Writing using Tengwar characters

[Rían]

OMGoodness, katya, how can you keep all of that straight?? English and Tengwar are enough for me, I don't think I could learn any more without falling seriously behind in real life

I did learn German in high school and got pretty good, but at least the characters are the same (except the double-s, which looks like a capital "B" with a long tail, and some diacritical marks over the vowels).

My proudest non-native language moment: I was mistaken for a German by a Swiss shopkeeper in Zermatt! (this was only after a few words of greeting - she soon discovered her mistake. But I was very proud that my accent was good, because I had worked extremely hard on it. I think the accent is very important, as well as the words - some people think as long as you get the words right, the accent doesn't really matter, and they absolutely massacre the language!!)

[Ñólendil]

RÃ*an, I forgot to mention that the Num Lock has to be on for some of them. Leave it on for all to be safe. Sorry about that.

[Rían]

I've tried it with the num lock on, the num lock off, using the alt key to the left of the kbd, the alt key to the right of the kbd, and STILL no good. *sigh*

[Ñólendil]

Don't know what your problem is, then. Menus shouldn't be popping up if your Num Lock is on.

[Rían]

Oh well, now I guess I have a "valid" excuse to buy a new computer!

BTW, who is RÃ*el? Or is it just a Quenyan-type name, so you thought it should be written the preceding-consonant way?

p.s. - isn't that interesting about the Farsi three-dot symbol?

[katya]

oh? well actually i have always been good with memorization. i have most of the cyrillic down already. it helps that i have a couple books written in it (although since it is in russian i haven't a clue what it is saying!). i want to go to russian so bad...well anway i still havent gone to the links. i will though. anyway...that is about all i have to say. i wrote my litereature notes partially in the tengwar today. that made me happy.

[Rían]

katya - no big swoopy s-curls yet?? p.s. - do you have "Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien"? check out his letter 118 - really neat to see him write in Tengwar to his friend.

[katya]

no i dont. i want to get it though. still no s curls. i am lazy. i should get my ass in gear and jsut go to the stupid links. geez louise.

[Rían]

"wheeeee! wheeeeee!" *writes lots of lovely s-curls* "wheeeee!"

Can other people write all of those special vowels and things with their keyboards? Is it only MY snarky keyboard that isn't working??

[Snowdog]

Hai and well met RÃ*an! The thread on Tengwar caught my eye today, and I have to say I am quite rusty at it, but wish to pick it up again. When I was a senior in High School, a girlferiend and I would sit out by the flagpole and read and write tengwar to each other, and one day when they were putting in curbs we decided to cut class and we impressioned with our fingers 'Friends' in Tengwar in the side of the wet cement. We did pretty good under the conditions and looking out trying not to get caught, and only made one mistake. Sadly, the school is being rennovated, and when I went by there last winter the curb was still there, but this summer it was gone.

Another thing that caught my eye is your user name. RÃ*an was indeed a sad tale in the Silmarillion, however I had used the name for a character in a rather lengthy story I wrote.

Anyway, pleased to meey you!

Oh yes... on your keyboard where you are trying to type ú û Ã* é etc. Check to see if your keyboard character map is active. You wil find it under Start/ Programs/Accesories/System tools/Character map. I had some tutoral that would run when the Alt key was pushed and that prevented me from using the keypad for special characters. Anyway... hope that helps.

[Rían]

Hail and well met back to you, Snowdog! And thanks so much for trying to help me with my sad keyboard situation.

When I do Start/Programs ...etc. a window entitled "Character Map" comes up, with "TT Symbol" showing in the font box. Does that mean it's active? I don't see any type of "Make Active" button or other status indicator. ARGH! Any other hints?

How sad about the curb's no longer being there . That would have been fun to go back to over the years and check on.

Yes, RÃ*an's story is sad ... I always liked the look and sound of that name, though, so I chose it for Entmoot. One day I'll start a thread about Tuor, her son. I really like his character *beams with Entmootish motherly pride*.

Good luck re-picking-up Tengwar! Keep us posted...

[Shadowfax]

The other night I printed out that chart from one of the first links posted in this thread, and I've started memorizing it! It's kinda hard though, because I have so much homework from school (gr. 11...argh), so I can't really study my Tengwar that often.

[Rían]

Shadowfax, you might want to try memorizing them in small groups, like I recommended to Sminty a few posts ago. The groups I did were: the "p" looking group - t, p, d, b; the 'b'-looking group - th, f, dh, v, then the 'q' looking group and the 'd'-looking group. Then the miscellaneous ones. Good luck!
Does anyone else have recommendations? Maybe my way is only good for the way my brain works....

("oh, wheeeerrree is my hairbrush???" - classic Larry song - I love it! Do you know that one?)

[Rían]

updates, anyone??

[katya]

no! no updates! (oh my gosh i just reminded myself of the old woman on monty python and the holy grail when she says "no! no shrubberies!) i wrote some of my recent notes for school in the tengwar. it was fun. i am surprised i could write quickly enough.

[Sminty_Smeagol]

I have all of the un-vowell letters memorized pretty well, and some of the vowells (a, aa, i, ai, e, ee) and I have to peak at the sheet occassionally for vowells I don't know, but I have been writing in Tengwar/Tehtar in my agenda last few days! woopee!

-~*Smintz

[Rían]

congrats!!

[Snowdog]

Hail RÃ*an! I haven't bee into the Tengwar for a week, but it does seem to come back to me easy. I am going to start working with a calligraphy pen and write it out.

Yes, if I had known they were going to trash the curb later, I would have sat there all night and chisiled it out and took it home when I was there last winter. Oh, it was early 1976 when we inscribed that. I had just recently saw the girl's name on Classmates.com and I emailed her about it. She remembered and was saddened about its demise as well.

A month or so ago I met a couple who speak Sindarin, and I had to say I was impressed!

[Rían]

Snowdog - I graduated from high school in '76 - did you? Hope the Tengwar is coming along - I sure enjoy it. I don't have the time to learn Sindarin, though it would be interesting to hear someone speak it. They must have either made up a lot of their own, or just talk on limited subjects, though, because it wasn't fully completed, if I remember correctly.
Any updates, anyone else? Katya, did you make up your own symbol for "H"? That's the one letter that I really don't like. I can't seem to make it very pretty. And it always reminds me of the Greek lambda, which I used in math and physics - definitely not pretty associations!

[katya]

no, sorry i have not. h is not that bad, but i have seen prettier characters. how do you make yours by the way? i once made my own writing completely. tengwar i think is better however. i make a lot actyally but htis one was particularly close to the tengwar. um...no updates. by the way, i am stupid, help me; i can't find the s curls.