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Encyclopedia > Languages of Arda

The Languages of Arda are artificial languages invented by J. R. R. Tolkien and used in his books about Arda, including The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. They are important as an inspiration for his imaginary world and as a method for giving a realistic linguistic depth to names and special words that is generally lacking in fantasy and science fiction stories. An artificial or constructed language (known colloquially as a conlang among aficionados), is a language whose vocabulary and grammar were specifically devised by an individual or small group, rather than having naturally evolved as part of a culture as with natural languages. ... John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) is best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. ... In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of fictional prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed. ... The Hobbit is a novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien in the tradition of the fairy tale. ... The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkiens works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher R. Tolkien, with assistance from fantasy fiction writer Guy Gavriel Kay. ... Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. ... haha For other meanings see Fantasy (disambiguation) Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...


In discussing the languages Tolkien invented, it is necessary to consider two aspects: their "primary world" history, namely their literal development by Tolkien as a philologist, and their "secondary world" history, namely their imagined historical development in the history of Middle-earth. Philology is the study of ancient texts and languages. ...

Contents

Primary-world history

Tolkien was a professional philologist and a specialist in the Old English language. He was also interested in many languages outside his field and developed a particular love for the Finnish language (he described the finding of a Finnish grammar book as "entering a complete wine-cellar filled with bottles of an amazing wine of a kind and flavour never tasted before", The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, number 214). Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Finnish ( ) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92%[2]) and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. ... ... The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (ISBN 0-618-05699-8) is a selection of J. R. R. Tolkiens letters published in 1981, edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and the biographer Humphrey Carpenter. ...


Finnish morphology (particularly its rich system of inflection) in part gave rise to Quenya. Another of Tolkien's favourites was Welsh — and features of Welsh phonology found their way to Sindarin. Numerous words were borrowed from existing languages, but less and less obviously as Tolkien progressed, so that attempts to match a source to a particular Elvish word or name in works published during his lifetime are often very dubious. In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification or marking of a word (or more precisely lexeme) to reflect grammatical (that is, relational) information, such as gender, tense, number or person. ... Quenya is one of the languages spoken by the Elves in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... Sindarin is an artificial language (or conlang) developed by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...


Language-making was Tolkien's hobby for most of his life. He is known to have constructed his first languages (Animalic and Nevbosh) at a little over thirteen and he continued to ponder upon his creations up until his death more than sixty-five years later. Language invention had always been tightly connected to the mythology that Tolkien developed, as he found that a language could not be complete without the history of the people who spoke it, just as these people could never be fully realistic if imagined only through the English and as speaking English. Tolkien therefore took the stance of a translator and adaptor rather than that of the original author of his works. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...


Although the Elvish languages Sindarin and Quenya are the most famous and the most mature languages of those that Tolkien invented for his mythology, they are by no means the only ones. They belong to a family of Elvish dialects, that originate in Common Eldarin, the language common to all Eldar, which in turn originates in Primitive Quendian, the common root of Eldarin and Avarin languages. In addition to that, there is a separate language family that is spoken by Men, the most prominent member of which was Westron (derived from the Númenórean speech Adûnaic) or the "Common speech" of the peoples of The Lord of the Rings. Most Mannish tongues showed influences by Elvish, as well as some Dwarvish influences. Several independent languages were drafted as well, for example the Khuzdul language of the Dwarves. Other languages are Valarin (the tongue of the Valar), and the Black Speech created by Sauron during the Second Age. Celeborn (portrayed by Marton Csokas), an Elf in Peter Jacksons adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring. ... Sindarin is an artificial language (or conlang) developed by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Quenya is one of the languages spoken by the Elves in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Common Eldarin is the primordial tongue of the Eldar, those Elves who left for Valinor. ... Eldar Djangirov a jazz pianist. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Primitive Quendian is the proto-language of the Quendi, or Elves, which they spoke soon after their Awakening. ... In the fictional works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Avari are a branch of the Elves. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Westron or Common Speech is the closest thing to a universal language, at least at the time during which The Lord of the Rings is set. ... Númenor is a fictional location from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle-earth and is intended to be his version of Atlantis. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Adûnaic (language of the west) was the language of the Men of Númenor during the Second Age. ... The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... It has been suggested that Dwarf runes be merged into this article or section. ... Khuzdul is the fictional language of the Dwarves in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth, written with Cirth script. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Valarin is the tongue of the Ainur. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens mythology, the Valar (singular Vala) are the Powers of Arda, or direct representatives of Eru Ilúvatar (God). ... The Black Speech is the fictional language of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings. ... For other articles with similar names, see Sauron (disambiguation). ...


