Languages of Arda
Encyclopedia
The languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien
are a set of constructed language
s, of which most but not all were created for his fictional universe
, often called Middle-earth
. They are used in The Hobbit
in a few names like Elrond
or Bolg, in The Lord of the Rings
for names (like Galadriel
or Aragorn
) and several poems ("Namárië
"), and in The Silmarillion
almost all names, including the title and a few sentences,
Tolkien wrote in one of his letters : "what I think is a primary ‘fact’ about my work, that it is all of a piece, and fundamentally linguistic in inspiration. [. . .] It is not a ‘hobby’, in the sense of something quite different from one’s work, taken up as a relief-outlet. The invention of languages is the foundation. The ‘stories’ were made rather to provide a world for the languages than the reverse. To me a name comes first and the story follows. I should have preferred to write in ‘Elvish’. But, of course, such a work as The Lord of the Rings has been edited and only as much ‘language’ has been left in as I thought would be stomached by readers. (I now find that many would have liked more.) [. . .] It is to me, anyway, largely an essay in ‘linguistic aesthetic’, as I sometimes say to people who ask me ‘what is it all about’."
s. He constructed – to varying degrees of detail – more than twenty languages, each with a grammar and a vocabulary. The exact number of languages constructed by Tolkien is unknown, for many of his linguistic papers are still unpublished.
s.
Tolkien's glossopoeia has two temporal dimensions: the internal (fictional) timeline of events described in the Silmarillion and other writings, and the external timeline of Tolkien's own life during which he continually revised and refined his languages and their fictional history.
He was a professional philologist of ancient Germanic languages
, specialising in Old English
. 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".
Glossopoeia was Tolkien's hobby for most of his life. At a little over thirteen he helped construct a sound substitution cypher known as Nevbosh, 'new nonsense', which grew to include some elements of actual invented language. Notably, Tolkien claimed that this was not his first effort in invented languages. Shortly thereafter he developed a true invented language called Naffarin which contained elements that would survive into his later languages, which he continued to work on 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 language
and as speaking English. Tolkien therefore took the stance of a translator and adaptor rather than that of the original author of his works.
In the Lord of the Rings, he adopted the literary device of claiming to have translated the original Sôval Phârë speech (or Westron
as he called it) into English. This device of rendering an imaginary language with a real one was carried further, rendering Rohirric
the language of Rohan, related to Sôval Phâre, by Old English, and names in the tongue of Dale by Old Norse forms, and names of the Kingdom of Rhovanion by Gothic
forms, thus mapping the genetic relation of his fictional languages on the existing historical relations of the Germanic languages
. Furthermore, to parallel the Celtic
substratum
in England, he used Old Welsh names to render the Dunlendish names of Buckland Hobbits (e.g., Meriadoc
for Kalimac). A natural consequence of this was that these "new" constructed languages had to be worked out by Tolkien in some details.
Although the Elvish
languages Sindarin
and Quenya
are the most famous and the most developed of the languages that Tolkien invented for his Secondary World, they are by no means the only ones. They belong to a family of Elvish languages, that originate in Common Eldarin
, the language common to all Eldar, which in turn originates in Primitive Quendian
, the common root of Eldarin and Avari
n 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
), 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, an example being Khuzdul
, the language of the Dwarves. Other languages are Valarin (the tongue of the Valar
), and the Black Speech
created by Sauron
in the Second Age.
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 into Sindarin
. Very few words were borrowed from existing languages, so that attempts to match a source to a particular Elvish word or name in works published during his lifetime are often very dubious.
The first serious book dedicated to the Elvish languages was An Introduction to Elvish edited by Jim Allan (published by Bran's Head Books). It is composed of articles written before the publication of The Silmarillion
. David Salo
wrote A Gateway to Sindarin: A Grammar of an Elvish Language from J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (University of Utah Press).
A few fanzines were dedicated to the subject, like Tyalie Tyelellieva published by Lisa Star, and Quettar, the Bulletin of the Linguistic Fellowship of The Tolkien Society, published by Julian C. Bradfield. Tengwestië is an online publication of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
.
Two journals — Vinyar Tengwar, from issue 39 (July 1998), and Parma Eldalamberon, from issue 11 (1995) — are today exclusively devoted to the editing and publishing of J.R.R. Tolkien's gigantic mass of unpublished linguistic papers. These are published at a pace considered by many to be excessively slow. The editors have not published a comprehensive catalogue of the unpublished linguistic papers they are working on. Even more disturbing for some is the severe restriction of access to the unpublished documents. These papers were not published by Christopher Tolkien in "The History of Middle-earth
". Almost each year, new-found words of the Elvish languages are published and the grammar rules of these languages are disclosed.
