Adûnaic

īdō kathī batānī rōkhī-nam

lo! now all ways bent-are

The first draft of the 12th phrase of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/312). Although all of its word are similar to the final version, each has differences in grammar or spelling from the later versions of the text.

  • The first word īdō is the same as in the final version, but is glossed “lo! now” instead of simply “now”.

  • The adjective kathī “all” is the plural form of katha, not singular as it is in the final text, perhaps indicating a shift in the rules for adjective-noun agreement.

  • The subject batānī “ways” is the normal plural form of batân, not inflected to the subjective case as it is in the final text.

  • The final word rōkhī-nam “(are) bent” has the plural adjective rōkhī instead of later form lōkhī. It also use the suffix -nam “are”, likely the plural of the predicate suffix -n “is”. This probably serves the same function as the subjective inflection of the final version: to represent the “to be” verb “are”.

Changes

  • īdō kathī batānī rōkhī-nam → īdō kātha batīna lōkhī “lo! now all ways bent-are” ✧ SD/247

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