Quenya

  1) Ar ilya ambar arne er lambe ar quetie.

  2) Ar martane, lelyientasse roomenna, i hirnente nanda nooresse Shinar; ar marnante tasse.

  3) Ar quentante ilenilenen, "Lel, karealve (*brick*), ar urtealve te ilyave." Ar arnente (*brick*) ve ondo, ar

(*bitumen*) arnente ve (*mortar*).

  4) Ar quentente, "Lel, karealve osto, ar mindon, yo telme na menelenna, ar karealve esselva;

ikoi uu rernar nealve or ilya ambarwa."

  5) Ar Eru nu-lende veelienna i-osto ar i-mindon, ya i-atanion hiini akarnente.

  6) Ar Eru quente, "Veela, nante er lie, ar ilyar arante er lambe; ar sina na ya yestanente; ar sii uu avatanar nuvante (*any*) karyiello, yan noante.

  7) Lel, nu-lendean, ar tasse handuutean lambenta, ikoi uu hanyeante ilenilenwa quentie."

  8) Take Eru rerne te pallave tallo or ambar; ar pustanente kaarie i-osto.

  9) Take esserwa yenne Babel, ike Eru tasse handunte i-lambe ilya ambarwa; ar tallo Eru rerne te or i-ambar.





ANNOTATED TRANSLATION



    [THE BABEL TEXT] (Bible, Genesis 11 1:9]

  I follow the Revised Version, not the Basic English version (which is

oversimplified), nor the New English version (which looks gimmicky).

    QP = see Tolklang archive file articles/Appleyard.Quenya

    sb = subjunctive.

    VK = vinyakaarie.

    AV = see Tolklang archive file articles/Appleyard.AVtrans

    (*angle brackets*) = English that I can't find a Quenya for.

    {curly brackets} = Proto-Eldarin root (e.g. ETYM).



  1) Ar [and] ilya [all] ambar [world] arne [had, from {ghar}] er [one] lambe

[language] ar [and] quetie [talking].

  2) Ar [and] martane [it happened], lelyientasse [travel-ing their in]

roomenna [east to], i [clause-intr] hirnente [find-ed they] nanda [watered

valley] nooresse [land in] Shinar [S.]; ar [and] marnante [dwell-ed they]

tasse [that at].

  3) Ar [and] quentante [said they] ilenilenen [VK other-other [0] dat: `ilen'

= not-that = other VK]], "Lel [VK: {lel} used as interjection], karealve [make

sb we(inclusive)] (*brick*), ar [and] urtealve [burn(tr) sb we] te [them] ilyave

[all-ly].". Ar [and] arnente [have-ed they] (*brick*) ve [as] ondo [stone], ar

[and] (*bitumen*) [1] arnente [have-ed they] ve [as] (*mortar*).

  4) Ar [and] quentente [said they], "Lel [lets go], karealve [make sb we]

osto [city], ar [and] mindon [tower], yo [who gen] telme [top, covering] na

[is] menelenna [sky to], ar [and] karealve [make sb we] esselva [name our];

ikoi [VK chause-intr in-order-that] uu [not] rernar [sow,scatter pastpasspart

pl] nealve [be sb we] or [upon] ilya [all] ambarwa [earth of].".

  5) Ar [and] Eru [God] nu-lende [down went] veelienna [see inf to] i-osto

[the city] ar [and] i-mindon [the tower], ya [which] i-atanion [men's] hiini

[children] akarnente [past of perfect of "make", they].

  6) Ar [and] Eru [God] quente [said], "Veela [see], nante [are they] er [one]

lie [people], ar [and] ilyar [all pl] arante [have they] er [one] lambe

[tongue]; ar [and] sina [this] na [is] ya [what] yestanente [begin (see [2])

causative past they]; ar [and] sii [now] uu [not] avatanar [away causative

pastpasspart pl] nuvante [be will they] (*any*) karyiello [do (VK AV) -ing

from]}, yan [which dat] noante [think they].

  7) Lel [lets go], nu-lendean [down go sb I], ar [and] tasse [that at]

handuutean [understand not causative sb I] lambenta [language their], ikoi [VK

QP in order that] uu [npt] hanyeante [understand sb they] ilenilenwa [VK each

other 's] quentie [talk-ing].".

  8) Take [VK QP that because-of] Eru [God] rerne [sow,scatter -ed] te [them]

pallave [expansive-ly] tallo [that-from] or [upon] ambar [earth]; ar [and]

pustanente [stop-ed-they] kaarie [make-ing] i-osto [the city].

  9) Take  [VK QP that because-of] esserwa [name its] yenne [2] [VK become -ed]

Babel [B.], ike [VK QP following-clause caused-by] Eru [God] tasse [that-at]

handunte (= Hebreyea lambenen `balal') i-lambe [the language] ilya [all]

ambarwa [earth of]; ar [and] tallo [that from] Eru [God] rerne [sow,scatter

-past] [-past] te [them] or [upon] i-ambar [earth].



  [0] Compare Greek `allos' = "other" to `alleelos' = "each other".

  [1] What is left of natural petroleum seepage after the lighter fractions

have evaporated. Often used as mortar and waterproofing in ancient

Mesopotamia. NOT `sticky earth' as in the Basic English version!

  [2] from {yes} (apparent LOTR form of Etym {es} = "begin" (likely change by

Tolkien to distinguish from {es} =  "name")) + past `-ne'. Or regularize to

`yerane'.



  1) And the whole earth was of one language and speech.

  2) And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in

the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

  3) And they said one to another, "Go to, let us make brick, and burn them

thoroughly.". And they had brick for stone, and bitumen had they for mortar.

  4) And they said, "Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top

[may reach] unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered

abroad on the face of the whole earth.".

  5) And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children

of men had builded.

  6) And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one

language; and this is what they began to do; and now nothing will be

withholden from them, which they purpose to do.

  7) Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may

not understand one another's speech.".

  8) So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of the earth;

and they left off to build the city.

  9) Whereof was the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there

confound [= `balal' in Hebrew] the language of all the earth; and from thence

did the Lord scatter them upon the face of the earth.




From: "A.Appleyard" A.APPLEYARD@fs2.mt.umist.ac.uk
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