Tolkien Gateway:IPA

These are charts for pronouncing some of the principal languages of Arda using the International Phonetic Alphabet. Many of these IPA articulations are going to be 100% exact (there are no laboratory recordings of the speech of real-life Eldar, considering they are fictional), but they are phonemic.

Charts

Adûnaic

Spelling	IPA	Notes
A, a	[a]	Short vowel.
Â, â	[aː]	Long vowel.
B, b	[b]
bb	[bː]	Geminate consonant.
D, d	[d]
dd	[dː]	Geminate consonant.
Ê, ê	[eː]	ê is how ai are pronounced together. There is (properly) no short e. The name Zimraphel may be an exception, though it may also actually be Zimraphêl.
G, g	[ɡ]
gg	[ɡː]	Geminate consonant.
H, h	[h]
I, i	[i]	Short vowel.
Î, î	[iː]	Long vowel.
K, k	[k]
Kh, kh	[x]
kk	[kː]	Geminate consonant.
kkh	[kx]	Geminate consonant of kh.
L, l	[l]
ll	[lː]	Geminate consonant.
M, m	[m]
mm	[mː]	Geminate consonant.
N, n	[n]
nn	[nː]	Geminate consonant.
Ô, ô	[oː]	ô is how au are pronounced together. There is no short o.
P, p	[p]
Ph, ph	[f]
pp	[pː]	Geminate consonant.
pph	[pf]	Geminate consonant of ph.
R, r	[r]
rr	[rː]	Geminate consonant.
S, s	[s]
Sh, sh	[ʃ]
ss	[sː]	Geminate consonant.
T, t	[t]
Th, th	[θ]
tt	[tː]	Geminate consonant.
tth	[tθ]	Geminate consonant of th.
U, u	[u]	Short vowel.
Û, û	[uː]	Long vowel.
V, v	[v]
W, w	[w]
Y, y	[j]
Z, z	[z]

Khuzdul

Note that there is no p or ph in Khuzdul.

Spelling	IPA	Notes
A, a	[a]	Short vowel.
Â, â	[aː]	Long vowel.
B, b	[b]
D, d	[d]
dd	[dː]	Geminate consonant.
E, e	[e]	Short vowel.
Ê, ê	[eː]	Long vowel.
F, f	[f]
G, g	[ɡ]
gg	[ɡː]	Geminate consonant.
Gh, gh	[ɣ]
H, h	[h]
I, i	[i]	Short vowel.
Î, î	[iː]	Long vowel.
K, k	[k]
Kh, kh	[kʰ]
kk	[kː]	Geminate consonant.
kkh	[kʰː]	Geminate consonant.
L, l	[l]
ll	[lː]	Geminate consonant.
M, m	[m]
mm	[mː]	Geminate consonant.
N, n	[n]
nn	[nː]	Geminate consonant.
O, o	[o]	Short vowel.
Ô, ô	[oː]	Long vowel.
R, r	[r]
rr	[rː]	Geminate consonant.
S, s	[s]
Sh, sh	[ʃ]
ss	[sː]	Geminate consonant.
T, t	[t]
Th, th	[tʰ]
tt	[tː]	Geminate consonant.
tth	[tʰː]	Geminate consonant.
U, u	[u]	Short vowel.
Û, û	[uː]	Long vowel.
Y, y	[j]
Z, z	[z]

