As a person raised bilingual using only one lang. in the house and the other for everything else, it makes sense (in my mind) that all the Dwarves would probably think in a mixture of Khuzdul and Westron-like, if one word was shorter to think or described a concept better, then that’s probs the one they’d default to, at least mentally ^^ (although to never slip up would require a level of self-control over the language that I’ve never had-i often use expressions from 1 lang. wrongly in the other

Ahhhh, awesome, Nonnie! That is hugely appreciated, thank you!

That’s a really great point, the defaulting to the more suitable/expressive word in either language. I have been trying to slip in the odd word or phrase of Khuzdul for ALL the Dwarves, particularly in emotionally charged moments, so that it comes across as a very powerful language that can convey feelings and concepts that are inexpressible in Westron. With Bifur, hopefully it feels more like he is defaulting to Khuzdul rather than the other way around. *headdesks* I’m really grateful that you told me this, thank you so much – it will seriously help with the way I use Khuzdul from now on. *hugs*

Regarding Bifur and language, is his difficulty (or seeming difficulty, anyway) with Westron due to the years he spent being unable to speak it? Or do you imagine he had difficulty with language even before his injury? (Congrats on the good writing day, and have a good Easter weekend if that’s something you celebrate!)

Hey Nonnie! Thank you so much, have a great weekend as well!

Yeah, it’s due to the many years he spent speaking (and thinking) primarily in Khuzdul. I have him lapsing between languages mid-sentence, using a word/idiom here or there in the middle of his Westron. I honestly am not sure if he would have had this difference before his injury! Possibly. You never know with Bifur!

Okay, I’m riffing on a theme here. I’m writing all Dwarves as conditionally bilingual: Khuzdul is secret and sacred, and so it would be reserved for privacy, for home, for the Mountain, and for ceremony. I’m guessing that there are a great many Dwarves who think primarily in Westron, as it is the language of the outside and of the open air, and over the past few centuries the Dwarves have had precious little security and privacy in which to speak their own tongue exclusively.

So, Bifur still thinks primarily in Khuzdul. I think he’d be happy with that, though, and see no reason to change himself: he’s perfectly understood nowadays, and there is no reason for secrecy anymore, not surrounded by Dwarves and only Dwarves.

IDK, I’m just musing here! Love to hear people’s thoughts, especially bilingual people!

I love the blend of Westron and Khuzdul that Bifur uses in Sansukh. I guess after decades of only using Khuzdul would make it more likely that you’d code switch back all the time and that Westron would be more like a second language. It’s a really great character detail :) Have a great weekend, Dets!

Aw, thank you! I love writing Bifur, even if he’s very difficult to write. Gosh, I have spent more time with my nose in the Khuzdul dictionary for Bifur than for all the other characters combined! I’m really glad you like, Nonnie! Wishing you a wonderful weekend too!

hello! first i want to say that i am absolutely in love with your fic, its just incredible and i appreciate it so much! Anyway, i just wanted to ask where you got all of your Khuzdul translations, is there a website you could recommend? i am trying to write a fic myself and i am struggling to find any really good Khuzdul/Sindarin etc. translations. your help would be much appreciated :)

Thank you, Nonnie! And no problems! 

Okay, well – the Dwarrow Scholar is THE resource for Khuzdul. Check out the ‘Free Khuzdul Lessons’ header – everything you need is under that link!

Here is a list of resources, including the Sindarin sites, that I use. 

hi dets! i was wondering if you know the khuzdul translation of ‘faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens?’ thank you!

The Dwarrow Scholar has everything your dwarven heart could desire, Khuzdul-wise. He even has a shortlist of idioms and phrases! Check out the ‘Free Khuzdul Lessons’ link to find the dictionary & support documents.

Anyway, seeing as I was there already, I nabbed it for you, Nonnie 🙂

Faithless is he who says farewell when the road darkens : Binazrâm hu tada taglibi ‘aimu-galikh kuthu tharkh tadishi

So i know dwarves are very secretive about khuzdul and all, but how would they feel about teaching it to a non-dwarf spouse? (As in, would it be frowned up for Thorin to teach Bilbo or for Gimli to teach Legolas -ignoring the elven factor?)

