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c: always pronounced as k (Celeborn is pronounced Keleborn)
ch: always prounced as if you are speaking Scottish (example: loch) or German (example: buch)
dh: represents the voiced th in then, not the unvoiced th in thin.
f: represents the f in find except at the end of words, as in the English of. Note that nef is spelled with a v when used in the compound Nevrast 'Hither Shore'.
g: always has the value of g in get, gild, even when followed by e, i, or u. Gh in Black Speech is prounced similiar to ch but starting with the sound g.
h: alone, uncombined with consonants, it has the value of h in house, behold. It has special value when combined as ch, dh, lh, rh, th, hw, and hy. In Quenya, ht has the value of cht in German acht.
i: In Sindarin, when occuring at the beginning of the word and followed by another vowel, has the value of y as in you.
k: Has the sound of k as in king. In Orkish kh has the sound of ch. In dwarvish (Khuzdul) k and h are pronounced seperately as in backhand.
l: has the value of l as in let, except when between e or i and a consonant, or after e or i at the end of a word, l was somewhat 'palatalized' (pronounced with the blade of the tongue, rather than the tip of the tongue, against the hard palate, as in Eldar)
lh: represent an unvoiced, palatalized l.
ng: pronounced as ng in finger except at the beginning and end of words were it is pronounced as ng in ring.
qu: pronounced as kw
ph: pronounced as f in find
r: is trilled in all positions. In Orkish and Dwarvish it is pronounced at the back of the throat. Rh or hr is pronounced as a voiceless r
s: In any Elvish language, s is always pronounced as s in so, never as z as in is. In Dwarvish, s has the sound of z. Sh in Westron, Dwarvish, and Orkish is similiar to sh in English.
th: as in the voiceless th as in thin. In Dwarvish, t and h have seperate sounds, as in boathouse.
ty: pronouced as the British tune, not the American "toon". Has some of the quality of the English ch as heard in some English dialect pronunciations of tune as "chune."
v : Pronounced as the English v, not the German.
w: Pronouced as the English w, not the German. Hw is a voiceless w as is white, whale.
y: In Quenya is used for the consonant sound of y in you. In Sindarin y represented the modified u in French lune. In Gondor the Sindarin y was pronouced like the i in sick. Hy represents a sound similar to that in hew and huge.
Consonants written twice are usually pronounced long. The m in Rammas Echor and Sammath Naur have the sound of m in roommate rather than that in ramming.
a: has the sound in father.
e: has the sound in bed and is pronounced as a separate syllable in the middle of words such as Merethrond Feast Hall and at the end of words such as ló më dusk where it is usually marked ë.
i: has the sound in sick.
o: has the sound in hot, but rounder than in modern English, apparently with the mouth and lips held more open.
u: has the sound in brute even when long. Tú rin is pronounced Toorin, not Tyoorin.
ae and ai: have the sound of eye. Dú nedain ends with a syllable pronounced dine.
ei: has the sound in grey.
ie: has the vowels sounded separately and run together, as in Ni-enna. It does not have the sound as in piece.
oe and oi: has the sound as in boy, toy.
ui: is pronounced as in ruin, but run together into one syllable.
au and aw: have the sound in loud and how. Sauron begins with a syllable pronounced sour.
er, ir, ur: before a consonant, as in Cirdan, or at the end of a word, as in Ainur, should be pronounced as in English air, eer, oor.
ea and eo: are not run together, but form separate syllables. In Rohan, ea has the sound in bear and é o is pronounced as two syllables run together. Éomer is pronounced approximately eh-oh-mare.
Stress: In two syllable words, the stress or accent is on the first syllable. On longer words it occurs on the next to last syllable if that syllables contains a vowel followed by two or more consonants, a long vowel, or a diphthong (two vowels pronounced in one syllable, such as ai, ei). Isildur and Pelargir are words of this type. If the next to last syllable contains a short vowel followed by one or no consonants, the stress falls on the syllable before it, the third from the end. Feanor, Eressëa, and Denethor are words of this type. Digraphs, pairs of consonants that make a single sound, such as ch, dh, ph, sh, and th, are counted as one letter in determining stress, and are written with one letter in the Eldarin alphabets.
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