This post is a simple discussion of some of the words for birds in the Lord of the Rings and how those words will be translated into my Conlang. Some of these words will be really simple; but others will be more complex. The first section will just provide basic words. Later sections will delve into the more complex names and the grammatical and real-world explanations of them.
Bird is the Word
The basic word for ‘bird’ in the Conlang is huttut. It is probably onomatopoeic in origin.
Some common and simple names are as follows:
| Nominative | Plural | Accusative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| bird | huttut | huhuttut | huttuta |
| crow | atta | a’attat | attata |
| duck | pïïgïnt | pïpïgïnt | pïïgïnta |
| eagle | asat | a’asat | asatta |
| goose | pïïgïnult | pïpïginult | pïpïginulta |
| hawk | kwisat | kukwisat | kwisatta |
| raven | attawïlt | a’attawïlt | attawïlta |
| swan | chiigat | chichigat | chiigata |
The similarity between attat ‘crow’ and attawïlt ‘raven’ is deliberate. The –wïl– morpheme is an augmentative suffix, so ‘raven’ can be said to literally mean ‘big crow’. The same suffix is in pïïgïnult, though it appears in the reduced form -ul-. A ‘goose’ is a ‘big duck’. (Incidentally, the only time the word duck is used in the Lord of the Rings is in the compound duck-pond; no actual ducks appear. )
Starlings
The word for ‘starling’ is takalut. The root for this is takaapai ‘dot, speck’. The -lu suffix is attached to adjectives and nouns to form a noun with the meaning of ‘one with the property of’. So, takalut etymologizes to “speckled one”. This name comes from the distinctive white speckled pattern found on the starling’s breast during the cold months.
Gulls and Sea-Birds
The Lord of the Rings has a few references to “gulls” and more to “sea-birds”. The distinction does not seem to serve any narrative purpose, it is just descriptive. Sometimes they are specifically gulls, and sometimes they are general birds found near the sea, perhaps of a variety of different types. It is never made clear, and it is never significant.
In the Conlang, I use just a single word for both concepts: mïïmahuttut. This word would apply to any bird found along the coast, including gulls. In my conception of the people who speak this language don’t live near the ocean. They know of it, and some travel to it on occasion, but they don’t have an intimate knowledge of the plants and animals that live there.
The ending of the is clearly huttut ‘bird’. The first half mïïma– is from the word mïïmapin ‘sea, ocean’. The plural form of mïïmapin is mïïmam ‘seas’. However, the compound noun mïïmahuttut ‘gull, sea-bird’ pluralizes as mïmïmahuttut ‘gulls, seas-birds’, using reduplication instead of suffixation.
Herons
Herons are mentioned in the Lord of the Rings as a comparison point for the Ents: The Ents are said to walk like wading herons. When herons wade through the water, they lift their feet up quite high, out of the water, before placing them down again. They don’t wade like humans, pushing their legs through the water. To pay homage to this description, I have chosen to call herons maugïsat huttut. Notice, that is two words, not one compound. This literally translates to “high-step bird”. Because this is two words, and not a compound noun, when it pluralizes, the plurality must be marked twice: mamaugïsat huhuttut.
The initial syllable mau- is from ‘up, high, tall’. The remainder is from kïsa-, a root connected to feet and walking.
Kingfishers
Another bird whose name is derived from its behavior is the kingfisher. Kingfishers live along the banks of rivers and lakes. They are extremely territorial, and they do not hesitate to murder rivals for their territory. This is usually done by forcing the rival’s head underwater until it drowns. The word for kingfisher, then, is hippatat huttut, “drowner bird”. Like the word for ‘heron’, this is two words, and carries double pluralization: hihippatat huhuttut ‘kingfishers’.
The root here is hippa ‘to drink a lot, drown’. Most likely, the -pa at the end is related to pappin ‘water’, but I am not sure where the initial hi- comes from. The causative suffix -ta is added, then the word is nominalized.
A Hobby for the Tome 