Pronouncing U and Y

In Illunse, pronounce u as in pull or bull. This is as the short u or u without an accent in both Latin and Old English.

In Illunse, pronounce y as in French tu or German für. This is as in Old English. The letter y should always be a vowel, never a consonant. Some words such as year, which is derived from Old English, started with g (géar) in Old English.

Bone, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words +bones

The Quenya word for bone is axo (plural axor in Markirya).

I couldn't find a Sindarin word for bone.

Bone, in my words

onsa : bone

The Illunse word for bone is onsa. Onsa is a unusual last name. The Henshin Onsa is an item like a tuning fork used for transformation in Japanese tokusatsu television series Kamen Rider Hibiki. Onsa is the name of cities in Nigeria and Sudan.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for bone which is os, and the Old English word for bone which is bán.

For this word I mixed the letters thoroughly.

Steel, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words

The Quenya words for steel are erë or eren (iron or steel) and yaisa.

I couldn't find any Sindarin word for steel.

Steel, in my words

chale : steel

The Illunse word for steel is chale. Chale is a last name. In Mexican-American slang chale means "Hell No!" and it's not an offensive word. Chale is the name of cities in the Malawi, Georgia (the country, not in the USA), Mozambique, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Peru, Somalia, and Zambia.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for steel which is chalybs, and the Old English word for steel which is stíele.

This is a new word, not a revision.

How to pronounce AU, and where AE is at

In Illunse, pronounce au as in how or owl. This is as in Latin. Old English doesn't use au as a diphthong.

In Illunse, pronounce ae as in cat. This is like æ in Old English, the grapheme formed from the letters a and e which is a letter called æsc ("ash tree") in the Old English alphabet. It's unlike Latin in which æ is a ligature representing the Latin diphthong pronounced like ai in aisle.

I decided on these pronunciations for Illunse quite a while ago. These are certain, they won't change.

Iron, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words

The Quenya word for iron (metal) is anga. The word angaina is an adjective meaning of iron.

The Sindarin word for iron (metal) is ang. The word angren is an adjective meaning of iron.

In Illunse the word ang (the Sindarin word for iron) means ring.

Iron, in my words (revised)

ifer : iron

The Illunse word for iron (metal) is ifer. Ifer is an uncommon last name. Ifer is the name of a city in Morocco. IFER is an acronym for International Foundation for Ethical Research.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for iron which is isern, and the Latin word for iron which is ferrum.

My previous Illunse word for iron was iserr. The double RR in the word was OK but somewhat questionable.

Lead, in my words (revised)

plud : lead

The Illunse word for lead (metal) is plud. Plud is a rare last name. PLUD is an acronym for People Like Us, Dear (British middle-class slang).

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for lead which is plumbum, and the Old English word for lead which is lead (same as Modern English).

My previous word for lead was ledum. That word seemed too Latin-ish.

Lead is a soft, malleable, heavy metal. Its atomic symbol is Pb, from the Latin plumbum. Lead is one of the seven metals known from antiquity.

Here's a link to Lead, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

Gold, in my words (revised)

ald : gold

The Illunse word for gold is ald. Ald is a last name. In Old English ald is an alternate form (Anglian) of the more common West Saxon word eald which means old.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for gold which is aurum and the Old English word for gold which is gold (same as Modern English).

My previous Illunse word for gold was aurl. After looking at my Illunse words for metals, I thought I'd redo this word. My new word is simplier.

Here's a link to Gold, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

Tree, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words + trees

The Quenya words for tree are alda (a pair of trees aldu; plural aldar) and ornë.

The Sindarin words for tree are galadh (plural gelaidh) and orn (plural yrn).

These are basic words for tree, there are other words for specific types of trees.

As I'm mentioning Illunse plurals, I thought that I'd add Quenya and Sindarin plurals. To construct most Quenya plurals a suffix of -r or -i is added. Most Sindarin nouns are made plural by changing the vowels in the word, similar to the English words man and men.

Tree, in my words (revised) + trees (revised)

tebor : tree

The Illunse word for tree is tebor. Tebor is a last name. Tebor is a rare masculine first name.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for tree which is arbor, and the Old English word for tree which is tréow.

My previous Illunse word for tree was arbeo.

teboru : trees

The Illunse word for trees (nominative plural) is teboru.

Trees in Latin is arboris. Trees in Old English is tréowu.

My previous Illunse word for trees arbeon.

