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[[File:Khuzdul.gif|frame|right|A translation chart from Khuzdul into English.]]
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[[File:Khuzdul.gif|thumb|250px|A translation chart from Khuzdul into Roman letters]]
   
'''Khuzdul''' was the [[Languages of Middle-earth|language]] of the [[Dwarves]] in [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Middle-earth]], written with [[Cirth]] script. It appears to be structured, like the Semitic languages, around triconsonantal roots: '''''kh-z-d'', ''b-n-d'', ''z-g-l'''''. Not much is known of the language as the Dwarves kept it to themselves, except for their battle-cry, "''Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!",'' meaning, "''Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!".''
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'''Khuzdul''' was the [[Languages of Middle-earth|language]] of the [[Dwarves]], written in the 50-letter [[Cirth]] script (Runes). It appears to be structured, like real-world Semitic languages, around the triconsonantal roots: '''''kh-z-d'', ''b-n-d'', ''z-g-l'''''.
   
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== History ==
According to the Lhammas, Khuzdul is unique in belonging to a separate language phylum, '''[[Aulëan]]''', not related to the languages of [[elves|Elves]], which are in the '''[[Oromëan]]''' language phylum. Aulëan was named from the Dwarvish tradition that it had been devised by [[Aulë]] the Smith, the [[Vala]] who created the Dwarves.
 
   
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The language was created by the [[Vala]] [[Aulë]], the creator of the first Dwarves, who taught them "the language he had devised for them," implying that Khuzdul is a constructed language even within context of the books.<ref>''[[The Silmarillion]]'','' [[Quenta Silmarillion]]'', Chapter II: "[[Of Aulë and Yavanna]]"</ref> The language was rarely heard by outsiders and was a secret, and was thus not recorded by [[Elves]] or [[Men]]. The ''[[Lhammas]] ''tells that Khuzdul uniquely derives from the separate language family "[[Aulëan]]" (named after [[Aulë]]), separate from the "[[Oromëan]]" family that supersedes the [[Elvish languages|Eldarin]] languages.
There are many similarities between Khuzdul and the native tongues of men, such as [[Taliska]], the language of the first and third houses of the [[Edain]]. This is because in the early days of Middle-earth, before men crossed the mountains into [[Beleriand]], they had contact with the Dwarves of the [[Blue Mountains]] (Ered Luin) and further East. Taliska was the ancestor of [[Adûnaic]], the tongue of [[Númenor]], and the direct ancestor of the [[Common Speech]], and both languages still had Khuzdul influences.
 
   
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The only Khuzdul line in [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s primary writings is [[Gimli]]'s battle-cry ''Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!'', meaning, "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!"''.''
It is said in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' that [[Aulë]], the creator of the first Dwarves, taught them "the language he had devised for them," which implies that Khuzdul is a constructed language even within context of the books.
 
   
  +
In the early days of Middle-earth, before Men entered [[Beleriand]], they had contact with the Dwarves of the [[Blue Mountains]] and further East, and the [[Taliska]] language was devised, similar to the Dwarven tongue. Taliska would be the ancestor of [[Adûnaic]], the later tongue of [[Númenor]], and of the [[Common Speech]].
Instead of 26, Khuzdul has 50 letters in its alphabet which are more like sounds than actual letters.
 
==Khuzdul to english==
 
The Blue Mountains - Harn Baland,
 
The Lonely Mountain - Ghunum Bulnd,
 
The Iron Hills - Gazaz Bhanad,
 
   
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== Background ==
Steel - Guzukh,
 
Iron - Guzuz,
 
Mithril - Eziluk,
 
Metal - Khelagh,
 
Gold - limul,
 
Copper - Feguz.
 
==Behind the scenes==
 
The Dwarvish language sounds much like Hebrew, and indeed Tolkien noted some similarities between Dwarves and Jews: both were "at once natives and aliens in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue" (''Letters'', 176). Another reason Hebrew was chosen as a basis for Khuzdul is that it is unlike any of the European languages, and thus sufficiently alien to western ears to show just how different the Dwarven speech was from the Elvish languages. Although Dwarven symbols are identical to those of Nordic Runes, the symbols that correlate to specific English letters have been mixed around and even a few Runes have been inverted.
 