Quenya

Short Vowels
Spelling	IPA	Notes
A, a, ä	[a]
E, e, ë	[e]
I, i	[i]
O, o, ö	[o]
U, u	[u]
Long Vowels
Á, á	[aː]
É, é	[eː]
Í, í	[iː]
Ó, ó	[oː]
Ú, ú	[uː]
Diphthongs
Ai, ai	[a͡ɪ]
Au, au	[a͡ʊ]
Eu, eu	[ɛ͡ʊ]
Iu, iu	[ɪ͡ʊ]	Middle-earth in the Third Age pronounces this [juː].
Oi, oi	[ɔ͡ɪ]
Ui, ui	[ʊ͡ɪ]
Initial Consonants
C, c, K, k	[k]
F, f	[ɸ~f]	The Vanyar pronounce this [ɸ]. The Ñoldor and Middle-earth pronounce this [f].
Ȝ, ȝ	[ɣ]	Extinct phoneme which still existed in the written Quenya of Rúmil's sarati.
H, h	[x~h]	The Vanyar pronounce this [x]. The Ñoldor and Middle-earth pronounce this [h].
Hl, hl	[ɬ~l]	Traditionally [ɬ]. By the Third Age in Middle-earth, it is pronounced [l]. This phoneme cannot occur medially, where ll is used instead.
Hr, hr	[r̥]	This phoneme cannot occur medially, where rr is used instead.
Hw, hw	[ʍ]
Hy, hy	[ç~ʃ]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [ç]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [ʃ].
L, l	[l]
M, m	[m]
N, n	[n]
Ñ, ñ, Ng, ng	[ŋ]	This phoneme cannot occur medially, where medial ng is used instead.
Nw, nw	[nˠʷ]	Initial ñw becomes nw in Middle-earth in the Third Age. They are not separate phonemes when initial.
Ñw, ñw, Ngw, ngw	[ŋʷ]	This phoneme cannot occur medially, where medial ngw is used instead.
Ny, ny	[ɲ~nʲ]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [ɲ]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [nʲ].
P, p	[p]
Qu, qu	[kʷ]
R, r	[r]
S, s	[s]
T, t	[t]
Ty, ty	[c~t͡ʃ]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [c]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [t͡ʃ].
V, v	[β~v]	The Vanyar pronounce this [β]. The Ñoldor and Middle-earth pronounce this [v].
W, w	[w]	As an initial consonant, this mostly merges with v outside Aman in the Second Age.
Y, y	[j]
Þ, þ, th	[θ]	The Vanyar retain this phoneme, but most (though not all) of the Ñoldor replace it with s, which becomes the more common pronunciation outside Aman.
Medial Single Consonants
c, k	[k]
d		As a medial single consonant, this poorly-understood phoneme is only known to occur in the Vanyarin word Aldudénië.
f	[ɸ~f]	The Vanyar pronounce this [ɸ]. The Ñoldor and Middle-earth pronounce this [f].
ȝ	[ɣ]	Extinct phoneme which still existed in the written Quenya of Rúmil's sarati.
h	[x~h]	The Vanyar and the Ñoldor pronounce this [x]. Middle-earth in the Third Age pronounces this [h] in all locations.
l	[l]
m	[m]
n	[n]
p	[p]
r	[r]
s	[s]	The Vanyar do not use this single consonant medially, where either z or þ are used instead.
t	[t]
v	[β~v]	The Vanyar pronounce this [β]. The Ñoldor and Middle-earth pronounce this [v].
w	[w]	As a single medial consonant, this mostly merges with v outside Aman in the Second Age.
y	[j]
þ, th	[θ]	The Vanyar retain this phoneme, but most (though not all) of the Ñoldor replace it with s, which becomes the more common pronunciation outside Aman.
z	[z]	Only the Vanyar retain this phoneme. Among the Ñoldor it becomes r, and they pronounce z as s when reading Vanyarin texts.
Medial Consonant Clusters
cc, kk	[kʰː]
ff	[ɸː~fː]	The Vanyar pronounce this [ɸː]. The Ñoldor and Middle-earth pronounce this [fː].
ht	[xt, çt~ʃt]	Pronounced [xt] after one of a o u, but [çt~ʃt] after one of e i. For the latter, [çt] is traditional among the Ñoldor, but the Vanyar and Gondor pronounce it [ʃt].
hty	[çc~ʃt͡ʃ]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [çc]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [ʃt͡ʃ].
hw	[ʍː]
hy	[çː~ʃː]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [çː]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [ʃː].
lb	[lb]
lc, lk	[lk]
ld	[ld]
ll	[lː]
lm	[lm]
lp	[lp]
lqu	[lkʷ]
lt	[lt]
lty	[ʎc~lt͡ʃ]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [ʎc]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [lt͡ʃ].
lv	[lv~lβ]	The Vanyar pronounce this [lβ]. The Ñoldor pronounce this [lv], if they don't prefer lb instead.
lw	[lw]
ly	[ʎj~lj]
mb	[mb]
mm	[mː]
mn	[mn]
mp	[mp]
my	[mj]
nc, nk	[ŋk]
nd	[ŋd]
ndy	[ɲɟ~nd͡ʒ]	The Vanyar pronounce this [nd͡ʒ]. Among Ñoldor and Gondor this has merged with ny.
Ng, ng	[ŋɡ]
Ngw, ngw	[ŋʷɡʷ]
nn	[nː]
nqu	[ŋʷkʷ]
nt	[nt]
nty	[ɲc~nt͡ʃ]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [ɲc]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [nt͡ʃ].
nw	[nw]
ny	[ɲj~nj]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [ɲj]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [nj].
pp	[pː]
ps	[ps]
pt	[pt]
py	[pç~pʃ]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [pç]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [pʃ].
qu	[kʷʍ]
rc, rk	[rk]
rd	[rd]
rm	[rm]
rn	[rn]
rp	[rp]
rqu	[rkʷ]
rr	[rː]
rs	[rs]	Not normally known to exist in Quenya. Occurs in Narsil, which is a contraction of Anar-Isil.
rt	[rt]
rv	[rv~rβ]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [rv]. The Vanyar pronounce this [rβ].
rw	[rw]
ry	[rj]
sc, sk	[sk]
sp	[sp]
squ	[skʷ]
ss	[sː]
st	[st]
sty	[ɕc]	Among the Ñoldor, this is distinct from hty. Unknown if they merge among the Vanyar or in Gondor, because their pronunciation of it is uncertain.
sw	[sʍ]	This phoneme is not believed to occur among the Vanyar, who use zw or þw instead.
sy	[ɕç]	Among the Ñoldor, this is distinct from hy. Unknown if they merge in Gondor, because their pronunciation of it is uncertain. This phoneme is not believed to occur among the Vanyar, who use zy or þy instead.
ts	[ts]
tt	[tʰː]
tw	[tʍ]
Ty, ty	[cʰː~t͡ʃʰː]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [cʰː]. The Vanyar and Gondor pronounce this [t͡ʃʰː].
vy	[vj~βj]	The Ñoldor pronounce this [vj]. The Vanyar pronounce this [βj].
x	[ks]
zw	[zw]	Only the Vanyar retain this phoneme. Among the Ñoldor it becomes rw, and they pronounce zw as sw when reading Vanyarin texts.
zy		Only the Vanyar retain this phoneme, but their pronunciation of it is not entirely certain. Among the Ñoldor it becomes ry, and they pronounce zy as sy when reading Vanyarin texts.
þw	[θʍ]
þy	[θç~θʃ]	The Ñoldor (at least those Ñoldor who retain þ) pronounce this [θç]. The Vanyar pronounce this [θʃ].
þþ	[θː]
Final Consonants
l	[l]
n	[n]
nt	[nt]	The only known consonant cluster that may occur at the end of a word.
r	[r]
s	[s]
t	[t]

