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[Mahdarah]

I recently joined the forums but i'm confused. is it "dorf" or dwarf"

[Shonai_Dweller]

Dwarf.
Unless you're talking about their cute, idiot, suicidal, crazy, baffling exploits, in which case it's dorf.

[Redman the Communist]

dorf is just slang, like m8 or wot. Dwarf is the correct term.

[steel jackal]

generic singular: dwarf
stupid generic singular: dorf
plural: dwarves or dwarfs
specific singular: UristMcProfessionName

dorf is an optional term as the words urist and dwarf themselves imply being a drunk, mad bastard

[Mostali]

I want to say that Dwarfs is the proper linguistic form, but Tolkein introduced Dwarves as the plural of the Dwarf as a race.  I couldn't possibly remember where I heard that.

I use Dummies, it's a term of endearment.

[Sanctume]

Dwarf / Dwarves
Dorf / Dorfs, there is no Dorves

[Starver]

but Tolkein introduced Dwarves as the plural of the Dwarf as a race.  I couldn't possibly remember where I heard that.

There's a number of different versions of the tale.  Even from his own mouth, in subsequent interviews.  Some say that as he was making up entire languages and mythologies (however much inspired by pre-existing ones), he was entitled to make up "Dwarves" as a race pluralisation in his fiction, distinct from "Dwarfs" as a race pluralisation in any prior fiction (or as a potential pluralisation to be used with very real groups of humans-of-restricted-height).

I quite like the one (which may or may not be linked with the above, or else that it was just an error he made but didn't feel like reversing) where his proofreaders told him he'd used the wrong word throughout the first work of his that they were publishing.  They told him that it was defined otherwise in the Oxford English Dictionary, whereupon he (with truth behind him) informed them that he had written (for!) the Oxford English Dictionary.

It's also a variation that existed before Tolkien, but peepul roat thyngs funili sumtymes bak žen...


For anyone who is bothered, though, it's generally accepted that "Dwarfs" is the plural assigned to multiple Dwarf(-like) beings straight from the original Germanic mythologies (without Tolkienesque ramifications, and including 'human midgets' - properly or otherwise), whilst "Dwarves" is the plural assigned to those that come via Middle Earth territory (including D&D), although I've seen Warhammer Fantasy use both versions so I'm not sure which (if any) is the non-canonical one for that heavily Tolkien-inspired world.

Add to that "Dorfs" as this forum's own 'in-joke' flavour for our Fortress-type dwarfish/dwarven beings.  They are inspired both by via-Tolkien and not-via-Tolkien (c.f. Disney's seven dwarfs, who seem to be the zeroth immigration wave to their local site), and so this little variation is as arguably as good a variant as either of the others, in context...

And "Dorf" also means (approximately) "Village" or "Hamlet", and the link between a small settlement and a small settler isn't too huge a jump of imagination.

[Immortal-D]

'Dorf' can also refer to the player, in a surreal sense.

[PatrikLundell]

English is a linguistic train wreck which frequently contains multiple parallel spelling principles, often based on the various languages spoken by the invaders of the British isles (but I don't know if linguistic root are behind this particular case). One example of competing rules is plural forms of words whose singular form ends with an f:
- Loaf, loaves
- Leaf, leaves

but
- Oaf, oafs
- Proof, proofs

And I'd say the plural of elf is elves, not elfs...

[Pvt. Pirate]

english contains so many differently rooted languages rooted from:
-french
-latin
-german
-keltic
-etc.

our "german-class" teacher at "job school" insisted on english only deriving from the german roots.

this leads to english being one of the most versatile language when i comes to poetry and songs, as for every word you got a german, french, latin, keltic, whatever derivate.

[Saiko Kila]

this leads to english being one of the most versatile language when i comes to poetry and songs, as for every word you got a german, french, latin, keltic, whatever derivate.

"Versatile" like "utility" versatile, not "rich" versatile. I don't like English too much, it has been dumbed down during Middle English phase, and there are concepts and thoughts that are not easily translated from other indo-european languages. The reason English needs some borrowed words is poorness. In other languages there are rules which allow for creation of new words in a way which would be understandable by most competent speakers. In English such rules were partially trimmed, so it's better suited for slaves, serfs and similar, I believe. Ruling classes during this trimming phase were often non-English speakers. But dictionary is just a part of problem, and not very important. I especially lament a low level or even lack of inflection.

[PatrikLundell]

Well, I doubt there is much actual German in English (there are examples, but not a significant part of the language), as the Germanic influence mainly came from the Vikings, who spoke a Germanic language, but not German itself (and both French and Latin are Latin languages, but they're distinct from each other).
Having multiple words for the same thing might be useful for poets who need rhymes or alliterations, but if there's no difference in meaning it only really adds bloat, making it more difficult for foreigners to learn due to volume, not depth.

[Iamblichos]

There are actually a great deal of Germanic-root words in English - Anglo-Saxon was the base stock of the language, and a lot of the underpinnings of the language came from Anglo-Saxon.  Unfortunately Anglo-Saxon aka "old English" is not very comprehensible to modern speakers, because the Normans brought their version of French with them in 1066 and overlaid it on the AS roots.  This blending of languages led to Chaucer-style "middle English", which is pretty comprehensible to modern speakers with the occasional "wtf" word that is no longer used at all.  Modern English contains a huge number of loan words from other languages, just made-up words (brand names, techspeak, etc.) and others.

[PatrikLundell]

I believe we agree Iamblichos. I tried to make the point that Pvt. Pirate's "german-class" teacher is up the creek not only by refusing to acknowledge the significant parts provided by the other root languages, but also by pointing to the difference between Germanic (Norse) and Germanic (German).

[Pvt. Pirate]

yes, i didn't take the time looking up the correct words.
that teacher was a dumbass.
also i agree that adding more words with the same meaning adds bloat.
english is easy to learn for the everyday basics, but it gets very complicated in grammar and vocabulary once you try to write scientific texts or describe possible causal dependencies.

German is almost predestined for creation of new complex words.
in one DF LetsPlayVideo, the guy tried to translate "burrow" and found the great word "Kohlenbergwerkaussatzhalde" which is put together from the german words:
-Kohle (Coal)
-Bergwerk (Mountain-Work = "Mining plant")
-Aussatz (waste)
-Halde (heap/dump)

whereas in german and english you can only guess from context or common sense that babyoil isn't made from babies like thistleoil comes from thistles and oliveoil from olives.

language in general is funny