How do you say "I love you, <insert name here>." in Elvish?

[Mirkwood]

I'm just wondering. I really want to know badly!

[tasar]

I think in quenya, 'I love you' could be 'ni méla tye, insert name here'
or perhaps 'melinyet' (I'm not sure about that one)

[Lantarion]

Seeing as the ('word') suffix for 'I' is -nye, think your second is more correct. I don't know the verb for 'to love', but if it is mel- then wouldn't I love be melnye?
CIAN?!?!?! :D

[Arwen_evenstar]

try this site, it is an elvich dictonary. I couldn't find it, but maybe you could!!!!


http://hem.passagen.se/benninge/quenya-english.html

[Cian]

Hullo! There are several theoried ways to say "I love you" in Quenya, but for "answer" I usually point to a JRRT example as found in The Lost Road (the LR text being considered somewhat 'early').

" ... they smote Elendil's heart. A yonya inye tye-méla: and I too, my son, I love thee,' he said, ..." JRRT The Lost Road

This includes the (believed to be) emphatic independent pronoun inyë.

Using a pronoun suffix is very likely OK too, as seen in expert David Salo's "update" of another Lost Road example: Atarinya tye-meláne "my father, I love thee" --> David's update: mélan or longer form mélanyë for "I love". Cheers

[Narya]

Queenya I find a bit intimidating, but beautiful. I however study Sindarin and Adunaic.

In Sindarin I is Ni

Love is Meleth

and You is le

So it can be said Ni meleth le which is constructed using the english sentence construction or Le ni meleth which is as far as I can see is the way Sindarin is usually constructed.

To say that properly in Sindarin, to someone I want to say it to in the forum but don't have th courage to say so I will say it in Sindarin and hope he doesn't find out is

Ni Meleth le, Belethcristion!

[Cian]

For the saying in Sindarin, expert David Salo once suggested:

***
Melon le (more reverential)

or *very hypothetically (and less reverential)

Melon ce
***

Meleth is the noun for "love"; compare the difference between Quenya Mélan "I love" as a verbal expression with pronoun, and noun melmë "love".

Also note David's use of independent pronoun im in the film dialog: Im Arwen "I [am] Arwen."

[Narya]

Well, with the fact there is no easy-access university here that teaches Sindarin nor Queenya, I cannot agree nor disagree with your post. However, to the term in the film Im I think that was supposed to denote to say I am, however in Sindarin grammar, I is usually translatted as Ni which is also translatted as My, Nin is me. Meleth is the noun for Love. Melon is an adverb I think.

[tasar]

this im reminds me of the Russian ja which can mean both I and I am

[Cian]

Originally posted by Narya
However, to the term in the film Im I think that was supposed to denote to say I am, however in Sindarin grammar, I is usually translatted as Ni which is also translatted as My, Nin is me. Meleth is the noun for Love. Melon is an adverb I think.

Note Tolkien's: Im Narvi ... "I, Narvi made them". As far as David's Im Arwen and the verb to be [am], I note expert Helge Fauskangers statement to nominal sentences:


"While no relevant example has so far turned up in the tiny published _Sindarin_ corpus, it should be noted that such constructions are indeed attested in the conceptual ancestors of Sindarin. Cf. the Gnomish sentence _weg i muint_ "man [is] the best thing" in Parma 13 (p. 124). There are later examples as well.

So when David has Liv Tyler saying _im Arwen_ "I [am] Arwen" and _rochon ellint im_ "the fastest rider I [am]", I think this is quite plausible, not some kind of desperate solution with no support whatsoever in Tolkien's own material.

I also use nominal sentences in my little sketch of the possible beginnings of a Sindarin tutorial." HF Fauskanger

All based on info to date, of course. A Quenya example ni mixa "I [am] wet".

Anyway, that meleth is a noun is why I mentioned it. As I say, note the Quenya for comparison -- to write "I love you" we do not see the experts choosing the noun melmë to work with, rather the verb for a verbal expression ~ I have seen the sentence (by Quenyaist Ales Bican) denoting " ... fell _in_ love" using the noun, but that of course is not the same expression.

¤

[Lantarion]

That's pretty ironic actually: in Chinese Ni means 'you'! :D

[Narya]

Boy Cian, you really seriously studied their construction. I'm impressed.

But you still haven't answered the question, with all that information I suppose you have a definite answer to the inquiry stated. What is I love you in Elvish (Both sindarin and queenya)? I am, more so now, curious and eager to learn it. Since what I thought was the right sentence turns out to be wrong.

[tasar]

Narya - stop spelling quenya with two e-s

[Cian]

As I say, I don't think there is only one way to say it Narya -- pehaps one might like to use various pronouns in Quenya for "I" for example, or inflect the verb in the "aorist" tense maybe, as opposed to present continuative tense.

But I've already given a Tolkien example in Quenya (from the Lost Road), and a David Salo example (hired for his expertise regarding the film, as we know) in Sindarin.

I can't do much better than that :) unless more corpus becomes available that sheds light on the particular subject. Or David changes his mind or something :grin: David is especially noted for his Sindarin skills in the Tolklang "community".

[Lantarion]

Um.. I think he did already.

[Narya]

Sorry Tasar, didn't know you were that sensitive about it's spelling...

anyway, Cian, in case you do find out how it is really said in both dialects in the Elvish language (If you like you can include Telerin too), could you pm me about it??? I will be truly greatful.