Qenya Noun Structure is the twenty-first issue of Parma Eldalamberon, a journal of linguistic studies of the Elvish languages and names in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Front cover: manuscript facsimile "Grammar: Accidence: A. Nouns."
Contents[]
- Foreword
- "Declension of Nouns" — J.R.R. Tolkien
- A. "Vocalic" nouns
- I-III. ā, ō, ē declensions
- Notes on declensions I-III
- IV. ī declension
- V. ū declension
- Nouns whose nominative ends in a consonant
- A. Monosyllabic stems ("Declension VII")
- B. Dissyllabic or polysyllabic stems ("Declension VI")
- VIII. "Irregular" monosyllabic nouns
- A. "Vocalic" nouns
- "Qenya Declensions" — J.R.R. Tolkien, eds. Christopher John Gilson and Patrick Howard Wynne
- Version 5a
- Version 5b
- Version 5c
- Version 6
- "Primitive Quendian Structure: Note on final consonants" — J.R.R. Tolkien
- Common Quendian: declension of nouns
- "Nouns"
- "Notes for Qenya Declensions" — J.R.R. Tolkien
- "Common Eldarin: Noun Structure" — J.R.R. Tolkien
- §1 Words ending in a consonant
- §2 Old monosyllabic stems
- §3 Old dissyllabic stems
- §4 Inflexional elements
- §5 Derivative Stems: Nouns and Adjectives
- §6 ’Personification’
- List of abbreviations
Description[]
"Declension of Nouns" is a detailed grammatical treatment of the inflections of the Qenya noun, dating from circa 1931. It describes the formation of stems and syntactic suffixes, including Old Qenya, archaic, and poetic variants, and it traces the development of the noun from Common Eldarin. A number of the forms cited, including those in eight full paradigm tables, are transcribed in the Tengwar as conceived at this time. The various types of vocalic and consonantal stems are discussed, and illustrated with full listings of inflected forms for about 30 nouns, and variations outlined for another 50 or so.
"Qenya Declensions" is a series of paradigm tables apparently intended to replace those in the "Declension of Nouns". They reflect further changes in Tolkien's conception of the noun inflexions up to the middle of the 1930s. In three of these the forms are transcribed in Tengwar, showing the conceptual development in the writing system.
"Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants" is a text from 1936 connecting the distribution of word-final consonants in the primitive language with the etymological origins of the Qenya noun inflections. An associated text titled just "Nouns" treats the same material starting from Common Eldarin.
"Notes for Qenya Declensions" is a revision of "Nouns", probably dating from the early 1940s. It was intended to be part of a projected revision of the "Declension of Nouns" subsequent to the changes introduced in the "Qenya Declensions".
"Common Eldarin: Noun Structure" is a revision and elaboration of the material in "Primitive Quendian Structure" and "Nouns", dating from circa 1951. Tolkien eventually incorporated this as the first part of a "Common Eldarin Morphology", describing how the inflexional categories of Quenya (and the other Eldarin tongues) developed in Common Eldarin by extension and combination of the base-structures, affixes, and other elements inherited from Common Quendian, as described in the "Tengwesta Qenderinwa" (Tengwesta Qenderinwa and Pre-Fëanorian Alphabets, Part 2). The tendency of certain derived noun-stem types to be associated with gender is discussed, along with a more general description of the Eldarin process of contriving personal names.
External links[]
- Print on demand (Barnes & Noble)
- Print on demand (The Great British Bookshop)
- Book review by John Garth, Tolkien Studies volume 11
- A New Q(u)enya Lexicon, a reading companion