12.222 And
- Q. ar conj. “and; ⚠️[ᴱQ., ᴹQ.] but”
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The word ar was the Quenya word for “and” for much of Tolkien’s life. It was related to (and originally identical with) Q. ar(a) “beside” (PE17/70). The word ar was always used between sentences, but in sets of items sometimes yo and ta were used instead.
Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s ᴱQ. ar(a) was glossed “but” under the early root ᴱ√ƷARA “spread, extend sideways” (QL/32). In this earliest period the word for “and” was ᴱQ. ya(n) (QL/104). By the end of the 1920s when Tolkien composed the Nieninqe and Earendil poems, he consistently translated ar as “and” (MC/216; PE16/100). The translation “but” reappeared in a few phrases from the 1940s (PE22/124; PE23/74), but it is not clear if these were genuine shifts in meaning or loose translations.
By the time Tolkien wrote The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. ar “and” was derived from the root ᴹ√AR² “beside, outside” (Ety/AR²). This seems to have remained the case up through most of the 1950s, with the possible exception of a couple phrases in the 1930s where Tolkien used a “and” instead (LR/61, 72). In this period the usual Noldorin/Sindarin word for “and” was also ar.
At some point while writing drafts of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien decided that the Sindarin word for “and” should a in the famous phrase pedo mellon a minno “speak, friend, and enter”. His motivations for this change are unclear, but he noticed the problem in notes written between the first and second edition of The Lord of the Rings, saying “a·Berhael. ‘And’ cannot therefore be [derived from] arĭ!” (PE17/102). From this point forward, Tolkien considered two possible roots serving as the basis for “and”: √AD(A) and √AS, both meaning “beside” (PE17/145; VT48/25). Of the two, Tolkien appears to have settled on √AS, which appeared in a few different notes from 1968 (VT47/31; VT48/25).
Assimilations: In the notes written between both the 1st and 2nd edition of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien consider what kind of assimilations ar might have before consonants if it were derived from √AS or √AD (PE17/41). For √AS it became a before the consonants f, h, hw, hy, became as before t, k, p, q, s, and became al before l. For √AD it became a before the consonants n, m, became as before s, and became al before l. In notes from around 1964 Tolkien said:
It is not necessary here to specify all the assimilations that could have occurred at these different stages, since in fact few have left traces in the forms of “and” … Later after development to ar, only as survived as an occasional form before t, and as the usual form before s (of any origin); while al appeared before l. But in written Quenya ar was usually written in all cases, though the pronunciation of ar-s, ar-l as as-s, al-l remained usual (PE17/71).
In this particular discussion, ar as derived from √AD. However, the system Tolkien described was that all the older assimilations were abandoned, and the only ones that survived were based on later assimilations involved r of any origin: rs > ss and rl > ll. These sound shifts only affected pronunciation, not spelling. Thus the same arguments would be apply if ar was derived from √AS.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would write ar “and” in all cases, and would assume it was derived from derived from √AS, but would further assume that the Tarquesta pronunciations before s and l were as-s, al-l.
- Q. -ye suf. “and (pairs)”
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A suffix appearing in the phrase imbi Menel Cemenye mene Ráno tie “between Heaven and Earth goes the path of the Moon” from Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals (HFN) written in the late 1960s (VT47/11). In notes from 1968 Tolkien described this suffix in detail:
-ye “and” add[ed] to second of pair (sg. pl. — dual). In Q. still normally used of pairs usually associated as Sun, Moon; Heaven, Earth; Land, Sea; fire, water; etc. … This ye is probably related to yé “lo” — (now see!) = kena, tira. Also in Q. yē or yea “What is more” (VT47/31).
A similar non-suffixal form ye appeared (untranslated) in the 1969 phrase Orome Valaron minya omenne ye Eldar “Orome first of (the) Valar met the Elves” (PE23/134). Christopher Gilson suggested that in this phrase ye might mean “*with”, which seems plausible to me.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would only use -ye to mean “and” with natural pairs like Anar Isilye “Sun and Moon”, an alternative to the dual conjunction yo. For “[together] with” I would use ó.
- Q. yo conj. “both … and”
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A conjunction meaning “both … and” in notes from around 1964 used to join two words (but not two sentences), as seen in the phrase: sanome tarne Olórin, Aracorno, Eomer, Imrahil, mi míse, mi telepta yo morna, mi laiqua yo ninquë, mi luinë … “There stood Gandalf, Aragorn, Eomer and Imrahil in grey, in silver and black, in green and white, [and] in blue” (PE17/71). In the same document Tolkien described this conjunction in some detail:
yo, a reduced form of yŭ < yū “both”: this was often used between two items (of any part of speech) that were by nature or custom closely associated, but were not “pairs” (as e.g. were hands, feet, eyes, etc.). These might be names of persons: as Beren and Luthien, Manwe yo Varda; or of things as sword and sheath, bow and arrows; or of groups as Elves and Men (Eldar yo Firimar); or adjectives, as wine white and red; long and thin; or adverbs, as far and away; also verbs, especially those with related meanings, as hear and obey, see and consider.
Tolkien further specified that yo was not used repetitions for emphasis (“through and through”) or synonyms like alternative names. But it could be used for words that were contrasting opposites such as “head and foot, top and bottom, up and down, young and old, men and women”.
Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s ᴱQ. ya(n) was the usual word for “and” (QL/104), but by the end of the 1920s this was replaced by ar “and” which Tolkien mostly used thereafter. However, in a number documents from the late 1940s Tolkien used ye (PE23/91-92, 95), yu (PE22/125; PE23/110), or yo (PE23/97) for “and”, with yo “and” also appearing in drafts of The Lord of the Rings (SD/56). By the 1950s ar “and” was restored, but Tolkien seems to have retained yo in a more limited dual sense, as described above.
- S. a conj. “and”
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In The Lord of the Rings, the Sindarin conjuction for “and” was a, as seen in the famous phrase from the Moria Gate Inscription: pedo mellon a minno “speak, friend, and enter” (LotR/305).
Conceptual Development: In Tolkien’s earlier writings, the word for “and” was usually ar, consistent with the usual Quenya form of this word: Q. ar. The first appearance of this form of the word was in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, which had G. ar² “and, too” (GL/20). This version of “and” appeared in numerous phrases from the 1920s-50s, that latest being the Sindarin version of the Lord’s Prayer: Ae Adar Nín from the mid-1950s (VT44/21).
In Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s, however, Tolkien introduced a “and” in the initial versions of the gate inscription (TI/182). He gradually transitioned to the a version over the next few years.
Possible Etymologies: It is not obvious what Tolkien intended the etymology of S. a “and” to be when he first introduced it. He did revisit the question in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, where he considered two primitive forms: ✶as(a) and ✶ad(a) (PE17/41). In both cases, the consonant of the primitive word would vanish if the following word began with a consonant, either as > ah > a or ad > að > a. However, there would be remnants of the primitive consonant before words beginning with a vowel, such as ah Edhel or að Edhel “and an Elf”. This is similar to how the English indefinite article “a” is “a” before a consonant but “an” before a vowel.
In the previously mentioned note Tolkien eventually settled on a(ð), and this was also the etymology of “and” in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 (PE17/145). In writings elsewhere Tolkien seems to have used a(h). For example, ah appeared in the phrase Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth “The Debate of Finrod and Andreth” written around 1959 (MR/329). In notes from 1968, Tolkien had Common Eldarin as “and” producing S. ah which became a before consonants (VT43/30).
Possible Mutations: In notes from 1969, Tolkien said that conjunctions like “and, or” induced mutation in Sindarin (PE23/142). The exact mutation would depend on the etymology of the word. The a(ð)-variant would induce stop mutation and the a(h)-variant would induce sibilant mutation, as described in Tolkien’s notes on the etymology of this word mentioned above (PE17/41).
One complication for the etymology of a was the phrase Daur a Berhael, Conin en Annûn “Frodo and Sam, princes of the west” (LotR/953). Here the name Perhael “Samwise” clearly undergoes soft mutation. Tolkien noticed this in his notes on the phrase, saying: “a·Berhael. ‘And’ cannot therefore be [derived from] arĭ! aŋa. ā̆. {an >>} ŋ̃a [and later in the same context] ‘And’ ad(a). Q ar. N [sic., should be S] a(ð). a, að before vowel. with soft mutation” (PE17/102).
However, there are no signs of soft mutation after a in other phrases like pedo mellon a minno [rather than vinno] (LotR/305) or si loth a galadh lasto dîn [rather than ’aladh] (LB/354). The earlier ar-variant also seems not to have induced mutation in some documents, such as the King’s Letter [ar Hîr; ar Meril] (SD/128) or Ae Adar Nín [ar díheno] (VT44/21, 28-29).
In the previously mentioned notes on Daur a Berhael, Tolkien seems to have considered another explanation where Daur “Frodo” was also a mutation, with an unmutated form Taur (PE17/102). If so, it may be that the mutations in Daur a Berhael are the result of some other grammatical operation rather than the normal mutation of a “and”.
Other than Daur a Berhael, the only clear example of mutation for the conjunction “and” is ar·phent Rían… “*and Rían said” from the Túrin Wrapper from the early 1950s (VT50/5). This seems to be an example of liquid mutation for the ar-version of this word.
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I prefer the a(h)-variant for Sindarin “and”, with sibilant mutation before consonants and ah before vowels. This variant appears in notes from 1968 (VT43/30) and the sibilant mutation occurs only before words beginning with p, t, c, h (→ ph, th, ch, ch) and l, r (→ lh, rh). That means conflict with unmutated examples is minimized. In earlier versions of Eldamo I recommended ignoring mutation entirely for a(h), but since PE23 made it clear that conjunctions induce mutation I now recommend the “least disruptive” mutation: sibilant mutation.
This means a separate explanation is required for Daur a Berhael. For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I assume that soft mutation is used as a marker for Sindarin direct objects, even when those objects to not immediately follow the verb. Thus I assume Daur a Berhael are soft mutations of Taur “Frodo” and Perhael “Samwise” because they are the objects of the verb eglorio “glorify” in the phrase Daur a Berhael, Conin en Annûn, eglerio “Frodo and Sam, princes of the west, glorify (them)”.
Bear in mind that this system is based on a very small number of examples, and could be overturned by new publications.