6| Plurals (1)

Non-final and final position

final vowel → last vowel in a word

“Rose” → “O” is non-final, “E” is final.

In words with only one vowel, the vowel is also final.

Vowel changes

Original vowelNon-final positionFinal position
a, á, âeai/e*/i*
e, é, êei, í, î
i, í, îii, í, î
o, ôe/o*ui/y/ŷ
uyy
úúú
ûDoesn’t existui
y, ŷDoesn’t existy, ŷ

Final position A → E

When the final “A” is followed by 2+ consonants that aren’t a single sound, OR, when a word ends in “M” or “NG”, you use “E” as a plural, rather than “AI”.

Examples:

Bardh (home) = Berdh (homes).

Carf (weapon) = Cerf (weapons).

Narn (tale) = Nern (tales).

Parf (book) = Perf (books).

Úgarth (misdeed, sin) = Úgerth (misdeeds, sins).

Final position A → I

Only 6 words:

Fela (sett, boring, tunnel) = Fili (setts, borings, tunnels).

Madha (mud) = Medhi (muds).

Nadha (bond, fetter) = Nedhi (bonds, fetters).

Thala (steady, firm) = Theli.

Thela (spearpoint) = Theli (spearpoints).

Tara (tough, stiff) = Teri (toughs, stiffs).


Non-final position O remaining O

If the word is a compound, the first “O” doesn’t change.

Examples:

Morchant (shadow cast by light) = Morchaint (shadows cast by light).

Rochben (horselord, rider of Rohan) = Rochbin (horselords, riders of Rohan).

Final position O → UI / Y

Monosyllabic words with final “O” should change to “UI”

Examples:

Thôn (pine tree) = Thuin (pine trees).

Roch (horse) = Ruich (horses).


Final SS

Original consonantFinal position only
SSS

Because the double consonant SS reduces to the single consonant S, this counts as a single consonant when working out whether a final A should be E or AI.

Therefore:

Rass (horn) = Rais (horns).

And not Res.

Examples

Bar (house) = Bair (houses) \n Adan (Man) = Edain (Men) - this is the Race of Man, as in "I am a Man, not an Elf" rather than "he's a man, she's a woman". \n Hên (child) = Hîn (children) - the lengthened vowel indicated by the accent stays long \n Benn (man) = Binn (men) \n Leber (finger) = Lebir (fingers) \n Lim (fish) = Lim (fish). \n Gildin (silver spark) = Gildin (silver sparks) \n Solch (edible root) = Suilch (edible roots) \n Torog (troll) = Teryg (trolls) \n Haru (wound) = Hery (wounds) \n Amlug (dragon) = Emlyg (dragons) \n Drúadan (wild man, Wose) = Drúedain (wild men, Woses). \n Hûn (heart) = Huin (hearts) \n Mŷl (gull) = Mŷl (gulls) \n Lass (leaf) = Lais (leaves)