Black Speech
http://www.amagpiesnest.com/source_songs/FOTR/SSring_verse.htm
| Black Speech | English original |
|---|---|
| Shre nazg golugranu kilmi-nudu, | Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, |
| Ombi kuzddurbagu gundum-ishi, | Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, |
| Nugu gurunkilu bard gurutu, | Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, |
| Ash Burz-Durbagu burzum-ishi, | One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne |
| Daghburz-ishi makha gulshu darulu. | In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. |
| Ash nazg durbatulûk, | One Ring to rule them all, |
| Ash nazg gimbatul, | One Ring to find them, |
| Ash nazg thrakatulûk | One Ring to bring them all, |
| Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul. | and in the darkness bind them, |
| Daghburz-ishi makha gulshu darulu. | In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. |
Sindarin
http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/ringpoem.htm
| Sindarin | Literal back translation |
|---|---|
| Glîr i Chyrf e-Ndur | Poem of-the Rings of-Power |
| Corf neledh ‘nin Ellerain nui venel, | Rings three for-the Elven-kings under-the sky, |
| Odo’ni Nauhírath vi rynd gonui în, | Seven for-the Dwarven-lords in halls stony their, |
| Neder’ni Fîr Fírib beraid fíred, | Nine for-the Men mortal doomed to-die, |
| Êr am Morchír bo morn-orchamm dîn | One [lit. Only] for Dark-lord on dark-throne his |
| Vi Dor e-Mordor ias i-Ndúath caedar. | In Land of-Mordor in-which the-Shadows lie. |
| Er-chorf a thorthad hain bain, | One-Ring for ruling them all, |
| Er-chorf a chired hain, | One-Ring for finding them, |
| Er-chorf a thoged hain bain | One-Ring for bringing them all |
| a din fuin an nuded hain | and under darkness for binding them |
| Vi Dor e-Mordor ias i-Ndúath caedar. | In Land of-Mordor in-which the-Shadows lie. |
Quenya
http://www.minastirith.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=000173;p=
| Quenya | Literal back translation |
|---|---|
| Neldë cormar Eldaranin nu i vilya, | Three rings Elf-kings-to under the sky, |
| Otso Naucoherin hrótarentassen sarna, | Seven Dwarf-lords-to rock-hewn-halls-their-in of stone, |
| Nertë Firimarin naminë firita, | Nine Mortals-to judged to die, |
| Er i Mornaherun mahalmaryassë morna | One the Dark-lord-to throne-his-on dark |
| I Morinorassë yassen caitar i Huini. | The Black-land-in in which lie the Shadows. |
| Er Corma heritatilyë, | One Ring to-rule-them-all, |
| Er Corma hiritat, | One Ring to-find-them |
| Er Corma hostatilyë | One Ring to-gather-them-all |
| ar i móressë avaleryat. | and the darkness-in bind-them. |
| I Morinorassë yassen caitar i Huini. | The Black-land-in in which lie the Shadows. |
Translator’s notes: hide
If anything, I was going for economy, which seems to be a tendency when I attempt these translations. For instance, I chose Eldarani for “Elven-Kings”. I could have said Arani Eldaron, which literally means “Kings of Elves”, but that made the line clunky. And I chose Firimar for “Mortal Men” instead of the literal Fírimë Firi, because Firimar is the Elves’ word for “those who die”, firi- “to die”).
But in Line 2, I took the simple “halls of stone” phrase, which alone could be ondomardi, “rock-halls” and made something near-Entish in length: hrótarentassen sarna. But [it] actually works. Hróta is “rock-hewn hall”, which is related to the Sindarin groth, which we see in Menegroth, Nargothrond and Hadhodrond. Elves would never refer to Dwarven halls, or any halls in the ground as mardi. Plural is hrótar, with -ntassen being two suffixes, for “their” and “in”. Saying a rock-hewn hall is made of stone (sarna) may be redundant, but it rhymes perfectly with morna, “darkness.”
We’re told that “doom” is ambar or umbar as in Turambar, “Master of Doom”. But I thought that would be the term that the Valar (and not Sauron the deceiver) would use; there are clear connotations between this word and am-, “up”, and ambar as in the Earth. You die, and your soul, or fëa, goes up, and your body, hroa, goes into the Earth. (Tolkien had invented an early ‘Qenya’ word ambar meaning “bosom”.)
Doom in that sense would imply a natural occurance, and thus something that Mortal Men might accept as a natural part of Eru’s creation. But Sauron wanted Men to fear death, to make them see it as a horrible punishment imposed on them by Eru. That’s why I chose the word naminë, which is plural past participle for “judged”, as if death were indeed a sentence imposed on Men from which there is no pardon. You may recall Mandos’s real name is Námo.
Another potential redundancy is “The Land of Mordor”. Mordor already means “Black Land” in Sindarin, and to say “The Land of the Black Land” is just silly. So I just chose the literal Quenya equivalent, which is Morinor.
And finally, in Line 6, for “to rule” there’s the choice of tur-, or her-. I chose the latter for its obvious connection to heru, “lord”, and I Héru, “The Lord God” (from Tolkien’s liturgical translations), to imply that Sauron is declaring that there is nothing more supreme than the Ring; indeed it is the “Lord of the Rings.”