Westron

Westron, Annúnaid, or Adûni was a late form of Adûnaic mixed with elements of indigenous languages, mostly from the edainic peoples of Eriador and Rhovanion but to some degree also with elements from the Daen tongues.

Westron was the "official" and most widespread language in the ancient lands of Arnor and Gondor and it's former provinces, and had become the usual trade and colloquial language in the lands from Rhovanion to Rhûn and Haradwaith, although tribal languages still remained prominent in the lands further removed from the Westlands. Therefore the Westron was also simply known as Sôval Phârë or the Common speech.

Dialects[]

Angmarian - a harsh northern dialect of Westron with elements of northern eriadorian bórian dialects, hillman and Orcish.
Archaic Westron - the early Form of Westron spoken in the early to mid Third Age.
Breeish or Breelandish (rural Westron with elements of Daenael)
Calenardhonian - The Westron Dialect of Calenardhon, heavily influenced by the Adûnaic dialect of Emerie and Taliska.
Dialects of Minhiriath (Westron with elements of Daenael and Dunael)
Dialects of the Northern marches and the Rivermen (Westron with Elements of Eriadic, Daenael and Blarm)
Dwarvish Westron (ancient northern Westron with elements of old Rhovanian)
Gondorian (archaic and formal Westron with elements of Sindarin)
Fallohide - a dialect of Western-Rhovanian, much similar to the Woodman-Tongue
Haradaic or Haradron (Westron with elements of Haruzan and Apysan)
High-Westron - a sophisticated form of westron, with loanwords from Quenya and sindarin, spoken by the upper-classes of Arnor and Gondor
Shire-speech ("Kuduk") - a Hobbit-speech dialect of The Shire; Westron with some Elements of Rhovanian and Dunael)
- Old Marish-speech - a Hobbit-speech dialect with many loanwords from Dunlendish
  - Bucklandish - a Hobbit-speech dialect with many loanwords from Dunlendish. Very close to Old Marish-speech
Middle-Westron - the form of Westron spoken in the late third Age
Rhûnic or Eastron (Westron with elements of different Ioradja and Ulgathig dialects)
northern Orcish (Westron mixed with elements of rhovanian, Melkian Orcish and the Black speech)

Wordlist[]

Adûni - Western, Westron
an, ac - man, one?
Annúnaid - Western, Westron
Ban,Bana - half
Banakil - Halfling,"half-man"
Bannatha -
bandur, dur - dell, vale?
banzir - hobbitish westron for "halfwise"
bara - quuck,fast?
Barabatta - Quicktalker
bas - hobbitish westron for "village"
batta - talker, talk?
bilba -
bolgra - hobbitish westron for "fat"
bophîn - hobbitish westron for "hearty laughter" or "hearty fellow"
bralda - heady, strong ?
Bralda-hîm - hobbitish westron for "heady ale"
branda - border, march
Brandagamba - hobbitish westron for "Marchbuck"
Branda-nîn - hobbitish westron for "Border-water" (Brandywine River)
brandu - foam
cánus - wanderer?
car, carba, carban - riven?
Carbandur - rivendell
cast, castu, Kast - hobbitish and rohirric westron for "gift, mathom"
Castar - silver Coin
Cubuc, Cubug, Cugbagu - hobbitish, archaic and rohirric westron for "hobbit, hole-dweller"
dalf - man?
dûkan - dweller?
Dumuvurdur = hobbitish westron for "House-guard"
dur - dell?
Fastito - titanic, vast?
Fastitokalon - giant sea-turtle?
gad - bound, fixed, closed
galab, galb, galp - play, game
Gamba - Buck, male deer, stag
gan - staff?
ganda - wander?
Gandalf - according to one version a Westron name meaning "Staff-man" or "wanderer"
gast - tamer, victor ?
gi, (i)ngi - descendant?
globa, gluva - hole, smial
grad - (rohirric westron) march, mark, boundry
grind - wall
-gu - thimg, person, one?
Hagavorl - Hawthorn-wall
hald, (a)ld - man, person, one?
ham, hama, haman -small?
Hamanullas - small blue flower (Lobelia) (possibly "enfolding leaves")
Hîma, Him - Ale, Beer
Hloth, loth - home, two-room dwelling
Hlothram - Cottager
Hlothran - village
-in - host, group, plural
in - grey? ( in the sense "old, wise"?)
ingi, gi - descendant?
Incánus - according to one version a westron name meaning "grey wanderer"
ingul - dell, dale
Kali - merry, jolly, happy, gay
Kalon - sea-turtle?
karn - riven
Karningul - Rivendell
Kast - Mathom
Kastar
kil - man, scion
Kili - abandoned
kûd - hole
Kûd-dûkan - (rohirric - westron) "Hole-dweller"
Kuduk - Halfling, Hobbit
Laban, Labin - bag
Labingi - hobbitish westron "baggins"
las, llas - flower?
Lô/loh, loho - (rohirric - westron) horse
Lôgrad - rohirric- westron meaning "Horse-march"
Lohtûr - rohirric- westron for horsefolk/horseland
luthur, luthran - brown, fluff
Maura, maur - Wise, experienced
nahald - obscure, deep down
Narag, narac - Dwarf
nargian - dwarven, dwarfish
Nas - people
Neg, nec - end
Nîn - Water
nul, ul - blue?
Phârë - speech
phur, phuru - delving
Phurunargian - Dwarrow Delf
puta, pûta - (trumpet-)player, "blower"
rada - wild beast?
radagast - according to one version a westron name meaning "Tamer of beasts"
ram, rama - dweller
ran - home
ran, ranu - hobbitish westron for "dwelling holey, village"
ranugad - hobbitish westron for "hamfast, home-bound, stay-at-home"
rapha - dwelling, inn, bristle
ras, ray - horn
rasputa,raypûta - hornblower
raza - stranger
razan - foreign
Razanur - Wanderer, Peregrin
Razar - small red Apple, a Pippin
rog - rohirric westron for "demon, goblin, wose, wild man"
Sôval - Common
Sûza - Shire, province
tapuc - rabbit
tar - high
Tarkil - man of Númenorean descent
Tharan - Quarter, Four
tharantin - quarter, fourth part
tin - part, thing?
tragu - (northern rhovanian westron) "burrower, worm"
trahald, trahan, trân - northern rhovanian westron for " burrowing, burrower"
Trân - Smial
tuca - hobbitish for "daring"
Tud - Watch, Guard
tung - hobbitish for "big, stoor"
Tûr, tur - rohirric - westron for people/land
Tûran, Tûrac, Turac - rohirric-westron meaning "King"
ur - man, person, one
Zara - old
Zilbirapha - butterbur
Zilib - butter
Zir,Zîra - wise

Inspirations[]

Because a lot of the root words featured for Westron hardly seem Indo-European, such as the word "ban" for "half", "zir" for "wise", "nin" for "water", and "laban" for "bag", one has to wonder if Indo-European sources were intended at all. Given its descent from Adunaic, which is supposedly best compared to ancient Hebrew, Westron could be most like a very archaic Semitic language.

See:

Reunited Kingdom (for examples of fourth Age "neo-Westron" names)

References[]

Westron on Ardalambion (http://folk.uib.no/hnohf/index.htm)