Internet mailing lists dedicated to Tolkien's constructed languages include Tolklang, Elfling and Lambengolmor.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
are a set of constructed language
Constructed language
A planned or constructed language—known colloquially as a conlang—is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary has been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally...
s, of which most but not all were created for his fictional universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
, often called Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. They are used in The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
in a few names like Elrond
Elrond
Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Hobbit, and plays a supporting role in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
or Bolg, in The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
for names (like Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
or Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
) and several poems ("Namárië
Namárië
"Namárië" is a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien written in Quenya, a constructed language, and published for the first time in The Lord of the Rings...
"), and in The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
almost all names, including the title and a few sentences,
Tolkien wrote in one of his letters : "what I think is a primary ‘fact’ about my work, that it is all of a piece, and fundamentally linguistic in inspiration. [. . .] It is not a ‘hobby’, in the sense of something quite different from one’s work, taken up as a relief-outlet. The invention of languages is the foundation. The ‘stories’ were made rather to provide a world for the languages than the reverse. To me a name comes first and the story follows. I should have preferred to write in ‘Elvish’. But, of course, such a work as The Lord of the Rings has been edited and only as much ‘language’ has been left in as I thought would be stomached by readers. (I now find that many would have liked more.) [. . .] It is to me, anyway, largely an essay in ‘linguistic aesthetic’, as I sometimes say to people who ask me ‘what is it all about’."
List of languages constructed by Tolkien
Tolkien is among the most famous and prolific of conlangerConlanger
A conlanger is a person who invents conlangs .-Professional conlangers:Conlangers who have been hired to create languages.* Marc Okrand - Klingon, Atlantean* David J. Peterson - Dothraki language...
s. He constructed – to varying degrees of detail – more than twenty languages, each with a grammar and a vocabulary. The exact number of languages constructed by Tolkien is unknown, for many of his linguistic papers are still unpublished.
Constructed languages used in Tolkien's fictional universe
- The Elvish language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language. The family was constructed from c. 1910. Tolkien worked on it up to his death in 1973. He constructed the grammar and vocabulary of at least fifteen Elvish languages and dialects: Primitive QuendianPrimitive QuendianPrimitive Quendian is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth....
the proto-language, Common EldarinCommon EldarinCommon Eldarin, or simply Eldarin, is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth....
, QuenyaQuenyaQuenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
, GoldogrinGoldogrinGoldogrin is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth. Goldogrin was spoken by the Second Clan of Elves, called Goldorim in that language, Gnomes in English .- External history :Tolkien was interested in languages from an early...
, TelerinTelerinTelerin is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth....
, SindarinSindarinSindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
, IlkorinIlkorinIlkorin is a Quenya word, literally meaning "not of Kôr". The Ilkorindi were a group of Elves from J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe. They first appear in The Book of Lost Tales. It was then a name with a broad meaning for all the Elves who "never saw the light of Kôr" and also for their many...
, Nandorin, Avarin. - The languages of MenMan (Middle-earth)The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
of Middle-earth were many, but most were only alluded to by Tolkien. He developed at least three with a grammar and a vocabulary: TaliskaTaliskaTaliska is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional languages set in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Taliska was based on the Gothic language. Gothic was an early interest of Tolkien...
, AdûnaicAdûnaicAdûnaic is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.One of the languages of Arda in Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, it was spoken by the Men of Númenor during the Second Age.-Fictional history:...
, and the Soval Pharë ('Common Speech'), called WestronWestronWestron, or the Common Speech, is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.Westron is the closest thing to a lingua franca in Middle-earth, at least at the time during which The Lord of the Rings is set. "Westron" is an invented English word, derived from West...
in English, spoken by Hobbits and Men in the Third AgeThird AgeThe Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
. Other Mannish languages which were less developed included: Dalish, RohirricRohirricIn the fictional world of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rohirric is the language of the Rohirrim of Rohan.-Description:...
(represented by Anglo-Saxon), RhovanionRhovanionIn the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Rhovanion or Wilderland was a large region of northern Middle-earth. It extended to the east as far as the inland Sea of Rhûn; north to the Grey Mountains and Iron Hills, home of the Dwarves; west to the range of the Hithaeglir, or Misty Mountains; and south to...
(represented by Gothic), Haladin, Dunlendish, DrûgDrugA drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
, Haradrim, and EasterlingEasterlingsIn the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, "Easterling" and "Easterlings" were generic terms for Men who lived in the east of Middle-earth, who mostly fought under Morgoth and Sauron, not directly but rather on behalf of their own High Lord....