   
 
Khuzdul sounds much like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_language Hebrew], and indeed Tolkien noted that both Jews and his Dwarves were "once natives and aliens in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue"<ref>''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', [[Letter 176]]</ref>. Another reason Hebrew was chosen as a basis for Khuzdul is that it is unlike any of the European languages, and thus sufficiently alien to western ears to show just how different the Dwarven speech was from the Elvish languages. Although Dwarven symbols are identical to those of Nordic Runes, the symbols that correlate to specific English letters have been mixed around and even a few Runes are inverted.<ref>''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]''</ref>
For [[The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy|''The Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy]], the linguist [[David Salo]] used what little is known of Khuzdul to create a semi-complete language for use in the movies. This is usually referred to as neo-Khuzdul by Tolkienists, which is a fully usable language<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">.</span>
 
   
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In the 2000's, linguist [[David Salo]] came up an expanded Dwarvish vocabulary, normally called ''neo-Khuzdul''. For ''[[The Hobbit film trilogy|The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug]]'', he fashioned [[Thorin]]'s insult to [[Thranduil]], ''îsh kakhfê ai-‘d-dûr-rugnul'', meaning "May my excrement be poured upon the naked-jawed (unbearded Elves)", based off of [[Gimli]]'s Extended Scene insult to [[Haldir]] in ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring (film)|The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', ''Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul'', which merely meant "I spit on your grave".
==External link==
 
   
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The website "[http://www.dwarrowscholar.com/ The Dwarrow Scholar]", run by someone else, holds an entire fan-expanded Neo-Khuzdul lexicon that surfaced in 2012.
*{{TGlink|Khuzdul}}
 
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*[http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/k/khuzdul.html Khuzdul on The Encyclopedia of Arda]
 
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==Translations==
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<div style="overflow:auto; height:300px; width:500px; float:left">
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<!--<div style="overflow:auto; height:200px;">-->
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{|class="itemtable" bgcolor=#EDEEFF style="color:#6f3d0b; border:2px solid #FFF; border-top: 0; text-align:left; -moz-border-radius-bottomleft:8px; -moz-border-radius-bottomright:8px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius:8px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius:8px;"
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|width=300px|'''Foreign Language'''
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|width=300px|'''Translated name'''
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|-
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|Greek
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|Κχουζντούλ
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|-
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|Hebrew
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|קהוזדול
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|-
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|Persian
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|خوزدول
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|-
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|Russian
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|Кхуздул
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|}
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</div>
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{{Clear}}
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==References==
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<references />
   
 
[[de:Khuzdul]]
 
[[de:Khuzdul]]
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[[fr:Khuzdul]]
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[[es:Khuzdul]]
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[[he:קהוזדול]]
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[[it:Khuzdul]]
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[[pl:Khuzdul]]
 
[[ru:Кхуздул]]
 
[[ru:Кхуздул]]
 
[[Category:Language]]
 
[[Category:Language]]

Revision as of 08:28, 3 July 2020

Khuzdul

A translation chart from Khuzdul into Roman letters

Khuzdul was the language of the Dwarves, written in the 50-letter Cirth script (Runes). It appears to be structured, like real-world Semitic languages, around the triconsonantal roots: kh-z-d, b-n-d, z-g-l.

History

The language was created by the Vala Aulë, the creator of the first Dwarves, who taught them "the language he had devised for them," implying that Khuzdul is a constructed language even within context of the books.[1] The language was rarely heard by outsiders and was a secret, and was thus not recorded by Elves or Men. The Lhammas tells that Khuzdul uniquely derives from the separate language family "Aulëan" (named after Aulë), separate from the "Oromëan" family that supersedes the Eldarin languages.

The only Khuzdul line in J.R.R. Tolkien's primary writings is Gimli's battle-cry Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!, meaning, "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!".

In the early days of Middle-earth, before Men entered Beleriand, they had contact with the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains and further East, and the Taliska language was devised, similar to the Dwarven tongue. Taliska would be the ancestor of Adûnaic, the later tongue of Númenor, and of the Common Speech.

Background

Khuzdul sounds much like Hebrew, and indeed Tolkien noted that both Jews and his Dwarves were "once natives and aliens in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue"[2]. Another reason Hebrew was chosen as a basis for Khuzdul is that it is unlike any of the European languages, and thus sufficiently alien to western ears to show just how different the Dwarven speech was from the Elvish languages. Although Dwarven symbols are identical to those of Nordic Runes, the symbols that correlate to specific English letters have been mixed around and even a few Runes are inverted.[3]

In the 2000's, linguist David Salo came up an expanded Dwarvish vocabulary, normally called neo-Khuzdul. For The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, he fashioned Thorin's insult to Thranduil, îsh kakhfê ai-‘d-dûr-rugnul, meaning "May my excrement be poured upon the naked-jawed (unbearded Elves)", based off of Gimli's Extended Scene insult to Haldir in The Fellowship of the Ring, Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul, which merely meant "I spit on your grave".

The website "The Dwarrow Scholar", run by someone else, holds an entire fan-expanded Neo-Khuzdul lexicon that surfaced in 2012.

Translations

Foreign Language Translated name
Greek Κχουζντούλ
Hebrew קהוזדול
Persian خوزدول
Russian Кхуздул

References