March 2019

S. non-initial [m] usually became [v]; [Vm|{lr}m|m{mbp}] > [Vv|{lr}v|m{mbp}]

In Sindarin and Noldorin, an [m] appearing after a vowel or liquid almost always developed into a labial spirant [v], the only major exceptions being the combinations mm, mb, mp and mph. This was a factor in the soft-mutation of Sindarin, where words beginning with m have mutated forms beginning with v:

S. final and initial [ŋg] became [ŋ]; [ŋg-|-ŋg] > [ŋ-|-ŋ]

In Sindarin and Noldorin, the combination [ŋg] became [ŋ] initially and finally, a sound change Tolkien mentioned in The Lord of the Rings appendices:

S. final [ll], [nn], [ss] shortened in polysyllables; [-SS{ll|nn|ss}] > [-SS{l|n|s}]

In both Sindarin and Noldorin, the long consonants [ll], [ss] and [nn] generally shortened at the end of polysyllabic words. Helge Fauskanger examined these phonetic developments in detail in a pair of articles, To SS or not to SS and The Question of nd or n(n) (on the Ardalambion website). Tolkien himself mentioned these developments in The Lord of the Rings appendices:

S. [œ] became [e]; [œ] > [e]

In both Sindarin and Noldorin, wherever the vowel [œ] arose as the result of i-affection, it eventually developed into [e]. The clearest description of this sound change appears in Tolkien’s notes on the Noldorin use of the Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s, where he mentioned this sound change several times:

S. [n] assimilated to following labial at morpheme boundaries; [n+{mb}] > [m+{mb}]

At morpheme boundaries, it seems that [n] assimilated as [m] to a following labial (such as [b]) very late in both Sindarin and Noldorin, much as it did in Primitive Elvish, as noted by David Salo (GS/§4.121). This is most obvious in compound names such as:

S. [mb], [nd] became [mm], [nn]; [mb|nd] > [mm|nn]

In Sindarin and Noldorin, the combinations [mb] and [nd] became [mm] and [nn] medially and (usually) finally, whereas [ŋg] remained medially but became [ŋ] finally. Tolkien described these sound changes in some detail in The Lord of the Rings appendices:

S. [lð] became [ll]; [lð] > [ll]

In Sindarin and Noldorin the [lð] that had previously developed from [ld] ultimately developed into [ll], as noted by David Salo (GS/§4.157). Here are some representative examples:

S. [wo] became [o]; [wo] > [o]

It seems that in Sindarin and Noldorin wo became o, as noted by David Salo (GS/§4.151). This sound change was primarily relevant to the variant prefixes S. go- (unstressed) vs. S. gwa- (stressed) and Tolkien described this change several times in the context of that prefix:

S. medial [s] became [θ] before [l], [r]; [Vs{lr}] > [Vθ{lr}]

Medial s became th (þ or [θ]) before liquids l and r in both Sindarin and Noldorin, as noted by David Salo (GS/§4.144). There are examples in both Sindarin and Noldorin:

S. middle consonants frequently vanished in clusters; [CCC] > [CC]

This rule is a placeholder for a host of complex Sandhi changes (changes at morpheme boundaries in compounds) that I don’t want to examine in detail right now. David Salo examined these sound changes in detail in Gateway to Sindarin (GS/51-59), and this remains the best description of these phonetic developments.