Elvish
lesson four : plurals and plural forms
Eil cebyr a hui! (It's raining frogs and dogs!)
As expected, most nouns in Sindarin are normally singular in their base state. There are some exceptions, which will be addressed further down, but for now, I'm going to pretend they don't exist. For other nouns, there exist two plural forms -- the standard plural, and the class plural. The standard plural is what most people think of when they think of plurals; the class plural is a specialized form that refers not just to more than one of a thing, but to every one of those things. More on that later.
The standard plural form in Sindarin relies not on endings like the English -s or -es, but on vowel changes, called "Prestanneth" in Sindarin -- which means "disturbance". Outside of Middle-Earth, we call these changes "umlauts", a German word that means "changed sound."
For an example, let's look at the word 'adan' -- 'man'. The plural of this word is 'edain' -- 'men'. Notice how the first a -- the non-final syllable -- changes into e, while the second a -- the final syllable -- changes into ai. The important thing to be aware of is that the same vowel can umlaut into different vowels depending on whether is it in a final or a non-final syllable. (And some vowels don't change at all!) The chart below summarizes the changes that each vowel and diphthong (they umlaut together, not separately) will have.
| Non-Final | Final | |
|---|---|---|
| a | e | ai OR e (see note) |
| e | e | i |
| é/ê | n/a | í/ î |
| i | i | i |
| ie | n/a | i |
| io | n/a | y |
| o | e | y |
| ó/ô | n/a | ý |
| u | y | y |
| ú/û | n/a | ui |
| y | y | y |
| au | oe | oe |
| ae | ae | ae |
| ai | ai | ai |
| ei | ei | ei |
| ui | ui | ui |
Note: When a final 'a' is followed by a single consonant, the 'a' becomes 'ai'. When it is followed by two or more consonants, the 'a' becomes 'e' instead.
Now for some practical examples and explanations.
Melethron -> M(e->e)l(e->e)thr(o->y)n -> Melethryn (male lovers)
Peredhel -> P(e->e)r(e->e)dh(e->i)l -> Peredhil (half-elves)
Ernil -> (E->E)rn(i->i)l -> Ernil (princes)
Edhel -> (E->E)dh(e->i)l -> Edhil (Elves)
Ellon -> (E->E)ll(o->y)n -> Ellyn (male Elves)
Adar -> (A->E)d(a->ai)r -> Edair (fathers) (one consonant follows the final 'a', so it becomes 'ai')
Narn -> N(a->e)rn -> Nern (stories) (two consonants follow the final 'a', so it becomes 'e')
Gwador -> Gw(a->e)d(o->y)r -> Gwedyr (sworn brothers)
Muindor -> M(ui->ui)nd(o->y)r -> Muindyr (brothers by blood)
Meldir -> M(e->e)ld(i->i)r -> Meldir (male friends)
You probably notice that two of those words, ernil and meldir, are the same in the plural as in the singular. They are not the only words this happens to. This is an unavoidable consequence of these vowel changes. In cases such as these, use context to determine if the word is meant as singular or plural.
There are several exceptions to these rules, but they are rare and, in general, are not going to be found in most slash fiction, so I don't feel it's necessary to go into great detail. See www.ardalambion.com if you are really interested in these exceptions and the reasons for them.
class plurals
As stated above, there is a special class of plural that refers not just to two or three of something, but to an entire group or race. For instance:
One elf : Edhel
Many elves: Edhil
The entire Elven race: Edhelath
So, we can see that one way the class plural is made by attaching -ath to the singular. (If the final syllable contains an 'i', the ending changes to -iath, as in:
Fir (mortal) -- Firiath (the mortal race)
The -ath plural is used to denote an entire group or race, but there is another set of endings that apply to "sub-groups" or "divisions" of a race. The most common examples are:
Galadhel (tree-elf) -> Geledhil (tree-elves) -> Galadhrim (a specific group of elves)
(note the similarity to Doriathrim and Gondolindrim, other specific groups of elves)
Glam (any group of orcs) -> Glamhoth (a specific group of orcs)
In general, the -rim suffix is used to denote groups that the speaker is pleasantly disposed to, whereas -hoth is used to denote groups that the speaker has a strong dislike for.
In very rare instances, if the base word ends in M or N, the consonant will double before the class plural (Perian - halfling; Periannath - halfling race). This is tied to the evolution of the word over time, and isn't worth going into a length discussion over.
elven races
The names for the different races of the elves do not form their class plurals in this manner for one simple reason: they aren't Sindarin, they're Quenya. Just as the word 'Sindarin' is a Quenya word, so is the word 'Sindar', which is the entire group of Sindarin elves. A single elf of this group is a Sinda. Below is an attempt at a chart showing the singular and plural forms of some of the terms this plural form applies to, as well as showing how the Elven races sundered from the Quendi.
| Singular Plural | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ainu Ainur | Vala Valar | ||||||
| Istarë Istari | Maia Maiar | ||||||
| Quendë Quendi | |||||||
| Elda Eldar | Avarë Avari | ||||||
| Vanya Vanyar | Noldo Noldor | Telerë Teleri | |||||
| Sinda Sindar | Nando Nandor | ||||||
Singulars Derived from Plurals
Some nouns in Sindarin are considered to be "normally" plural. The most common of these types of words among slash authors is 'gwanûn' - "a pair of twins." To speak of one of a pair, attach the ending -ig to the plural form. So, for instance, 'gwanûnig' would refer to either Elladan or Elrohir, while 'gwanûn' refers to them both, as in "The gwanûn gasped in unison at their mutual release." Similarly, the endings -od and -og can refer to one of a group (as opposed to a pair). The noun 'glam' is a noun that takes such an ending; 'glamog' can refer to a single orc, a member of a 'glam'.
This group is very small, and in most cases, the singular and plural forms are mentioned together, but it is worth at least a mention in passing.
conclusion
- Standard plurals are formed by a changing of vowels, not by an ending.
- The -ath (sometimes -iath) ending refers to an entire group or race.
- The -rim and -hoth endings refer to sub-groups within a larger group.
- Elven races are Quenya, and form their plural according to Quenya rules.
- Some words are normally plural; the endings -ig, -od, and -og are used to denote the singular