Elvish scholarship

Although the study of Tolkien's languages is as a rule not taken seriously by mainstream linguistics, a number of serious scholars have worked on compiling all that can be recovered about their histories and grammars.


An early book dedicated to Eldarin is An Introduction to Elvish by Jim Allan (published by Bran's Head Books), written before the publication of The Silmarillion in 1977 and therefore mostly outdated. The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkiens works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher R. Tolkien, with assistance from fantasy fiction writer Guy Gavriel Kay. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...


There are several journals dedicated to the subject:

Tolklang, Elfling and Lambengolmor are mailing lists dedicated to Tolkien linguistics. Parma Eldalamberon (Quenya The Book of Elven-tongues) is a journal of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship dedicated to the linguistics of J. R. R. Tolkiens Languages of Middle-Earth. ... Vinyar Tengwar is a linguistic journal published by the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship, dedicated to the study of the fictional languages of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially the languages of Elves, Quenya and Sindarin. ... The Elvish Linguistic Fellowship (E. L. F.) is an international organization devoted to the scholarly study of the invented languages of J. R. R. Tolkien, headed by Carl F. Hostetter. ... Tyalië Tyelelliéva is a journal on Tolkienian linguistics edited by Lisa Star since 1994. ... Quettar (Quenya for words) was the Edinburgh-based bulletin of the Linguistic Fellowship of the Tolkien Society. ... Tolklang is a mailing list dedicated to the languages of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Elfling is a mailing list dedicated to the languages of Middle-earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Lambengolmor were the Loremasters of the Elves. ...


See also Elfcon Elfcon (also ELFcon) is short for Elvish Linguistic Fellowship Convention, a convention first proposed by Jorge Quninonez, and then organized and originally hosted by Bill Welden, dedicated to the study of the languages created by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...


Secondary-world history

See also Lhammas, Elvish language. ... The Lhammas is the name of a work of fiction of etymological subject by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Elvish languages are constructed languages used typically by elves in a fantasy setting. ...


In the history of Middle-earth, the tongues of the Elves are separated as part of the speakers emigrate to Aman while others stay behind, leading to a split of Quenya (High-Elvish, or Elf-Latin) and Sindarin. In J.R.R. Tolkiens legendarium, Aman (blessed realm) is a continent that lies to the west of Middle-earth (although it lay in another dimension during the time of The Lord of the Rings), across the great ocean Belegaer. ... Quenya is one of the languages spoken by the Elves in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Sindarin is an artificial language (or conlang) developed by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...


Middle-earth linguistics

Therefore it may be noted that such tongues in turn may have contrasted due to dislike among the elven kindreds. For example, the leader of Sindar Grey Elves (Elwë Singollo) had an ardent hatred of the house of Fëanor due to their many deeds, and would not permit their tongue to be spoken in his domain. One may deduce from this that Sindarin may well have changed further over the years due to this. The invention of writing is attributed to Rúmil, who first invented an alphabet: the Sarati (literally "letters"). Fëanor later enhanced and further developed this alphabet into the Tengwar, which were spread to Middle-earth by the Noldor and remained in use ever after.
Daeron of Doriath independently of Rúmil and Fëanor had invented the Cirth runes, but these were only used for inscriptions, and otherwise replaced by the Tengwar, except among the Dwarves. In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Rúmil was a Loremaster of the Ñoldor living in the city of Tirion. ... Sarati is an artificial script which was created by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, Fëanor is a fictional character who is central to Tolkiens mythology as told in The Silmarillion. ... First article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (in English) The Tengwar are an artificial script which was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... The main part of this article relates to the version of Middle-earths history that is considered canon by most Tolkien fans who accept such labels (see: Middle-earth canon). ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Daeron was the minstrel of Doriath. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional world of Middle-earth, Doriath was the land of the Sindar. ... This chart showing the runes shared by the Angerthas Daeron and Angerthas Moria is presented in Appendix E of The Return of the King. ... It has been suggested that Dwarf runes be merged into this article or section. ...


