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- Newsgroups: alt.fan.tolkien
- Path: sparky!uunet!stanford.edu!nntp.Stanford.EDU!alderson
- From: alderson@cisco.com (Rich Alderson)
- Subject: Re: Language Origins
- In-Reply-To: klaus@diku.dk (Klaus Ole Kristiansen)
- Message-ID: <1993Jan22.192043.4255@leland.Stanford.EDU>
- Originator: alderson@leland.Stanford.EDU
- Sender: news@leland.Stanford.EDU (Mr News)
- Reply-To: alderson@cisco.com (Rich Alderson)
- Organization: Cisco Systems (MIS)
- References: <C13pyt.MyF@panix.com> <1993Jan20.004852.18996@leland.Stanford.EDU> <1993Jan21.113334.1048@odin.diku.dk>
- Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 19:20:43 GMT
- Lines: 19
-
- In article <1993Jan21.113334.1048@odin.diku.dk>, klaus@diku (Klaus Ole Kristiansen) writes:
- >
- >Khuzdul is semitic in structure. The consonant-combination kh-z-d means
- >dwarf. Words such as dwarf (khazad) and dwarven (khuzdul) are made by adding
- >wovels (and the occasional consonant). Semitic languages work in that way
- >too.
-
- I'd not noticed that feature of Khuzdul. Comes of spending too much time with
- Indo-European and Native American languages, I guess.
-
- I find it interesting that the -ul ending, forming an adjective, is used to
- form Balin's patronymic on his tomb: Balin Fundinul, Balin son of Fundin.
- Until you pointed out the adjectival nature of the ending I had always taken it
- to be a genitive "of Fundin."
- --
- Rich Alderson 'I wish life was not so short,' he thought. 'Languages take
- such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about.'
- --J. R. R. Tolkien,
- alderson@leland.stanford.edu _The Lost Road_
-