Tools
Page Tools
Site Tools
User Tools
Black Speech School
translations:goblin_song
Table of Contents
Goblin Song
Clap! Snap! the black crack! Grip, grab! Pinch, nab! And down down to Goblin-town You go, my lad! Clash, crash! Crush, smash! Hammer and tongs! Knocker and gongs! Pound, pound, far underground! Ho, ho! my lad! Swish, smack! Whip crack! Batter and beat! Yammer and bleat! Work, work! Nor dare to shirk, While Goblins quaff, and Goblins laugh, Round and round far underground Below, my lad!
This song from The Hobbit was sung by goblins of the Goblin-town after the capturing of Thorin and company (“Over Hill and Under Hill” chapter).
Despite simple structure and grammar, this text is very challenging to translate because of rich lexicon with sound-imitations which would be nice to keep in translation. I had to add several new words to Nûrlâm's dictionary. However according to Appendix F of LOTR, orcs of Moria and Misty Mountains spoke Westron and not Black Speech. So this is just translation exercise and not an attempt to reconstruct this song in the native language of goblins.
The List of required words
The following words (listed alphabetically) are required for translation:
| English | Nûrlâm | Etymology and comments |
|---|---|---|
| and | agh | TK (RI) |
| batter | pûlp- | LOS (to beat), probably from Quenya “palpa” (to beat, batter) |
| beat | bump- | HG < LOS “bum-” < MB |
| below | lata | EL (under, below, beneath) |
| black | bûrz | TK (RI) “dark”, better than “mor” suits the sound of song |
| bleat | blîn | NL, merging common Indo-European word of sound-imitating origin with Qenya “nýe” < Primitive Elvish “NYENE”, which was early etymology of Vala's name “Nienna” |
| clap | thlakh | NL < Noldorin “tlach(a)” (clap, clash, clatter) |
| clash | thlazg | see “clap” (thlakh) |
| crack | grik | NL < Qenya “kirkis” + Sindarin “criss” |
| crash | zurg | NL < RN “zgurum” < LOS “zgur” (thunder) < MB |
| crush | tûp- | all major dialects < SV “shatûp” |
| dare | hûr- | LOS |
| down | dhu | HG (downwards) |
| far | baubarz | HG “baub” |
| go | ukh- | LOS |
| goblin | uruk | TK “orc” |
| gong | damb | NL, both words from Qenya “tump” (to build, beat), “tompa” (small drum), “tombo” (gong) |
| tump | ||
| grab | khlaf- | NL < Gnomish “clamfa” |
| rop-1) | NL < all major dialects “rok-” (seize, grasp, grip) melted with Primitive Elvish “RAPH” (seize, grab, snatch) | |
| grip | mank- | NL < Qenya “makte” (hold, grip), Gnomish “manc” (grip, grasp, hold) (n), “manca” (to grab, seize) < Primitive Elvish “MAHA” (grasp) |
| hammer | drang | NL < LOS < HG “drâgh” + Sindarin “dring” (Glamdring aka “Foe-hammer” aka “Beater”) < Etym. (to beat, strike); compare with NL “drag” (dull, blunt) and SV “darga” (club) |
| knocker | tuhal | NL, SV “hutog-” > “hut” > “tuh” (to knock) |
| lad | nonk | NL < Gnomish “nogin” |
| laugh | lal- | NL < Quenya “lala” |
| my | dab | HG |
| nab | mraf- | NL < merging Quenya “arpo” (seizer, thief), Middle Quenya “raf-” (snatch, seize) < Primitive Elvish “RAPH” (to seize, grab, snatch) with Middle Quenya “mapa” (to grasp, seize), Qenya “(a)mapta” (to ravish, seize and carry off forcibly) < Primitive Elvish “MAP”, “MAPA”, “NAPA” (to lay hold of with hand, seize) |
| nor | agh nar | lit. “and don't” |
| pinch | rikh- | NL < Etym. “RIK(H)” (jerk, sudden move, flirt); compare with Quenya “rinca”, “rihta” (to jerk, give quick twist or move, twitch), Noldorin “rhinc” (twitch, jerk, trick, sudden move), “rhintha” (to jerk, twitch, snatch) |
| pound | sud- | HG |
| quaff | shog- | DS (only “to drink”) |
| round | kurn | LOS “around”; “round” here denotes motion in circles, so adposition “around” was chosen for translation instead of noun of adjective for shape “round” |
| shirk | frût- | NL < LOS “frûz” (lazy) and “fraut-” (sit down, rest) |
| smack | thaik- | NL < merging Primitive Elvish “TYAVA” (to savour, taste) with Gnomish “côf” written reversed obviously here it is sound of whip similar to sound of lips and tongue |
| smash | barsh- | NL < LOS “barash-” < SV |
| margz- | SV | |
| snap | gark- | NL < Qenya “nark” (snap of a dog) |
| swish | thîth- | NL < Gnomish “tif”, “siptha” (to whistle) |
| to | -ishi | TK motion to the bottom – Illative case |
| tongs | dan | ON |
| town | fulz | NL, merging Quenya “opele” (walled house, village, town), Gnomish “pel” (village, hamlet, -ham), Edain “obel” (town) < Etym. “PEL(ES)” (fenced field) with LOS “fulg-” (to dwell) |
| underground | lata ghâmp | LOS, literal translation |
| while | kusn | LOS < SV |
| whip | hauk | HG (v) < SV “fashaukalog” |
| work | bul- | NL < DS (PO) “bulu” < Quenya “mólë” (n) < Etym. “MBOL”? |
| snag- | NL (toil) < LOS (labor, serve, work) < TK “Snaga” this one may be more suitable for the work as a slave |
|
| yammer | shîk- | LOS (to scream) here “yammer” means some annoying sound accompanied by “bleat” rather than “yell, complain” |
| you | fi | NL < Gnomish singular “fi” + Hurrian standalone singular “fe” |
The Translation
Word order was slightly changed for better rhyme:
Thlakh! Gark! Grikum bûrz! Mank! Khlaf! Rikh! Mraf! Agh dhu dhu ishi Urukfulz Fi ukh, nonkdab! Thlazg, zurg! Tûp, margz! Drang agh dan! Tuhal agh damb! Sud, sud, lata ghâmp baubarz! Ho, ho! nonkdab! Thîth, thaik! Hauk grik! Pûlp agh bump! Blîn agh shîk! Snag, snag! Frûtut nar hûr! Kusn uruk shogû agh uruk lalû, Kurn agh kurn lata ghâmp baubarz! Lata, nonkdab!
I suggest that longer sentences (3rd line in verses 1 and 2, lines number 4 and 5 in verse 3) should be pronounced with reduced pauses between words (e.g. “lataghâmp”).
1)
may be used to translate both “grab” and “grip”
translations/goblin_song.txt · Last modified: 2023/09/07 19:38 by 127.0.0.1
Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International