An important source of Middle-earth linguistic scholarship is Pengolodh of Gondolin who wrote in Quenya. He is the author of Quendi and Eldar, the Lhammas and Osanwe-kenta. In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Pengolodh (also spelled Pengolod Pengoloð, Pengoloth, and Pengoloþ — the ending in all cases representhing the voiced dental fricative) was a Loremaster of the Ñoldor. ... The War of the Jewels is the 11th volume of Christopher Tolkiens series The History of Middle-earth, analysing the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. ... ... The Lhammas is the name of a work of fiction of etymological subject by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...


In Quenya, lambë is the term for spoken language or verbal communication while tengwesta is a more abstract term for a system or a code of signs and may be translated as "grammar"....


...and all of that is really confusing...;)


Writing and spelling

Sindarin and Quenya are often written in the tengwar script, which Tolkien especially devised for them, or alternatively in the rune-like cirth. When Middle-earth languages are written with the Latin alphabet, either acute accents (á, é, í, ó, ú) or circumflex accents (â, ê, î, ô, û, ŷ) mark long vowels depending on language or other convention. The diaeresis (ä, ë, ö) is normally used to mark that a short vowel is to be separately pronounced, that it is not silent or part of a diphthong. For example, the last four letters of Ainulindalë should be sounded as if spelled dah-leh in English rather than as dale and the first three letters of Eärendil represent something like eh-ahr rather than the English word ear. (But occasionally, especially when writing proto-Eldarin forms, Tolkien used the macron to indicate long vowels and the dieresis on ä, ö, and ü as in German to indicate i-modification or e-modification.) First article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (in English) The Tengwar are an artificial script which was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... A rune can mean a single character in the Runic alphabet as well as an inscription of several runic charcters or symbols. ... This chart showing the runes shared by the Angerthas Daeron and Angerthas Moria is presented in Appendix E of The Return of the King. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin and Greek scripts. ... The circumflex ( ˆ ) (more commonly known as an uppen) is a diacritic mark used in written Greek, French, Esperanto, Norwegian, Romanian, Slovak, Vietnamese, Japanese romaji, Welsh, Portuguese, Italian, Afrikaans, and other languages. ... In linguistics, a, diaeresis, or dieresis (AE) (from Greek (diaerein), to divide) is the modification of a syllable by distinctly pronouncing one of its vowels. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a vowel combination in a single syllable involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... A macron, from Gr. ...


In the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien adopted the literary device of claiming to have replaced the original Westron with English. This device of rendering an imaginary language with a real language he carried further, rendering Rohirric, related to an older form of Westron, by Old English, and names in the tongue of Dale in the north of Rhovanion by Old Norse forms, thus mapping the genetic relation of his fictional languages on the existing historical relations of the Germanic languages. A natural consequence of this is that the languages thus replaced were never worked out by Tolkien in any detail because they never appeared in the texts. In J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Westron or Common Speech is the closest thing to a universal language, at least at the time during which The Lord of the Rings is set. ... In the fictional world of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rohirric is the language of the Rohirrim of Rohan. ... Dale is a town in J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Rhovanion or Wilderland was a large region of northern Middle-earth. ... Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The Germanic languages form one of the branches of the Indo-European (IE) language family, spoken by the Germanic peoples who settled in northern Europe along the borders of the Roman Empire. ...


List of languages

  1. Elvish languages:
  2. Mannish languages (all showed influence by Avarin tongues as well as Khuzdul):
  3. Languages of Dwarves:
    • Khuzdul
    • Iglishmek (sign language)
  4. Languages of the Ents
    • Old Entish.
    • "New" Entish
  5. Languages of the Ainur (Valar and Maiar)
  6. Languages of the Orcs
  7. Various debased forms of the Black Speech and regional dialects influenced by Westron
  8. Primitive methods of communication
    • Language of the Trolls
    • Language of the Wargs

