[Cet article est apparu à l'origine dans Tyalië Tyelelliéva #6]
Maintenant nous avons tous des noms Elfiques
"Oh! Magnifique! Maintenant nous avons tous des noms Elfiques!" (Sauron Defeated p. 126)
Pour l'intérêt des lecteurs qui ne sont pas Scandinaves, je devrais mentionner que les Suédois sont fous. C'est ainsi qu'ils sont toujours dépeints dans les blagues que nous les Norvégiens racontons à leur sujet. Ils prouvent qu'ils sont réellement fous de raconter exactement les mêmes blagues au sujet des Norvégiens. Mais le caprice d'un certain Suédois durant le Festival Nordique de Tolkien à Uppsala l'année dernière constitue même une preuve plus irrésistible; Durant la costume-party de la Terre-du-Milieu, tout le monde devait utiliser un nom de la Terre-du-Milieu! Le résultat fut évident. Il y eu des records de Gandalfs, Aragorns, Frodos, et Arwens. Vous pouvez crier "Galadriel, est-ce ton mouchoir?" - et près de dix jeunes femmes regarderont dans votre direction. Etant des Norvégiens dotés d'un cerveau, nous avions prédit ceci des mois à l'avance. L'éditeur de notre fanzine local sur Tolkien chercha désespérément dans les 62 chapitres du SdA un nom qui serait moins connu et qu'il puisse raisonnablement faire sien et uniquement sien. Il s'arrêta sur Galdor, le nom d'un Elfe qui posa quelques questions stupides lors du Conseil d'Elrond et qui n'est jamais mentionné à nouveau. Je pense que cette stratégie marche, mais pour en être absolument certain, j'ai décidé de faire quelque chose de plus drastique. J'allais essayer de traduire mon nom normal en Quenya selon sa signification étymologique!
En norvégien moderne "Helge" n'a pas de signification particulière, mais en Vieux Nordique il signifie "le Saint". Chacun qui a perdu des heures de sa vie à étudier l'Appendice du Silmarillion sait que le mot Haut Elfique pour "saint" est aina. Mais comment pouvais-je le transformer en nom? Quand Frodon commença à parler dans les langues à Cirith Ungol, il se référa à Eärendil par Elenion Ancalima "la plus brillante des étoiles" (cf. Letters p. 385). L'adjectif ancalima "le plus brillant" correspondait clairement au nom d'un des Roi Núménoréens, Ancalimon. Le nom Sauron "l'Abhorré" montrait la même relarion à l'adjectif saura "fou, puant, putride" (LR:393). Les adjectifs en -a, semble-t-il, peuvent se transformer en noms masculins en changeant la terminaison en -on. De l'adjectif aina je fis le nom Ainon et j'essayais de le voir dans les Guide de la Terre-du-Milieu de Robert Foster. Il n'y était pas, ainsi j'avais un nom Elfique qui était seulement mien!
Après le festival, j'ai continué à étudier la possibilité de traduire des noms, J'ai découvert que -ë était la contrepartie féminine du masculin -on: A côté du roi Núménoréen Ancalimon il y a une reine appelée Ancalimë. Le Silmarillion mentionne une étoile appelée Alcarinquë; ce nom et évidemment dérivé de l'adjectif alcarinq[u]a "radieux, glorieux" (LR:348), l'étoile étant personnifiée comme étant féminine. De la même manière, le nom féminin Írimë est formé à partir d'un adjectif írima "beau, aimable" (MR:207, LR:361). Ainsi à côté du nom masculin Ainon "Helge" je pouvais faire une variante féminine Ainë "Helga", et ainsi je conclus que si Sauron avait été un être féminin, son nom aurait probablement été Saurë.
Mais tous les noms ne sont pas dérivés à partir des adjectifs. Comme exercice personnel, j'ai essayé de traduire en Quenya quelques uns des noms qui ont été mentionnées dans les trois premières parutions de Tyalië Tyelelliéva. (Noms de TyTy #4 ne sont pas inclus parce que cette parution a été fossilisée dans une des strate supérieure de la pile de désordre qui couvre 78% du sol de ma chambre, et je ne sais pas où creuser pour elle. Désolé!) Manquent de la liste 1) les noms avec une étymologie que je ne peux trouver (supposant que tous les noms en ont une), 2) des noms avec étymologie que je ne peux traduire parce que les mots Q nécessaires n'ont pas été publiés (supposant que Tolkien les ait jamais faits), et 3) des noms que j'ai oublié (supposant que la pré-sénilité commence déjà à se manifester dans mon cerveau de 23 ans).