Gimli would teach Legolas anyway, and cheerfully toss all the disapproving and the scornful into the trash. And laugh heartily at Legolas’ absolutely AWFUL accent and his inadvertent vocab gaffes (”Ah, no lad – you just said “I hope you have a nice bowel movement”. “Ai, I only meant to wish him a good day!” “Well, perhaps a nice bowel movement means a good day for him, you never know. With a sour face like that, in fact, it seems quite likely.” “Meleth nin, you are not helping me here.” )

I expect Bilbo would be INCREDIBLY eager to learn. He loves languages, after all. He probably wouldn’t push to learn, bc cultural taboo, but I bet he’d store all those little commonly said words away where he can pore over them later. LANGUAGES, OH MY. (To his chagrin, he later discovers that most of them are curse-words. Well, the language most people swear in is their mother-tongue, and Thorin did stub his bare toe…)

Culturally, yeah – I think that society would be a bit divided on the issue. Some would consider it only right and proper that a non-Dwarven spouse learn their native tongue. Others would be horrified that an outsider was being coached in their secrets. I don’t think it would be a monolithic disapproval though: Dwarves like an argument, they wouldn’t all uniformly agree.

https://www.tumblr.com/audio_file/determamfidd/114002085298/tumblr_nldwgixqPA1tn57yf?plead=please-dont-download-this-or-our-lawyers-wont-let-us-host-audio
https://determamfidd.tumblr.com/post/114002085298/audio_player_iframe/determamfidd/tumblr_nldwgixqPA1tn57yf?audio_file=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tumblr.com%2Faudio_file%2Fdetermamfidd%2F114002085298%2Ftumblr_nldwgixqPA1tn57yf

balinisballin:

Hello denizens of Tumblr!

This is some language meta about the pronunciation of the letter L across both Elvish and Khuzdul, and different sound values for the same letter.

$2 says that there is a word or phrase somehow in Khuzdul for ‘exellent preparer of cookies’. Barus gets called this. Dwalin also uses this for Bilbo.

AWWWWW. Barur and Bilbo, excellent cookie-smiths! I love it. 

Ohboy. I dun wanna, I’m not working it out, seriously, someone else do it. I looked it up, though – we have, 

art (skill, or ability) of (the) cookie [Construction of Capability SINGULAR]: oksib

Also, I have since discovered the SUPREME cookie!

supreme cookie, SINGULAR AUGMENTATIVE FORM: kesbar 
supreme cookies, PLURAL AUGMENTATIVE FORM: kesbâr 

Do you happen to know if there is a Neo-Kudzhul word for “cookie”?

warsawmouse:

determamfidd:

Fun fact: I looked up the etymology of the word ‘cookie’ actually, to ensure that it wasn’t too anachronistic or dialectic to use. 

It comes from the Dutch, apparently – koekje, koekie: ‘little cake’, and has been around since the 18th century. In America, what is known as a ‘cookie’ is actually known as a ‘biscuit’ in both the UK and Australia. ‘Cookies’ in parts of Scotland apparently means ‘buns’ huurrrr.

So, in Sansukh, when I use the word ‘cookie’ you can imagine either one (biscuits or buns), and you will be correct. 

WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE ACTUALLY KIDDING ME. In the updated Neo-Khuzdul dictionary, there IS a word for Cookie!

Cookie (Biscuit) (singular, absolute): Kasb
Cookie (Biscuit)(singular, construct state): Kasbu
Cookie of all Cookies: Kasbel
Cookie that is fresh: kasbith
Cookies (plural, absolute):  kasâb
Cookies (plural, construct state): kasub
Cookies (plural) that are fresh: kasbîth

how would an epitet “the great cookie thief” look like?

He/She that is a stealer (thief) [professional form]: tharabâl

(to turn it into greater/greatest, add ‘u-)

So, it becomes ‘utharabâlu kasâb (the greatest thief of cookies)… I think? 

(-u at the end due to the singular genitive rule OH MY GOD I REMEMBERED THAT WITHOUT CHECKING I am getting better at this yaaaay)

Anyway. You can check it all out in the Neo-Khuzdul dictionary and docs at the Dwarrow Scholar!