additional notes

• Syllable stress is not phonemic in Quenya, but the language does have a well-defined syllable stress which is fairly predictable.
  • In words with two syllables, the first syllable is stressed.
  • In words with three or more syllables, the antepenultimate (third-to-last) syllable is usually stressed. However:
  • If the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable is either a long vowel, a diphthong, or ends with a consonant cluster (including x), then this syllable is stressed.

Sindarin

Spelling	IPA	Notes
A, a, ä	[a]	Short vowel.
Á, á	[aː]	Long vowel.
Â, â	[aːː]	Extra-long vowel.
Ae, ae	[a͡ɛ]	Diphthong. This is similar in sound to ai, but is distinguished by ending with a more open vowel.
Ai, ai	[a͡ɪ]	Diphthong.
Au, au, Aw, aw	[a͡ʊ]	Diphthong.
B, b	[b]
C, c	[k]
Ch, ch	[x~h]	[x] is traditional. Gondor pronounces this [h].
D, d	[d]
Dh, dh	[ð]	In some circumstances, dh is actually the consonant cluster d-h, pronounced as two separate letters.
E, e, ë	[e]	Short vowel.
É, é	[eː]	Long vowel.
Ê, ê	[eːː]	Extra-long vowel.
Ei, ei	[e͡ɪ]	Diphthong.
F, f	[f, v]	Pronounced [f] normally, but is [v] before n and at the ends of words.
G, g	[ɡ]
H, h	[h]
Hw, hw	[ʍ]
I, i	[i, j]	Short vowel. Pronounced [j] when unstressed neighboring another vowel (where practical—in names like Galadriel it might not be). Pronounced [i] elsewhere.
Í, í	[iː]	Long vowel.
Î, î	[iːː]	Extra-long vowel.
L, l	[l]
Lh, lh	[ɬ]	In some circumstances, lh is actually the consonant cluster l-h, pronounced as two separate letters.
ll	[lː]	Geminate consonant.
M, m	[m]
Mh, mh	[ṽ]	An older Sindarin consonant that soon becomes v. Also, in some circumstances, mh is actually the consonant cluster m-h, pronounced as two separate letters.
mm	[mː]	Geminate consonant.
N, n	[n]
nc	[ŋk]
Ng, ng	[ŋɡ, ŋ]	Normally pronounced [ŋ], but is [ŋɡ] between two vowels.
nn	[nː]	Geminate consonant.
O, o, ö	[o]	Short vowel.
Ó, ó	[oː]	Long vowel.
Ô, ô	[oːː]	Extra-long vowel.
Oe, oe	[o͡e, ø~e]	Confusingly, this represents two sounds in First Age Sindarin. [oe] is a diphthong, and [ø] is a single vowel. The latter later becomes pronounced and written like e. Perhaps the most famous word known to be spelled with oe as [ø] is Nirnaeth Arnoediad.
P, p	[p]
Ph, ph	[fː, f]	Normally pronounced [fː], but is [f] at the end of a word. In some circumstances, ph is actually the consonant cluster p-h, pronounced as two separate letters.
R, r	[r]
Rh, rh	[r̥]	In some circumstances, rh is actually the consonant cluster r-h, pronounced as two separate letters.
rr	[rː]	Geminate consonant.
S, s	[s]
ss	[sː]	Geminate consonant.
T, t	[t]
Th, th	[θ]
U, u	[u]	Short vowel.
Ú, ú	[uː]	Long vowel.
Û, û	[uːː]	Extra-long vowel.
Ui, ui	[u͡ɪ]	Diphthong.
V, v	[v]
W, w	[w]
Y, y	[y~i]	Short vowel. The traditional pronunciation is [y]. By the Third Age, all varieties of [y] become pronounced [i] instead.
Ý, ý	[yː~iː]	Long vowel.
Ŷ, ŷ	[yːː~iːː]	Extra-long vowel.

additional notes

• Sindarin has a very predictable syllable stress pattern, which is virtually identical to Quenya's.

References

• Ardalambion