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 Brigaic)
- Calenardhonian - The Westron Dialect of Calenardhon, heavily influenced by the Adûnaic dialect of Emerie and Taliska.
- Dialects of Minhiriath (Westron with elements of Halethian)
- Dialects of the Northern marches and the Rivermen (Westron with Elements of Eriadic, Brigaic and Blarm)
- Dwarvish Westron (ancient northern Westron with elements of nothern Rhovanian or Delsk)
- 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 Harûzeni 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 (W. "Kuduk") - a Hobbit-speech dialect of The Shire; Westron with some Elements of Rhovanian, Brigaic and Dunlendish)
- Old Marish-speech - a Hobbit-speech dialect with also many loanwords from Dunlendish
- Bucklandish - a Hobbit-speech dialect with many loanwords from Dunlendish. Very close to Old Marish-speech
- Old Marish-speech - a Hobbit-speech dialect with also many loanwords from Dunlendish
- Middle-Westron - the form of Westron spoken in the late third Age
- Rhûnic or Eastron (Westron with elements of different Ioradja and Ulgathig dialects)
- Late Westron - The last form of Westron still in use by Scholars and Loremasters of the mid-late Fourth Age, then already called "the Old Tongue". See:Reunited Kingdom
- northern Orcish (Westron mixed with elements of Rhovanian, Melkian Orcish and the Black speech)
Wordlist[]
Westron Wordlist[]
- Aduni/Adûni - Western, Westron
- An/Ac - man, one
- Annunaid - Western, Westron
- Arambil -
- Atterkop - Spider, lit."puss-head" (Rhovanian Westron)
- Balc - horrible
- Ban/Bana - half, Sam
- Ban - half- - almost (prefix)
- Banakil, Banak - halfling, half-man
- Banazir - Samwise ("Half-wise")
- Bandur/Dur - dell, vale
- Banazîr, Banzir - halfwise (Hobbitish Westron)
- Bara, Barra - quick, fast
- Barabatta - Quick-talker
- Bâs, Bas - village (Hobbitish Westron)
- Batta - talker, talk
- bil/mil (suffix)
- Bilba - male name
- Bilcuzil -
- Bildad - male name
- Bolg - bulge
- Bolgra - fat (Hobbitish Westron), Bolger (family name)
- Bophin, Bophîn - hearty laughter, hearty fellow (Hobbitish Westron), Boffin (family name)
- Bralda - heady, strong, foamy
- Bralda-him - Brandywine, heady ale (Hobbitish Westron)
- Branda - border, march, borderland
- Brandagamba - Marchbuck (Hobbitish Westron), [[Brandybuck♧] (family name)
- Branda-nin - Border-water (Brandywine River)
- Brandu - foam
- Canus, Canús - wanderer (otherwisely stated to be Haradron, may be Haradaic-Westron)
- Car/Carba/Carban - riven
- Carbandur - Rivendell
- Cast/Castu/Kast - gift, mathom (Hobbitish and Rohirric Westron)
- Castar/Kastar - silver coin
- Cram - Waybread
- Cubuc/Cubug/Cugbagu - Hobbit, Hole-dweller (Hobbitish, archaic and Rohirric Westron)
- Dalf - man
- Dukan - dweller
- Dumuvurdur - House-guard, Husceorlas (Hobbitish Westron)
- Dur - dell
- Falmendak - battle-wave
- Fastito - titanic, vast
- Fastitokalon - giant sea-turtle
- Gad - bound, fixed, closed
- Galab/Galb/Galp - play, game
- Galabas - "Play-Place"?, Gamwich
- Galbasi - People from Galabas, Gamgee (family name)
- Gamba - buck, male deer, stag
- Gan, Ganda - staff, wand
- Gandâ - wander
- Gandalf - Staff-man, wanderer
- Gast, Gashtâ - tamer, victor
- Gi/Ingi - descendant
- Globa/Gluva - hole, smial
- Grad - march, mark, boundary (Rohirric Westron)
- Grind - wall
- Gu - thing, person, one (suffix)
- Hagavorl, Hagavôrl - Hawthorn-wall
- Hald/Ald - man, person, one
- Ham/Hama/Haman - small
- Hamanullas - small blue flower, Lobelia (possibly "enfolding leaves")
- Hîm/Hima - ale, beer
- Hloth/Loth - home, two-room dwelling
- Hlothram - Cotton (family name), cottager
- Hlothrama - cotman, cottager
- Hlothran, Hlothram - village
- In - host, group, plural (suffix); grey (in sense of old, wise)
- Incánus - grey wanderer (otherwise stated to be Haradron though it may be Haradaic Westron)
- Ingul - dell, dale
- Ingold (Westronized Sindarin or Quenya)
