Background
Tolkien had started developing the language of Khuzdul before he published ‘The Hobbit’. Some of the words of the language even appeared in the earlier versions of ‘The Silmarillion’. Khuzdul was derived from Semitic languages, mainly Hebrew with triconsonantal roots and phonology resembling Hebrew. Tolkien also took notice of the similarities existing between Jews and Dwarves as both of them were natives of the same place and used the language of the country with different accents due to their tongue. Though a little vocabulary is known, Tolkien said the language had been developed to an extent earlier [1]
History
Khuzdul was created by Vala Aule, the creator of the ‘Seven Fathers of the Dwarves’. He had taught them the language he developed for them. This is why it has no relatable origins and is different from the languages used by the Elves. The Dwarves kept it a secret and was never heard by any outsider. It was not recorded by Men or Elves as men could only learn a few words.
First Age
The ancestors of the Edain were in contact with the Dwarves near the Blue Mountains before they entered into Beleriand. This is how there are numerous similarities between the native languages of Men and Khuzdul. A number of men's languages showed the influences of Khuzdul.
Third Age
The Dwarves of the Westlands had adopted Westron and they were taught Khuzdul at an early age. It was used for communication and in lore and books as well as for records that were not accessible to outsiders [2]. The Dwarves, on their own, denied changing their language and Khuzdul underwent variations very slowly. The result was that it remained much like the original one as taught by Aule and even if the sundered Elves developed their new dialects, they could easily communicate with each other. A few phrases were known to outsiders one of which was the battle-cry – ‘Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-menu!’ which means ‘Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!
Adaptations
In ‘The Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy and ‘The Hobbit’ films, whatever was known of Khuzdul was used to create the language used in the movies.
References
Categories:
Khuzdul words