ALEC: C'est une forme raccourcie du nom grec Alexander, qui est composé d'éléments tirés de alexein- "défendre" et aner, andros "homme", d'où la signification "défenseur des hommes" ou quelque chose de similaire ("homme de défense" est une autre possibilié). En traduisant ceci, nous devrions probablement utiliser atan plutôt que nér pour "homme"; ce dernier signifiant simplement "mâle sensible", alors que atan est le terme générique pour humains (du moins à l'origine - plus tard il fut utilisé pour les Amis des Elfes seulement). Mais qu'est-ce que "défenseur" en Quenya? Nous avons le verbe varya- "protéger" (BAR), et nous savons que -do est un suffixe d'agent (cf. hilya- "suivre" [KHIL] et Hildor "Suiveurs", un nom Elfique des Hommes dans le Silmarillion). Une traduction possible de "protecteur, défenseur" doit donc être *vardo. L'équivalent Haut-Elfique d'Alexander semble donc être Atanvardo. (La combinaison nv est rare en Quenya, mais elle est permise dans les composés. Cf. le titre d'Aragorn Envinyatar "Renouveleur".)
[Ajout: Depuis que cet article fut publié pour la première fois, j'ai regardé plus en détail les dérivés Quenya . Après une racine se terminant par r, le suffixe d'agent préféré et probablement no plutôt que do; ce dernier est utilisé en suivant l et n. D'où vardo devrait plutôt être varno, d'où Atanvarno. Un autre bon mot pour "protecteur" pourrait être varyar, dérivé directement de varya-.]
ANDERS, ANDY: These are forms of the Greek name Andreas, English Andrew. It is derived from a word we have already met: andros "man". The meaning is apparently "manly", and under the stem WEG in the Etymologies we find the adjective vea "adult, manly, vigourous". Following the pattern of ancalima/Ancalimon we construct the name Vëon. ("Anders" is Anders Stenström, mentioned in TyTy #2 p. 5. He arranged the Nordic Tolkien Festival and is thus to blame for this article! But he has adopted the name Beregond and has no need of Vëon.)
ANTHONY: The meaning is not certain. It seems to have something to do with the Greek word anthos "flower", so the translation should include lótë (LOT[H]). We could add some masculine ending: Lóto, Lótu, Lótion (not pronounced "lowsh'n" as the English word with nearly the same spelling!) Feminine forms Lótë, Lóta, Lótiel = Antonia.
BRIAN: This is a Celtic name meaning "Strong". Under POL we find an adjective polda "strong, burly", from which we construct the name Poldon.
CARL, CHARLES: These names are both derived from Carolus, a Latinized form of Old Norse Karl, "free man" (as opposed to a thrall). From Quenya mirima "free" (MIS) we derive Mirimon as the High-Elven equivalent. Feminine form Mirimë = Carolyn, Caroline.
CHRISTOPHER: Latin for "Christ-bearer", i.e. Christian missionary (Christos + pherein "to bear"). The Quenya word for "bearer", colindo, is known from Cormacolindor "Ring-bearers" (III:231). But how do we translate "Christ"? Most Christian churches adhere to the doctrine of the Trinity, in which Christ, his Father and the Holy Spirit are different aspects of God. Indeed Hostetter and Wynne concluded that a similar concept of God is actually expressed in Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth and its commentary in MR (see Vinyar Tengwar #34 p. 8-9). Therefore, we can use Eru as a translation of "Christ" and construct the name Erucolindo. As Greek Christos really means "Anointed One" (a translation of Hebrew Mashiach "Messiah"), a more literal rendering could be derived from the stem LIB2 (whence laive "ointment").
COLIN: a reduced form of Latin Columba "dove". Under KÛ Tolkien glosses ku, kua as "dove", perhaps the masculine and the feminine form respectively. Cu could be adopted as a masculine name. But monosyllabic Quenya names are rare, so a masculine ending or another element should perhaps be added (Cuo? Cuner "Dove-man"?).
DAISY: As this is not only the name of Ms Daisy Maryles (mentioned in TyTy #2 p. 6), but also the name of one of Sam's daughters, we have a Tolkien-made Elvish translation in the King's Letter (SD:126, 129): Eirien. But this is Sindarin, and we want a Quenya version. When analyzing Eirien, Hostetter suggested that it has "some connection to the Quenya name Arien of the Maia of the Sun". (VT#31:24) The literal meaning of Daisy is Day's Eye. Arehen, Aurehen (AR, KHEN-D-E-) would mean "Day-Eye".
DAVID: The meaning of Hebrew Dawidh is propably "Beloved One" (cf. dodh "friend"). From the Quenya adjective melda "beloved, dear" (MEL) we derive Meldon. This name occurs in the "Bakken Fragment", published in TyTy #4. Feminine form Meldë = Vida.