. - The secret language of the DwarvesDwarf (Middle-earth)In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
: KhuzdulKhuzdulKhuzdul is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth...
. They also used a sign languageSign languageA sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
called Iglishmêk. - The language of the Ents: Entish.
- The language of the gods or ValarVala (Middle-earth)The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
: Valarin. - The language of the OrcsOrc (Middle-earth)In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
of the First Age created for them by MorgothMorgothMorgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
. - The Black SpeechBlack SpeechThe Black Speech is a fictional language created by J. R. R. Tolkien.One of the languages of Arda in Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, it was spoken in the realm of Mordor...
, created by SauronSauronSauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
for his "empire". - The many languages of the OrcsOrc (Middle-earth)In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
of the Third Age, often incorporating debased forms of words from the Black Speech and other languages.
Other constructed languages
- Naffarin which was the first language Tolkien constructed all by himself.
- Gautisk a Germanic "unrecorded" language in which Tolkien called himself Undarhruiménitupp.
- Mágo/Mágol a tongue based on Hungarian.
The glossopoeia
The term glossopoeia was coined by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is used today to mean language construction, particularly construction of artistic languageArtistic language
An artistic language is a constructed language designed for aesthetic pleasure. Unlike engineered languages or auxiliary languages, artistic languages usually have irregular grammar systems, much like natural languages. Many are designed within the context of fictional worlds, such as J. R. R....
s.
Tolkien's glossopoeia has two temporal dimensions: the internal (fictional) timeline of events described in the Silmarillion and other writings, and the external timeline of Tolkien's own life during which he continually revised and refined his languages and their fictional history.
He was a professional philologist of ancient Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, specialising in Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
. He was also interested in many languages outside his field, and developed a particular love for the Finnish language
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
. 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".
Glossopoeia was Tolkien's hobby for most of his life. At a little over thirteen he helped construct a sound substitution cypher known as Nevbosh, 'new nonsense', which grew to include some elements of actual invented language. Notably, Tolkien claimed that this was not his first effort in invented languages. Shortly thereafter he developed a true invented language called Naffarin which contained elements that would survive into his later languages, which he continued to work on 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 language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and as speaking English. Tolkien therefore took the stance of a translator and adaptor rather than that of the original author of his works.
In the Lord of the Rings, he adopted the literary device of claiming to have translated the original Sôval Phârë speech (or Westron
Westron
Westron, or the Common Speech, is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.Westron is the closest thing to a lingua franca in Middle-earth, at least at the time during which The Lord of the Rings is set. "Westron" is an invented English word, derived from West...
as he called it) into English. This device of rendering an imaginary language with a real one was carried further, rendering Rohirric
Rohirric
In the fictional world of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rohirric is the language of the Rohirrim of Rohan.-Description:...
the language of Rohan, related to Sôval Phâre, by Old English, and names in the tongue of Dale by Old Norse forms, and names of the Kingdom of Rhovanion by Gothic
Gothic language
Gothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. It is known primarily from the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century copy of a 4th-century Bible translation, and is the only East Germanic language with a sizable Text corpus...
forms, thus mapping the genetic relation of his fictional languages on the existing historical relations of the Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
. Furthermore, to parallel the Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
substratum
Substratum
In linguistics, a stratum or strate is a language that influences, or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum is a language which has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum is the language that has higher power or prestige. Both substratum and superstratum...
in England, he used Old Welsh names to render the Dunlendish names of Buckland Hobbits (e.g., Meriadoc
Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually referred to as Merry, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings....
for Kalimac). A natural consequence of this was that these "new" constructed languages had to be worked out by Tolkien in some details.
Although the Elvish
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
languages Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
and Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
are the most famous and the most developed of the languages that Tolkien invented for his Secondary World, they are by no means the only ones. They belong to a family of Elvish languages, that originate in Common Eldarin
Common Eldarin
Common Eldarin, or simply Eldarin, is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth....
, the language common to all Eldar, which in turn originates in Primitive Quendian
Primitive Quendian
Primitive Quendian is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth....
, the common root of Eldarin and Avari
Avari (Middle-earth)
In the fictional works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Avari are an ethnic group of the Elves.- History of the Avari:Avari is a Quenya word meaning 'Refusers' or 'Recusants'. When the vala Oromë found the Elves who had awakened in Cuiviénen , he asked them to come with him to Valinor...
n languages. In addition to that, there is a separate language family that is spoken by Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
, the most prominent member of which was Westron
Westron
Westron, or the Common Speech, is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.Westron is the closest thing to a lingua franca in Middle-earth, at least at the time during which The Lord of the Rings is set. "Westron" is an invented English word, derived from West...
