Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Early Quenya

kirya

noun. ship, boat

Early Quenya [MC/213; MC/214; MC/216; MC/220; MC/221; PE14/046; PE14/079; PE15/70; PE15/77; PE16/056; PE16/057; PE16/060; PE16/061; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074; PE16/077; PE16/078; PE16/100; PE16/104; PE16/112; PE16/113; PE16/114; PE16/115; PE16/147] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kirya kalliére

the ship shone

The seventh phrase of the first version of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/220). The first word is kirya “ship” followed by the past 3rd-singular feminine form of the verb kala- “to shine”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> kirya kall-ié-re = “✱ship shine-(past)-she”

Conceptual Development: This phrase appeared in the second draft of the poem, though Tolkien first wrote (and then deleted) the definite article i, and he put kirya into its nominative form kiryan (OM1b: PE16/57-8). For unclear reasons, he abandoned the nominative form in fourth and all later drafts (OM1d: PE16/62). This change was not reflected in the English translation; Gilson, Welden, and Hostetter speculated on its possible revised meaning in the Early Qenya Poetry article (PE16/62, notes on line #7).

Early Quenya [MC/220; PE16/057; PE16/060; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ar tanda kirya lúte

ar tanda kirya lúte

Early Quenya [PE16/060] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kildo kirya noiko

kildo kirya noiko

Early Quenya [PE16/060] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kaire laiqa’ondoisen kirya

the white ship lay upon the rocks

The seventeenth phrase (line 19 and the first part of line 20) of the first version of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/221). The first word is the present 3rd-singular feminine form of the verb kaya- “to lie” followed by the adjective laiqa “green”, not reflected in the English translation but modifying the following word “rocks”. The last two words are the locative plural of ondo “rock” followed by kirya “ship”. The English adjective “white” modifying “ship” does not appear in the Qenya phrase, and a more accurate translation would be “a ship lay upon the green rocks” (PE16/62).

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> kai-re laiqa ondo-i-sen kirya = “✱lay-she green rock-(plural)-on ship”

Conceptual Development: This phrase appeared in the fourth draft of this poem, where Tolkien first considered an alternate arrangement of the words ondoise laiqa kainer before settling on some close to the final phrase, albeit with an elided form of the adjective laiq’ without its final vowel (OM1d: PE16/62). The phrase remained the same thereafter, with Tolkien restoring the full form of laiqa’ only in the final draft of the poem.

Early Quenya [MC/221; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kildo kirya ninqe

a white ship one saw

The first phrase of the first version of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/220). The first word kildo “one saw, he saw” is the aorist 3rd-singular masculine inflect of the verb kili- “to see”, as suggested by Gilson, Welden, and Hostetter (PE16/56). It is followed by the object of the phrase: kirya ninqe “a white ship”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> kil-do kirya ninqe = “✱see-he ship white”

Conceptual Development: This phrase appeared in the very first draft of the poem (OM1a: PE16/56), where Tolkien first considered using a past-tense formation killer >> kílier before settling on the aorist kildo. The phrase remained the same thereafter in all later drafts, ignoring the aberrant Finnish-like spelling of the fifth draft (OM1e), though in the third draft it was the second line rather than the first (OM1c: PE16/60).

Early Quenya [MC/220; PE16/056; PE16/057; PE16/060; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ma kaire laiqen ondolissen kirya maita?

*does a ship lie maimed on green rocks?

The tenth phrase (lines 19-20) of the intermediate version of the Oilima Markirya poem (PE16/77). The first word is the interrogative particle ma followed by the present 3rd-singular feminine form of the verb kaya- “to lie”. The subject of the phrase is kirya “ship”, followed by the modifying adjective maita “maimed” and preceded by the clause laiqen ondolissen, the locative plural of the adjective laiqa “green” and the noun ondo “rock”.

This phrase corresponds to the lines of the English translations of the poem LA2a-LA2b (PE16/68-9): “who shall heed a dead ship/drowned boat lying on the green rocks”. It also resembles the seventeenth line in the first English translation LA1a (PE16/67): “a ship lay upon the green rocks”.

Alternate Interpretations: In their original article, Gilson, Welden and Hostetter suggested this phrase might be “What maimed ship lies upon the green rocks?” where the initial element ma was “what”. In a Discord conversation from 2023-04-23, Christopher Gilson also suggested the possibility “what lies on green rocks, a maimed ship?”, pointing out that since kirya maita falls on the next line, there could be an omitted comma.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> ma kai-re laikve-n ondo-li-ssen kirya maita = “✱does lie-she green-(plural) rock-(plural)-on ship maimed”

Alternate Interpretations: In their original article, Gilson, Welden and Hostetter suggested this phrase might be “What maimed ship lies upon the green rocks?” where the initial element ma is “what”. In a Discord conversation from 2023-04-23, Christopher Gilson also suggested the possible interpretation “what lies on green rocks, a maimed ship?”. Since kirya maita falls on the next line, there could be an omitted comma: ma kaire laikven ondolissen, kirya maita? I find Gilson’s 2023 suggestion to be quite plausible.

Early Quenya [PE16/077] Group: Eldamo. Published by

man tiruva rusta kirya?

Who shall heed a broken ship?

The twenty ninth line of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/214). The first word is man “who” followed by the future tense of the verb tiri- “to watch”, translated “heed” in the English. The object of the phrase is kirya “ship” preceded by the adjective rusta “broken”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> man tir-uva rusta kirya = “✱who watch-(future) broken ship”

Early Quenya [MC/214] Group: Eldamo. Published by

máno kiluvando ninqe lutya kirya wilwarindon

*who shall see a white ship sailing like a butterfly

The first phrase (lines 1-2) of the intermediate version of the Oilima Markirya poem (PE16/77). The first word is a variant (masculine?) form máno of the interrogative pronoun man “who” followed by future 3rd-singular masculine inflection of the verb kili- “to see”.

The object of the phrase is the noun kirya “ship” preceded by the adjective ninqe “white” and the active-participle lutya “sailing” of the verb lutu- “to sail”, also functioning as an adjective. The phrase ends with the adverbial form of the noun wilwarin “butterfly”: wilwarindon = “like a butterfly”.

The sense of the phrase seems to be identical to the first two lines in the English translations of the poem LA2a-LA2b (PE16/68-9): “who shall see a white ship sailing like a butterfly”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> máno kil-uva-ndo ninqe lut-ya kirya wilwarin-don = “✱who see-(future)-he white sail-ing ship butterfly-like”

Early Quenya [PE16/077] Group: Eldamo. Published by

man kiluva kirya ninqe?

Who shall see a white ship?

The first and fifth lines of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/213). The first word is man “who” followed by the future tense of the verb kili- “to see”, translated “heed” in the fifth line. The object of the phrase is the noun kirya “ship”, followed by the adjective ninqe “white”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> man kil-uva kirya ninqe = “✱who see-(future) ship white”

Early Quenya [MC/213] Group: Eldamo. Published by

man kiluva kirya ninqe?

Who shall heed a white ship?

lunte

noun. ship, boat

Early Quenya [LT1A/Alqaluntë; LT1A/Ilsaluntë; MC/216; PE15/77; PE16/100; PE16/104; PE16/147; PME/057; QL/057] Group: Eldamo. Published by