DONALD: In Gaelic, Domhnall means nothing less than "world ruler" - in Quenya Ambartur (MBAR, TUR).
EDOUARD: More commonly spelt Edward in English, this name is composed of the Anglo-Saxon elements ead "riches, prosperity, happiness" and weard "protector". The first element corresponds reasonably well to Quenya alma "good fortune, weal, wealth" (GALA) or autë "prosperity, wealth" (LT2:336). However, Tolkien himself translated ead as heren "fortune, governance" in the name Herendil (equated with Eadwine under KHER), and I guess he knew Quenya better than I do. Under ALEC we constructed *vardo as a possible Quenya translation of "protector": Edouard = Herenvardo [addition: or better Herenvarno].
GEORGE: "Earth-worker", from Greek gaia, ge "earth" + the base of ergon "work". Kemen is Quenya for "earth" (KEM), but what is "worker"? Mól "slave, thrall" (MÔ) seems to be too harsh a word. However, we can add an agentive suffix to the verb móta- "labour, toil" given under the same stem. The suffix -r is used on another verb ending in -ta (envinyatar "renewer" being derived from the verb *envinyata- "renew" - see Vinyar Tengwar #34 p. 11). Combining kemen "earth" and *mótar "worker" we get Kememmótar (with the same assimilation of nm to mm as we observe in elen + makil = Elemmakil *"Star-sword" in UT:45). Kememmótar would probably become Kemmótar by haplology. (See Rhona Beare's article about this phenomenon in TyTy #3. I'm sorry, Rhona, but I couldn't find the etymology of your name anywhere.)
HENRY: Germanic Haganrih means "ruler of an enclosure". Tur is Quenya for "ruler" (TUR); for "enclosure" we can choose between panda and korin (PAD, LT1:257). Thus we get Pandatur or Corintur (with C rather than K according to LotR spelling - but when translating George I retained K in kemen because we are all used to this spelling from the word Kementári).
IVAN - see JOHN.
JARED: Hebrew Yaredh or Yeredh seems to mean "descent" or something similar (stem YRD = "go down, descend"). There is no ready Quenya translation. Perhaps we can add a masculine ending to the preposition undu "down" (UNU). Undon or Unduion would have no obvious meaning, but then the Hebrew name is also somewhat obscure.
JEREMY: From Hebrew Yirmeyahu, "Yahu [Yahweh, Jehovah] loosens" (i.e., from the womb). Lehta means "loose, slacken" in Quenya (LEK). We change the final -a to the masculine ending -o and get Erulehto. (An attested Tolkien parallel is mentioned under KLAUS.)
JOHN, IVAN: The English and the Russian form of the Greek name Ioannes, from Hebrew Yochanan = "Yo (Yahweh, Jehovah) Is Gracious". I cannot think of any perfect Quenya rendering, but Eru [ná] antala means "God Is Giving". Treating the participle as an adjective, we construct the name Eruantalon. Perhaps it can be contracted to Eruntalon. (For elision of a after u, compare Ú + *Amanyar = Úmanyar "those not of Aman" - see Silmarillion Index.)
[Added: Since I wrote this, an adjective faila "generous" has been published (PM:352). Using this word (rather than antala "giving") to translate "gracious", we can construct the name Erufailo(n).]
JULIAN: One of several variants of the Latin name Julius. According to one book at least, it means "descendant of Julus" (a king). Knowing that in Latin j corresponds to y in Tolkien's transliterations, this name can be Quenyarized as Yul (dropping the Latin nominative ending). To this name we add -ion "-son" (YÔ). Yulion sounds almost like Julian, doesn't it?
KLAUS: In German, this is a shortened form of Greek Nicolaus, that is composed of elements meaning "victory" and "people" (i.e. "victorious people"?) In Quenya it would become Túrelië (TUR, LI), but there is one important problem: High-Elven names in -ië are feminine, not masculine. We have to change the ending, just as colla "cloak" was changed to collo in the name Sindacollo "Grey-cloak" (see MR:385 or VT#34:20). Túrelio may be a possible form.
LEONID: Latin Leo, Leonis "lion" + a patronymic suffix: "Lion-son". The Quenya word for "lion" is rá pl. rávi (RAW), so Raion or possibly Rávion should be the High-Elven equivalent.(However, Leonid Korablev has long since adopted the Tolkien-made name Lenwë, apparently simply because it has a slight semblance to his normal name.)