- Kali - Merry, merry, jolly, happy, gay
- Kalimac - Meriadoc
- Kalon - sea-turtle
- Karn - riven
- Karningul - Rivendell
- Kil - man, scion
- Kili - abandoned
- Kud, Kûd - hole
- Kud-dukan, Kud-dûkan - Hole-dweller (Rohirric Westron)
- Kuduk - Halfling, Hobbit
- Labba - Snow-man or Plain-speech (Lossothren Westron)
- Laban/Labin - bag
- Labingi - Baggins (Hobbitish Westron)
- Labin-neg - Bag End
- Las/Llas - flower
- Lob - crawler, spider (Orkish-Westron or Mordorian)
- Lograd, Lôgrad - Horse-march (Rohirric Westron)
- Loho, Lô - horse (Rohirric Westron)
- Lohtur - Horse-folk, Horse-land (Rohirric Westron)
- Luthur/Luthran, Lûthran - brown, down, fluff
- Mattalic -
- Maur/Maura - wise, experienced
- Nahald - obscure, deep down, secret, Déagol
- Nahand - Déogol, apt to hide, secretive
- Narag/Narac - dwarf
- Nargian - dwarven, dwarfish
- Nas - people
- Neg/Nec - end
- Nil - moon
- Nin, Nîn - water
- Mul/Ul - blue
- Ogmandab - Gorhendad, Grandfather
- Orka - orc
- Phare, Pharë - speech
- Phur - delve (root)
- Phur - to delve
- Phuru, Phurun - mine, delving
- Phurunargian - Dwarf-delving, Dwarrow Delf, Moria
- Puta/Puta, Pûhta - trumpet-player, blower
- Rada, Radag - wild beast
- Radagast - Tamer of beasts
- Ram/Rama, Râma - dweller
- Ran, Rân - home
- Ranu, Rânu - dwelling holey, village (Hobbitish Westron)
- Ranugad, Rânugad - stay-at-home, Hamfast (Hobbitish Westron)
- Rapha, Râpha - dwelling, inn, bristle, burr
- Ras/Ray, Râs - horn
- Rasputa/Rayputa, Raspûhta - Hornblower (family name)
- Raza, Râza - stranger
- Razan, Râzan - foreign
- Razanur, Razanûl - Wanderer, Peregrin
- Razar, Râzar - small red apple, Pippin
- Ribadyan, Ribâdayân - person celebrating birthday
- Rog, Rôg - demon, goblin, wose, wild man (Rohirric Westron)
- She, Shê - female (Orkish-Westron or Mordorian)
- Soval Pharë - Common Speech
- Suza, Sûza - Shire, province
- Tapuc, Tapûc - rabbit
- Tar - high
- Tarkil - man of Númenorean descent, lesser Dúnadan
- Tharan - four
- Tharantin - quarter, fourth part
- Tharni - farthing
- Thorunahim - Eorlingas
- Thuron - lord
- Tin - part, thing
- Tobi, Tôbi - shortform of Tobias
- Tobias - male name
- Tomacca - male name
- Tomburan, Tômbûran - male name
- Tragu, Trâgu - burrower, worm (Northern Rhovanian Westron)
- Trahald - burrowing, worming in, Sméagol
- Trahan/Tran, Trân - smial, burrow, burrower (Northern Rhovanian Westron)
- Tuca, Tûca - daring (Hobbitish Westron)
- Tud, Tûd - watch, guard (root)
- Tudnas -
- Tuk, Tûk - Took (family name)
- Tunas, Tûnas - guard
- Tung - big, stoor (Hobbitish Westron)
- Tur/Tur - people, land (Rohirric Westron)
- Turan/Tûrac/Turac - king (Rohirric Westron)
- Uir - sun
- Ur, Ûr - man, person, one
- Zara, Zâra - old
- Zaragamba - Oldbuck (family name)
- Zara-tobi, Zaratôbi - Old Toby
- Zilbirapha, Zibilrâpha - Butterbur
- Zilib, Zîlib - butter
- Zir/Zira, Zîr/Zîra - wise
Notes[]
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)
The origins of the Names of the various Easterling or Haradron cultures and the languages of the Men of the East and Haradrim Languages in Middle-earth Role Playing remain uncertain. Since the Free peoples of the Westlands possessed little knowledge of societies beyond the Sea of Rhûnaer or Umbar, most of the forms used in MERP appear to be exonyms constructed from Quenya and Sindarin elements dating back to the Silmarillion era. The most plausible origins of such names may lie in archaic Avarin, or in Adûnaic influences in the Southwest. Unless otherwise specified, the name forms in the NNCA have been adapted to archaic Avarin/Primitive Quendian.
References[]
- Westron on Ardalambion (http://folk.uib.no/hnohf/index.htm)
Editorial Note: This entry contains speculative or fan-based material — such as fanon, fanfiction, or theory constructs — that may not be directly supported by canonical texts. Interpretations offered here are part of the NNCA’s speculative corpus and should not be mistaken for primary Tolkien sources.