J.R. R. Tolkien created an amazing world - Middle-earth, which was inhabited not only by people, but also by other unusual creatures. One of the most amazing and beautiful peoples is the elves. J.R. R. Tolkien took such a responsible approach to the creation of this world that he even came up with a separate language for them. Fans of his work and no less magnificent world even created textbooks with which you can learn the elven language.
Briefly about the author
John Ronald Ruel was born in South Africa because his father was sent there in connection with his promotion. After the death of Arthur Tolkien, his wife returned with her children to England. The family lived in poverty, and Mabel Tolkien herself adopted Catholicism. And thanks to her influence, John Tolkien became a deeply religious person.
Also, the mother instilled in the child an interest in botany, and little Tolkien with pleasure painted landscapes. She taught the child the basics of the Latin language and at an early age Tolkien was able to read and write. After her death, his father brought up his father Francis Morgan, a priest. It was he who instilled in the boy an interest in philology, for which Tolkien was very grateful to him.
Then he learned several more languages: the child had a talent for linguistics. Tolkien began to develop elven languages at school. Moreover, some of them have signs of "linguistic aging." J.R. R. Tolkien became a professor at Oxford University. Then he began to work on the cycle of Middle-earth.
Work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy continued for many years, and when it was released, it was a huge commercial success. In the mid-1960s, there was a peak of fame for The Lord of the Rings. The writer rejoiced at such a success of his creation, but was a little tired of popularity. Tolkien made a huge contribution not only to literature, but also to linguistics, studying, creating and popularizing languages.
History of creation
J.R. R. Tolkien was not just a writer, and he was not just engaged in linguistics. The writer was a creator who wanted to give people a piece of magic. The story of the creation of the elven language began in the school years of Tolkien. The writer became interested in Old English poetry and liked the beauty of the works so much that he decided to create something special.
The elven language of Quenya was created on the basis of Finnish, and Sindarin - on the basis of Welsh. In his student days, John Ronald Roel began to write poetry on them. The most popular text written in Quenya is Tolkien's elven language, “Lamentation of Galadriel,” and in Sindarin, the hymn to Warde, the deity of the world.
The writer said that he would love to write only in these dialects. When Tolkien created new languages, he thought about how they would be spoken. The writer created for each language its particular mythology. Tolkien said that his works were written in order to create a world for the languages invented by the writer.
Elves at a Glance
Elves and hobbits are an original invention of J.R. R. Tolkien. It was these characters who became the protagonists of his works - The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings. According to the writer’s idea, elves exist as long as the world exists, they are its spirit.
Although elves and immortal beings, but for them it is not a gift, as for the ancient gods. Therefore, these creatures envy mortal people who are "free from the circles of the world." Elves are the highest creatures, they are beautiful, agile and fast. Elves also love music, literature and possess strong magic. Elves are distinguished by their polite handling, wisdom and philosophical attitude to life.
They try not to interfere in the affairs of Middle-earth, but they take an active part in the struggle with Sauron and his army in the events in The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien's elven languages are as beautiful as these creatures themselves. Therefore, so many fans of his work want to learn it.
Proto-elven and crashes
A group of elven languages descended from one ancient dialect - proto-Elven, or Quenderine. Quenderin appeared in the early years of the awakening of these beautiful creatures. The proto-Elven language was divided into several groups - this is due to the fact that the people were divided into several branches.
Part of the elves decided to move west to Valinor. As a result, a new linguistic branch was formed - the Eldarino. But there were those elves who did not want to move to Valinor and began to call them "accidents." And so another dialect, the Awarin, appeared.
Another of Tolkien's elven languages is accidents. Its first name was "Lemberin." The dialects of the accidental branch varied greatly. The manuscripts of the writer mention only a few words in the accidental dialect.
Eldarino Group, Ancient Quenya and Common Telerin, Nandorin
Eldarin is the common language of the elves, which belongs to an ancient language group. It was spoken by elves who went west to Valinor. Then the eldarin was divided into two dialects.
Cor-eldarin - it was from this group that the dialects of Quenya originated. Ilkorin was originally supposed to be the language of the elves who remained in the valley of the Anduin River, which was then divided into two dialects. Then he was replaced by the Sindarin language. Then the dialect of the elves who did not go to the West was called Lemberin.
Ancient Quenya is a transitional stage from the Eldarin to the more developed Quenya of Aman. And from the common telerin, Sindarin and the telerin of Aman formed. Also from him came the language of Nandor.
Nandorin was spoken by those elves who did not remain in the Anduin Valley, but moved along the river to the South. The Nandorin group also includes the dialects of the elves of Ossiriander and the elves of Eastern Middle-earth.
Sindara group
Goldogrin - originally it was supposed to be the language of the Nolnor - elves who continued their journey to Valinor. Then it was supplemented to Sindarin, which became one of the first elven languages of Tolkien.
The Noldorin is a more developed dialect of the Noldor. The writer said that he was divided into several groups that appeared in the First Age. Then the Noldorin replaced ilkorin and developed to Sindarin.