LISA: A shortened form of Greek Eleisabet, from Hebrew but with several suggested forms: Elisheva' "my God [is my] oath", Elishava' "My God Has Sworn", Elisheva' "My God [Is] Plenty". Using úve "abundance" for "plenty" (UB), the last of these can be translated as Erunya-úvë > Erunyauvë. As "Lisa" is a much reduced form, we can leave out "my": Eru-úvë > Erúvë. (In Quenya as in Hebrew, "is" can be left out and be understood. Cf. haiya, vahaiya sín atalante "far far away now (is) the downfallen" on the frontispiece of SD.) Erúvë Elen? Well, at least it alliterates nicely!
MICHAEL: In Hebrew, Mi kha-'el? is the rhetorical question "Who [is] like God?" - in Quenya Man [ná] ve Eru?. This may be contracted to Manveru.
NANCY: According to Webster's New World Dictionary, this name probably originated by a "faulty devision of mine + Ancy" - later interpreted as "my Nancy". Ancy is a diminutive form of Middle English Annis, a form of Agnes, ultimately from Greek Hagne, the feminine form of the adjective hagnos, "clean, chaste". In Quenya, the stem POY yields the adjective poika "clean, pure", from which we derive the feminine name Poicë. Somehow, I don't like this word as a feminine name. It's probably just Scandinavian linguistic prejudice: pojke is Swedish for "boy". But since Ancy is a diminutive form, we can add the diminutive ending -llë (seen in ñande "harp" ñandelle "little harp" < ÑGAN). Poicellë sounds better.
NATHALIE: From Latin (Dies) Natalis "natal (day)". This name was given to girls born on Christmas day, the presumed birthday of Jesus. Quenya Nosta means "birth, birthday" (LT1:272).
PAT, PATRICK: Latin Patricius means "patrician, nobleman". Callo is glossed as "noble man" (KAL). Feminine form *Callë = Patricia.
PAUL: From Latin paulus = "small". Relevant Quenya words are titta "little, tiny" (TIT) and pitya "small" (WOTJ:389) The corresponding masculine names would be Titton, Pityon. Feminine forms Tittë, Pityë = Paulette.
PHIL, PHILLIP: Greek for "horse-lover" (philos "loving" + hippos "horse"), in Quenya Roccondil (ROK, NIL).
RON, RONALD: From Reginald, an old Germanic name composed of the elements *ragina- "judgement, council" and *waldan "to rule", thus meaning "ruler of judgement" or simply "judge". Námo means "judgement" according to MR:150, while namna is glossed as"statute". Námotur, Namnatur should capture the essence of "Ronald".
RUTH: This Hebrew name is probably a contraction of Re'uth = "companion, friend" with a feminine ending. Sermë is Quenya for "(female) friend" (SER). Another possibility is Osellë "associate, sister" (not of bloodkinship, that is onóne - see THEL).
WALTER: Frankish Waldheri means something like "army-commander" (waldan "to rule", heri or hari "army, host"). Rimbe is the Quenya word for "host" - stem RIM. For "ruler, commander" we could use tur again, but cáno, cánu "ruler, governor, chieftain" is even better (UT:400). Thus Walter = Rimbecáno.
Some 14 other names have been mentioned in the first three issues of Tyalië Tyelelliéva, but for one of the reasons given in the introduction I can't translate them. What do names like Arden or Brandon mean? And how can names like Jim (< Jacob < Hebrew Ya'aqov = "Supplanter") be rendered into Quenya? Well, I have nothing more to say except this: The masculine names I derived from adjectives using the ending -on can all have alternative forms ending in -o. I derived Mirimon from mirima "free", but the stem MIS yields Mirimor *"Free Ones" (Teleri), sg. *Mirimo. Compare also Melko "Mighty One", an alternative form of Melkor mentioned in MR:350 - apparently derived from an unattested adjective *melka "mighty" (see VT#34:22).
[Addendum I: One of my readers informs me that Arden comes from a Latin word for "passionate"; I can think of no better translation than Úruvon "Fiery One" from the adjective úruva "fiery" (LR:396). Brandon supposedly means "fire-hill", Quenya Úrambo.]
[Addendum II: I have received a plea to add to this article a plausible Elvish version of the name that variously appears as Clair, Claire, Clara, Klara, Klára. Derived from a Latin word for "bright, pure, clear", this feminine name may be rendered as Calimë, from Quenya calima "bright" (Letters:385). Another possibility is Calinë from calina "light" (as adjective, LR:362).]
[Addendum III: Ales Bican has worked out a very substantial list of Quenya translations of common names; check it out here (your own name is probably included, if it is not too exotic!) I am flattered to notice that Ales mentions my own article as an inspiration.]