 |
 |
| Khūzdul The Secret Language of the Dwarves |
| Khūzdul, which means
"Dwarvish" was devised and taught by Aulė himself to the Dwarves. Not much is
known about Dwarven language, for they only rarely allowed outsiders to learn their
tongue. The exception to this being place names, such as Khazad-dūm (Dwarf mansions) and
Zirakzigil (Celebdil). Their Khūzdul names were never shared with those outside the
Dwarven race, instead they adopted Mannish names by which to be known. So secret were
their "inner" names, that they were not even inscribed on their tombs. Although
the Dwarven mansions were spread far and wide, the Dwarves never encountered problems when
speaking with their kin. The changes occurring in Khūzdul were slow and small. This may
be attributed to their reluctance to change the language Aulė had created solely for
them. While the Dwarves were secretive of their tongue, other races were not particularly interested in learning it. Of the Elves: "They could understand no word of the tongue of the Naugrim, which to their ears was cumbrous and unlovely; and few ever of the Eldar have achieved the mastery of it" Some legends say that Aulė taught Khūzdul to Fėanor, but this was never confirmed. In the First Age, Curufin was interested and learned something of it, being the only Noldor friend of the Dwarves at that time. He was the main source of knowledge for Elvish scholars for many years. During the Second Age, Elvish interest increased and the Dwarves allowed a few of the Eldar to learn something of their language. Either the Elves had changed their attitude towards Khūzdul or were able to disguise their dislike for the sake of their inquisitiveness. Arriving in Beleriand during the First Age, the Mannish House of Hador encountered the Longbeards and a friendship was struck between these two people. The Men, being skilled horsemen, afforded the Dwarves increased protection from the Orcs. Though the Dwarves were willing to teach Khūzdul, the Men found it a difficult tongue. Despite the difficulty Men had in learning the Dwarven language, many Khūzdul words were adapted and adopted into their own tongues including Adūnaic. A famous example of Khūzdul is the Dwarven battle cry;
|
|
| The Languages: Return to the list of languages found in J.R.R. Tolkien's writings. |
|