Sindarin is one of Tolkien's most popular elven languages. The elves who lived in Beleriand spoke this dialect. He descended from the common telerin. Tolkien constantly refined and supplemented Sindarin. This language is also known as the gray elf language. And it is spoken by the characters of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Tongues of Haman
This group includes several dialects. Telerin, or his other name, Lindarin, is the language of those elves who reached Haman. It is a dialect of Quenya, but it is considered a separate dialect. Quenya is the language of the elves who first got to Haman and then to Valinor. Then the Noldors spoke it, and the Vanyars communicated in its dialect - Vanyarin.
Quenya comes from the eldarin. Quenya is also one of the first languages created by Tolkien. Also, Vanyarin, which is a dialect of Quenya, belongs to the language group of Aman.
Description of Quenya
Tolkien's most famous elven language is Quenya. It is also called High Elven. The writer began work on it in 1915. Finnish was taken as the basis, and Tolkien also took Greek and Latin spelling and phonetics. Perhaps the writer inspired the name of this language, which is close to the Finnish Kven language, which is common in Quenland.
Tolkien modified the grammar system several times, but the lexical component of Quenya was stable. In addition to developing the language, the writer described the people who were supposed to speak it. At the time described in The Lord of the Rings, it had already gone out of use and was replaced by Sindarin.
Quenya Tolkien called "elven Latin." It was not a simple spoken language; only scientists and children from rich and influential families could speak it. Also, all official elven documents were written in Quenya. And the kings were given the Quenya names, because it is one of the noblest and highest languages.
The grammatical and phonetic features of Quenya
Tolkien created it as archaic, it retained the main features of Quenderin. The transcription of the elven language of Quenya is similar to Latin, which added the phonetic features of Finnish and Greek. Tolkien described in detail his phonetic, lexical and grammatical features.
The sound of the vowels in Quenya is more like Spanish or Italian than English. Also in High Elven there is only a certain article. To show the indefinite article, they simply do not put it. Also in Quenya there is a grammatical category of number:
- singular - denotes one subject;
- dual number - indicates an inseparable pair of objects (an interesting feature of Quenya: best friends are called meldu, that is, “a pair of best friends” - this shows the degree of their closeness);
- plural - several items;
- collective number - used to designate an inseparable group of objects ("people") or a specific group of objects with an article.
Also in Quenya there is a category of cases. The most interesting is the "mysterious" - some call it "thorough" or "appropriate." A distinctive feature of Quenya grammar is the use of case endings instead of prepositions. Elves constantly improved their language and sought to find new words that could convey the beauty of the world around them.
Sindarin
Sindarin is also one of Tolkien's popular elven languages. It was on him that all the elves began to speak. Initially, it was used by those elves who did not go overseas to Valinor. The men and gnomes owned the synadrin, and in Numenor all Numenoreans were obliged to teach it.
Then, when the influence of elven languages became not so great, only elves began to communicate on Sindarin, and other peoples either did not study it at all or met it in literature. The written system of Sindarin is based on the runic: in it, the letter corresponded to a certain sound. Also, sometimes for writing Sindarin words, letters were used to indicate consonants, and for vowels - special icons. In the phonetics of Sindarin, more proto-Elven consonants than in Quenya are preserved.
Phrases and their translation
Invented languages become so popular that some begin to study them. Then they are supplemented with new words, expanding the lexical component. Here are the phrases in elven language:
- Elen sila lumenn omentilmo - "The star illuminated the hour of our meeting."
- Coramamin lindua ele lle - "My heart sings while looking at you."
- Vanya sulie - "The Magic Winds".
- Aa` menealle nauva calen ar` malta - "May your path be covered with gold and foliage."
- Lissenen ar` maska`lalaith tenna` lye omentuva - "Sweet water and easy laughs until our next meeting."
- Vanimle sila tiri - "Your beauty shines with bright light."
- Cormlle naa tanya tel` raa - "You have a lion's heart."
In Elvish, an inscription was made on the gates of Moria, on which he cast spells Gandalf. It also contains all the famous poetic works in Middle-earth.
Elven Names
Some fans of the Middle-earth universe are so imbued with that magical atmosphere that they begin to learn the languages and culture of these peoples. Here are examples of elven names:
- Aredel Ar-Feiniel - translated from Sindarin means "noble elf" and "noble white lady."
- Arwen - the name is of Sindarin origin and translates as "noble lady."
- Galadriel - in Sindarin's translation "virgin, decorated with a shining crown."
- Celeborn - from Sindarin translates as "silver tree".
- Cirdan - this name means "ship, shipbuilder."
- Legolas is a name of Sindarin origin, translated as "green leaf".
- Míriel Serinde - the name of the Quenya, translates as "precious embroidered wife."
- Pengolod - the name is translated as "teacher of wisdom."
- Thranduil - consists of two Sindarin words and means "stormy spring".
- Elrond - means "Star Trek."
Some Quenya names adapted to Sindarin. Names in the Kenyan language were most often given to kings and other representatives of the nobility.
Ways to learn
How to learn elven language? Tolkien fans even created special textbooks that talk about the features of grammar, phonetics and vocabulary. There are also special forums where fans discuss the world of Middle-earth. Some UK schools have elven language courses.
J.R. R. Tolkien created an amazing and unique world that has a lot of fans. The Elven language from The Lord of the Rings is part of the legacy of this beautiful writer and linguist. J.R. R. Tolkien loved linguistics, and he sought to popularize it. And his books are an opportunity to create a special world for his languages.