This page is mainly designed for non-Anglo-Saxon Tolkien readers. As you know, JRRT has provided us with a detailed guide to the pronunciation of Elvish languages and, to some extent, of others - but unfortunately, he did not consider that not every reader has a degree in Old English. Thus, he forgot to explain how to pronounce the tongue of Rohan, not to mention the obscure OE passages in some HoMe volumes which CT left untranslated! Originating from a discussion on the TolkLang list, this gap shall at least a little bit be filled here:
There is on the Internet a lot of confusion about whether the proper name of Rohan's language is Rohirric, Rohanese, or Rohirian. Since even the Lambengolmor list remains unsure about the origins of some of these words, the true tale shall be given here:
Rohirric has never been used by Tolkien. It seems that Foster has invented it for the occasion of writing his guide, perhaps modelling it on „Adûnaic“.
Rohanese is found in the essay on the rivers and beacons of Gondor, VT42, entry „Adorn“. The proper context reads: „any name in the region not of Rohanese origin“, which chiefly signifies an adjectival use and does not necessarily suggest that the language too is called Rohanese. The same entry seems to be referenced by Hammond & Skull in their „Reader's Guide“.
Rohirian is, contrary to many claims, not found in VT42. It was said by Lisa Star in TT17, p. 22, to have been used by Tolkien „for this language“ in a manuscript held at Marquette University and labelled Mq15:10. Lisa also remarks on a usage of „Rohanese“ in Mq15:17, perhaps identical to the VT42 entry, but says that it is not clear whether this refers to true or translated „Rohirian“ (i. e. Old Mercian).
Unfortunately, Lisa's linguistic informations often are very imprecise. P. e. she refers to a supposed usage of „Rohirian“ in PM p. 55 that does not exist; indeed the word does not occur anywhere in that book at all. Since „Rohirian“ looks somewhat untypical for Tolkien's nomenclature, I would not be surprised to find that the word which Lisa found in Mq15:10 read in fact „*Rohirin“, tying in with standard Elvish/Dúnedainic words like „Sindarin“, „Telerin“, „Noldorin“, etc. I shall therefore adopt Rohirin in this article.
Fortunately for us, the pronunciation of Rohirin is far closer to the written appearance, far more phonetical, than that of modern English (trying error-free to pronounce a phrase like Though it's tough to walk thoroughly through slough should leave you without hope ever to grasp the idea behind this parody of a language). The pronunciation of consonants and the basic vowels aeiou widely follow the rules of German, Latin, or the Elvish languages. Thus, a name like Erkenbrand or Widulf should not pose any problem to the Central European reader. If your mother tongue happens to be less phonetical (hi, Paddy!), simply apply the rules given for Elvish in the LR Appendices or in S. Where you meet an accent, stress the vowel long, as in Dúnhere, Felaróf.
There are a few exceptions to obey, though.
Char. |
Value |
Examples |
---|---|---|
y |
|
Brytta, Éowyn, simbelmyne, smygel, Stybba, Théodwyn |
ae |
|
Aelfwine (in LR: Elfwine) |
ea, éa |
|
Éadig, Déagol, Sméagol, Fréa *Tolkien, however, pronounced [Smi:gol] and probably [Di:gol] |
eo, éo |
|
All names on Éo- and Théo-, Beorn, Ceorl, Déor(wine), Grimbeorn * Tolkien pronounced [þeó:den] |
Char. |
Value |
Examples |
---|---|---|
c |
|
Folca, Folcwine, Freca, Orthanc |
|
|
Ceorl, Rohirin, Adúnaic? (if a hybrid compound) |
cg |
|
Garsecg (found only in HoMe) |
f |
|
Elfhelm, Elfhild, Fastred, Felaróf (2x), Folca, Folcwine, Fréalaf (2x), Freca, Gárulf, Herefara, Wídfara |
|
|
Aelfwine, Eastfold, Hasufel (perhaps as well [hasufel], since this is a compound), Léofa, Westfold, Wulf |
g |
|
Brego, Déagol, Dwimorberg, Hornburg, Irensaga, Mundburg, Sméagol (or [mundburch, hornburch], with German "-ch" as in "ich": still a dialectal pronunciation in some German regions) |
|
|
Gálmód, Gríma, Guthlaf, etc.; Herugrim |
|
|
Eádig, Isengard, smygel * Tolkien pronounced always German "g": [Aizengard, Mundburg, Smi:gol] |
ng |
|
Eorlingas, Gamling, Harding, Helmingas, Mering |
s |
|
Éorlingas, Láthspell, mearas, Saruman, simbelmyne, Stybba |
|
|
Hasufel, Isen, Isengard |
sc |
|
Scatha |
th |
|
Gúthlaf, Scatha, Thengel, Théoden |
|
|
Éothain, Éothéod, Láthspell, máthm |
w |
|
Dwimmerlaik, Èowyn, Holdwine, Wulf |
wr: |
|
none found in LR |
Credits
Thanks to David Salo whose explanations were extremely informative.
Anglo-Saxon readers may also want to find out how Old English may be pronounced by new Englishs on the page Orthography.