‘now’

Question 19

EI

Answer 19

This is like the English ‘ay’ in ‘bray’ or ‘say’

Question 20

OE

Answer 20

This is the ‘oy’ sound in ‘boy’ UI Pronounce this like the word ‘whee’, not like the ‘ui’ in the English ‘ruin’

Question 21

A

Answer 21

Always long, as in ‘father’, never pronounce it short like the English ‘hat’

Question 22

E

Answer 22

This is always like the e in ‘fed’ or ‘head’, never ‘f*et

Question 23

I

Answer 23

If it starts a word it is a ‘y’ sound as in ‘yes’ (apart from im as this is too short a word). An ‘i’ without an accent is pronounced short, as in ‘sick’, or ‘hit’. An accented ‘i’ is a long ‘ee’ sound, like the ‘i’ in ‘machine’

Question 24

O

Answer 24

A short o is like the ‘o’ in ‘dog’ or ‘lot’. An accented o should be pronounced like the O in ‘snow’, ‘oh’

Question 25

U

Answer 25

Pronounce this like the ‘oo’ in ‘tool’