Editing Tengwar (section)

== Description ==

[[File:Tengwar alphabet with row and column headings.svg|thumb|upright=2|Tengwar alphabet with the name of each ''tengwa'', arranged phonetically according to the ''Quenya'' mode]]

=== Letters ===

The most notable characteristic of the Tengwar script is that the shapes of the letters correspond to the [[distinctive feature]]s of the sounds they represent. The Quenya consonant system has five [[place of articulation|places of articulation]]: [[Labial consonant|labial]], [[Dental consonant|dental]], [[Palatal consonant|palatal]], [[Velar consonant|velar]], and [[glottal consonant|glottal]]. The velars distinguish between plain and labialized (that is, articulated with rounded lips, or followed by a {{IPA|[w]}} sound). Each point of articulation, and the corresponding tengwa series, has a name in the classical Quenya mode. Dental sounds are called  ''Tincotéma'' and are represented with the Tengwar in column I. Labial sounds are called ''Parmatéma'', and represented by the column II Tengwar; velar sounds are called ''Calmatéma'', represented by column III; and labialized velar sounds are called ''Quessetéma'', represented by the ''Tengwar'' of column IV. Palatal sounds are called ''Tyelpetéma'' and have no tengwa series of their own, but are represented by column III letters with an added diacritic for following {{IPA|[j]}}.

Similarly shaped letters reflect not only similar places of articulation, but also similar manners of articulation. In the classical Quenya mode, row 1 represents voiceless stops, row 2 voiced prenasalized stops, row 3 voiceless fricatives, row 4 voiceless prenasalized stops, row 5 nasal stops, and row 6 approximants.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tyler |first=J. E. A. |author-link=J. E. A. Tyler |title=The Complete Tolkien Companion |publisher=Pan Books |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-0350-0857-5 |pages= }}</ref>

==== Regularly formed ====

Most letters are constructed by a combination of two basic shapes: a vertical '''stem''' (either long or short) and either one or two rounded '''bows''' (which may or may not be underscored, and may be on the left or right of the stem).

These principal letters are divided into four series ("témar") that correspond to the main places of articulation and into six grades ("tyeller") that correspond to the main [[manner of articulation|manners of articulation]]. Both vary among modes.

Each series is headed by the basic signs composed of a vertical stem descending below the line, and a single bow. These basic signs represent the [[phonation|voice]]less [[stop consonant]]s for that series. For the classical Quenya mode, they are {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/kʷ/}}, and the series are named ''tincotéma'', ''parmatéma'', ''calmatéma'', and ''quessetéma'', respectively; téma means "series" in Quenya.

In rows of the ''general use'', there are the following correspondences between letter shapes and manners of articulation:

* Doubling the bow turns the [[phonation|voiceless consonant]] into a voiced one.
* Raising the stem above the line turns it into the corresponding [[fricative consonant|fricative]].
* Shortening it (so it is only the height of the bow) creates the corresponding [[nasal consonant|nasal]]. In most modes, the signs with shortened stem and single bow do not correspond to the [[phonation|voiceless]] nasals, but to the [[approximant]]s.

In addition to these variations of the Tengwar shapes, there is yet another variation, the use of stems that are extended both above and below the line. This shape may correspond to other consonant variations required. Except for some English abbreviations, it is not used in any of the better known Tengwar modes, but it occurs in a [[Quenya]] <!--sic--> mode where the tengwa Parma with extended stem is used for {{IPA|/pt/}} and the tengwa Calma with extended stem is used for {{IPA|/kt/}}.<ref>See ''[[Parma Eldalamberon]]'' 19 (2010), pp. 41–43.</ref> The Tengwar with raised stems sometimes occur in [[glyph]] variants that look like extended stems, as seen in the inscription of the [[One Ring]].

An example from the ''parmatéma'' (the signs with a closed bow on the right side) in the "general use" of the Tengwar is:

[[File:Parmatéma.png|right|60px]]

* The basic sign, named ''parma'', (with descending stem) represents {{IPA|/p/}} (it happens to look much like the Latin letter ''P'').
* With the bow doubled, ''umbar'', it represents {{IPA|/b/}}.
* With a raised stem, ''formen'', it represents {{IPA|/f/}}.
* With a raised stem and a doubled bow, ''ampa'', it represents generally {{IPA|/v/}} but possibly {{IPA|/mp/}} (depending upon the language).
* With a short stem and double bow, ''{{not a typo|malta}}'', it represents {{IPA|/m/}}.
* With short stem and single bow, ''vala'', it represents {{IPA|/w/}}, or {{IPA|/v/}} if that has the phonological behaviour of a sonorant (e.g. in Quenya).

In languages such as Quenya, which do not contain any voiced fricatives other than "v", the raised stem + doubled bow row is used for the common nasal+stop sequences (''nt'', ''mp'', ''nk'', ''nqu''). In such cases, the "w" sign in the previous paragraph is used for "v". In the mode of Beleriand, found on the door to [[Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria]], the bottom ''tyellë'' is used for nasals (e.g., ''vala'' is used for {{IPA|/m/}}) and the fifth ''tyellë'' for doubled nasals (''{{not a typo|malta}}'' for {{IPA|/mm/}}).

==== Irregularly formed ====

There are additional letters that do not have regular shapes. They may represent, e.g., {{IPA|/r/}}, {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/h/}}. Their use varies considerably from mode to mode. Some aficionados have added more letters not found in Tolkien's writings for use in their modes.

=== ''Tehtar'' diacritics ===

[[File:Tehtar.png|thumb|''Tehtar'' [[diacritic]]s for vowels, consonant doubling, and nasal sounds]]

A ''tehta'' (Quenya "marking") is a [[diacritic]] placed above or below the tengwa. They can represent vowels, consonant doubling, or nasal sound.

As Tolkien explained in Appendix E of ''The Lord of the Rings'', the ''tehtar'' for vowels resemble Latin diacritics: circumflex (î) {{IPA|/a/}}, acute (í) {{IPA|/e/}}, dot (i) {{IPA|/i/}}, left curl (ı̔) {{IPA|/o/}}, and right curl (ı̓) {{IPA|/u/}}. Long vowels, excepting {{IPA|/a/}}, may be indicated by doubling the signs. Some languages from which {{IPA|/o/}} is absent or in which compared to {{IPA|/u/}} it appears sparsely, such as the [[Black Speech]], use left curl for {{IPA|/u/}}; other languages swap the signs for {{IPA|/e/}} and {{IPA|/i/}}.

A vowel occurring alone is drawn on the vowel carrier, which resembles [[dotless i]] (ı) for a short vowel or dotless j (ȷ) for a long vowel.