I've changed this word. My Illunse word for trees is now teboran.

Bible Trace, from Matthew

The Bible Trace I'm featuring today is Matthew Chapter 22, Verse 32. The Latin version is almost readable for me. The Old English version doesn't seem to say the same thing as the other translations.

Looking at the Old English verse, the word folc can be translated as the people and hyrde as pastor. The hys is a spelling variation of the pronoun his. The word lare, see my word for lake, is related to teaching or learning.

I didn't show a modern translation because it's virtually the same as the King James version.

Latin 405 Vulgate
ego sum Deus Abraham et Deus Isaac et Deus Iacob non est Deus mortuorum sed viventium

Old English 990 West Saxon
a þt folc þt ge-hyrde þa wundredonhyo hys lare.

Middle English 1395 Wyclif
Y am God of Abraham, and God of Ysaac, and God of Jacob? he is not God of deede men, but of lyuynge men.

Jacobean English 1611 King James
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Forests and rivers, in my words

swalda : forests

The Illunse word for forests (plural) is swalda. The word for forest is swald. Swalda (or Sualda) was king of Meirionydd in Wales in the early 7th century.

Forests in Latin is silvae. Forests in Old English is wealda.

I've changed this word. My Illunse word for forests is now seldu.

feama : rivers

The Illunse word for rivers (plural) is feama. The word for river is feam. Feama is a rare first name.

Rivers in Latin is flumenis. Rivers in Old English is éa.

Here are two more nominative case plurals. In this case, the plurals were formed by adding -a.

Lake, in my words (revised) + lakes

lare : lake

The Illunse word for lake is lare. Lare is a last name. Lare is an obsolete English word for lore, learning. Lare is another obsolete English word for pasture, feed. Similar word lares (singular lar) were ancient Roman protective deities. Lare is the name of cities in Kenya, Ghana, Honduras and Mozambique.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for lake which is lacus (basin/tank/tub; lake/pond; reservoir/cistern/basin), and the Old English word for lake mere (sea, ocean; lake, pond, pool, cistern).

My previous Illunse word for lake was lece.

Here's a link to Lake, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

lareas : lakes

The Illunse word for lakes is lareas. Lareas is a rare last name.

Give me an A...

In Illunse, pronounce a as in father.

Both Latin and Old English have this as one of their two ways to pronounce a. The Latin ā (a macron) and the Old English á (long a) are both pronounced like a in father.

For now, this will be the only way to pronounce a in Illunse. I'll decide later if I want to add a second pronunciation...or not.

Flower, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words

In Quenya the word for flower is lótë or suffix -lot in compound words.

In Sindarin the words for flower are elloth and lotheg.

These words are for a single flower, not a head of flowers.

They, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words

In Quenya the pronominal ending for they is -ntë or -ltë. Tolkien apparently used both of them in his manuscripts.

I didn't find a Sindarin word for they.

This ends nominative case personal pronouns. Yea! Thinking about pronouns, especially Tolkien's, made my head ache.

They, in my words

eha : they (pronoun)

The Illunse word for they (personal pronoun, 3rd person plural, nominative case) is eha. Eha is a last name. Eha is a masculine first name from India. In Estonian eha means twilight. Eha Amufu is a city in Nigeria.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for they which is híe, and the Latin words for they which are ei (masculine plural they), eae (feminine plural they) and ea (neuter plural they).

I thought that I would start this word with E because Latin does and I started the other 3rd person nominative pronouns with H, like Old English.

Say what?

I don't really know how to pronounce all these constructed words in Illunse. There, I've admitted it. Although I arrogantly think that words should be pronounced one way or another, I've never established any rules.

Perhaps I should have figured out phonetics first, and not concentrated on word spelling. A linguist might have done that, but I'm an amateur. I'm learning things as I go. I'm still new at this language construction stuff.

In Latin each of the five vowels, A E I O U, can be pronounced two ways. These are differentiated by a macron or horizontal line over the letter in the Latin textbook I have. In Old English each of these vowels has an accented and an unaccented version. This means that, at worst, there are four possible ways to pronounce a vowel. Guess I need to research the possibilities.

(Postscript - I actually do know how to pronounce words in Fennas, my other constructed language)

You (plural), in J.R.R. Tolkien's words

In Quenya you (plural) may be ellë or perhaps the same as the you (singular) pronominal ending which is -lyë.

I think I'm getting confounded by Quenya grammar.

I didn't find a Sindarin word for you (plural).