Elvish languages are constructed languages used typically by elves in a fantasy setting. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Primitive Quendian is the proto-language of the Quendi, or Elves, which they spoke soon after their Awakening. ... In the fictional works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Avari are a branch of the Elves. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Common Eldarin is the primordial tongue of the Eldar, those Elves who left for Valinor. ... Quenya is one of the languages spoken by the Elves in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the highest of the High Elves. ... The main part of this article relates to the version of Middle-earths history that is considered canon by most Tolkien fans who accept such labels (see: Middle-earth canon). ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Common Telerin is the primordial tongue of the Teleri or Lindar clan of the Elves. ... A fan-created map of Aman and Valinor. ... Quenya is one of the languages spoken by the Elves in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Sindarin is an artificial language (or conlang) developed by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the fictional Nandor (singular Nando) were Elves of Telerin descent, who left the Great Journey from Cuivienen to Valinor as the Elves reached the Hithaeglir (Misty Mountains). ... The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender. ... Khuzdul is the fictional language of the Dwarves in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth, written with Cirth script. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Atanatári is a Quenya term which means Fathers of Men, and is used to describe the forefathers of the Edain. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Taliska was the language spoken by the Bëorian (First) and Hadorian (Third) Houses of the Atanatári, who spoke different dialects. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Adûnaic (language of the west) was the language of the Men of Númenor during the Second Age. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Westron or Common Speech is the closest thing to a universal language, at least at the time during which The Lord of the Rings is set. ... Sindarin is an artificial language (or conlang) developed by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Hobbits are a subset of the race of Men, sometimes considered a separate race. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional prehistory of the world (Arda), the Black Númenóreans were originally the royalist survivors from the mightiest realm of men that had ever been: Númenor, which was destroyed late in the Second Age of the Sun. ... A map of Eriador at the end of the Third Age, courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Arda. ... The Second Age is a fictional time period from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle-earth. ... Northmen was a common term for the Vikings, famously used in the prayer A furore normannorum libera nos domine (From the fury of the Northmen deliver us, O Lord!), doubtfully attributed to monks of the English monasteries plundered by Viking raids in the 8th and 9th centuries. ... Dale is a town in J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth. ... In the fictional world of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rohirric is the language of the Rohirrim of Rohan. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the House of Haleth or the Haladin were the second of the Three Houses of Men. ... Dunland is a fictional land from J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth: the land of the Dunlendings. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens world of Middle-earth, the Drúedain, also known as Drûgin (singular being Drug), Woses, Wild Men of the Woods and Púkel-men, were a strange race of Men which was counted amongst the Edain. ... In J.R.R. Tolkiens The Silmarillion, the Forest of Brethil was a cluster of woods bordering Dorthonion, which was probably originally part of Doriath. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Drúadan Forest was a forest in northern Gondor. ... Harad is a town in Saudi Arabia. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Easterlings were Men who lived in the east of Middle-earth, and were enemies of the Free Peoples. ... It has been suggested that Dwarf runes be merged into this article or section. ... Khuzdul is the fictional language of the Dwarves in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth, written with Cirth script. ... An Ash Ent in the Lord of the Rings movie series Ents are a fictional race from J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy world of Middle-earth. ... The Ainur (from Valarin Ayanûz; singular Ainu) are a fictional race from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe, Eä. Spoiler warning: The Ainur are the spirits emanated by Ilúvatar to help him to create the Universe, Eä, through the Music of the Ainur. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens mythology, the Valar (singular Vala) are the Powers of Arda, or direct representatives of Eru Ilúvatar (God). ... The Maiar are a fictional race from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe, Middle-earth. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle-earth, Valarin is the tongue of the Ainur. ... The Black Speech is the fictional language of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings. ... For other articles with similar names, see Sauron (disambiguation). ... Orcs in Moria, from the 1978 animated film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. ... The Black Speech is the fictional language of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Westron or Common Speech is the closest thing to a universal language, at least at the time during which The Lord of the Rings is set. ...

See also

Middle-earth Portal
  • Neo-Eldarin

Image File history File links Arda. ... Neo-Eldarin is a term that may be employed to describe the language of texts attempting to actually use the Elven tongues invented by British author and philologist J.R.R. Tolkien for his Middle-earth legendarium. ...

External links and references



 

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