(derived from the Númenórean speech Adûnaic
Adûnaic
Adûnaic is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.One of the languages of Arda in Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, it was spoken by the Men of Númenor during the Second Age.-Fictional history:...
), the "Common speech" of the peoples of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. Most Mannish tongues showed influences by Elvish, as well as some Dwarvish
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
influences. Several independent languages were drafted as well, an example being Khuzdul
Khuzdul
Khuzdul is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth...
, the language of the Dwarves. Other languages are Valarin (the tongue of the Valar
Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
), and the Black Speech
Black Speech
The Black Speech is a fictional language created by J. R. R. Tolkien.One of the languages of Arda in Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, it was spoken in the realm of Mordor...
created by Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
in the Second Age.
Finnish morphology (particularly its rich system of inflection
Inflection
In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood, grammatical voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case...
) in part gave rise to Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
. Another of Tolkien's favourites was Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, and features of Welsh phonology found their way into Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
. Very few words were borrowed from existing languages, so that attempts to match a source to a particular Elvish word or name in works published during his lifetime are often very dubious.
Artificial scripts
Tolkien not only invented many languages but also scripts. He was a talented penman. Some of his scripts were designed for use with his constructed languages, others for more practical ends: to be used in his personal diary, and one especially for English, the New English Alphabet.List of known scripts devised by Tolkien
In chronological order:- Tengwar of Rúmil or SaratiSaratiSarati is an artificial script created by J. R. R. Tolkien. According to Tolkien's mythology, the Sarati alphabet was invented by the Elf Rúmil of Tirion.- External history :...
- Gondolinic Runes (Runes used in the city of Gondolin)
- Valmaric script
- Andyoqenya
- Qenyatic
- The New English Alphabet
- The "Goblin alphabet" (in The Father Christmas LettersThe Father Christmas LettersThe Father Christmas Letters is a collection of letters written and illustrated by J. R. R. Tolkien between 1920 and 1942 for his children, from "Father Christmas"...
) - TengwarTengwarThe Tengwar are an artificial script created by J. R. R. Tolkien. In his fictional universe of Middle-earth, the tengwar were invented by the Elf Fëanor, and used first to write the Elven tongues: Quenya, Telerin, and also Valarin. Later a great number of languages of Middle-earth were written...
of FëanorFëanorFëanor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium who plays an important part in The Silmarillion. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel Serindë... - The CirthCirthThe Cirth are the letters of an semi-artificial script which was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for the constructed languages he devised and used in his works. The initial C in Cirth is pronounced as a K, never as an S....
of Daeron
Reception and study
Like constructed languages in general, the study of Tolkien's languages is not taken seriously by mainstream linguists. A small number of people, most of them not linguists, have worked on compiling histories and grammars of the Elvish languages.The first serious book dedicated to the Elvish languages was An Introduction to Elvish edited by Jim Allan (published by Bran's Head Books). It is composed of articles written before the publication of The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
. David Salo
David Salo
David I. Salo is a linguist who worked on the languages of J. R. R. Tolkien for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, expanding the Elvish languages by building on vocabulary already known from published works, and defining some languages that previously had a very small published vocabulary...
wrote A Gateway to Sindarin: A Grammar of an Elvish Language from J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (University of Utah Press).
A few fanzines were dedicated to the subject, like Tyalie Tyelellieva published by Lisa Star, and Quettar, the Bulletin of the Linguistic Fellowship of The Tolkien Society, published by Julian C. Bradfield. Tengwestië is an online publication of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
The Elvish Linguistic Fellowship is a "Special Interest Group" of the Mythopoeic Society devoted to the study of the constructed languages of J. R. R. Tolkien, today headed by Carl F. Hostetter. It was founded by Jorge Quiñónez in 1988. The E. L. F. publishes two journals, Vinyar Tengwar, edited...
.
Two journals — Vinyar Tengwar, from issue 39 (July 1998), and Parma Eldalamberon, from issue 11 (1995) — are today exclusively devoted to the editing and publishing of J.R.R. Tolkien's gigantic mass of unpublished linguistic papers. These are published at a pace considered by many to be excessively slow. The editors have not published a comprehensive catalogue of the unpublished linguistic papers they are working on. Even more disturbing for some is the severe restriction of access to the unpublished documents. These papers were not published by Christopher Tolkien in "The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through to 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. Some of the content consists of earlier versions of already published...
". Almost each year, new-found words of the Elvish languages are published and the grammar rules of these languages are disclosed.
Internet mailing lists dedicated to Tolkien's constructed languages include Tolklang, Elfling and Lambengolmor.