J.R.R. Tolkien was both an amazing writer and a scholar. The link between scholarship and imagination in his work is therefore easily made. In his portrayal of the myths and histories of Middle-Earth he shows a great mastering of the structures of ancient Anglosaxon storytelling, but the way he developped, described and detailed the Elven tongues of his fictional prehistorical world makes this even more visible. Inspired by ancient languages such as Greek, Latin and Celtic as well as some modern tongues, such as Spanish, Tolkien created a complete grammar and vocabulairy for the tongues of the Elves, who play such a prominent role in his Silmarillion tales as well as in his epic that is The Lord of the Rings. He has also created many Elven peoples, all with different heritage and habitats and therefore also different in their speech.
At the History of Speech page you will find descriptions of the Elven tongues including quotations about their histories and developments; an outline of the Elven peoples; a map of Beleriand and the lands of the north where the Elven people dwelt in the First Age of the World; and a note on pronunciation, taken from The Silmarillion and therefore from the hand of Tolkien himself.
At the Written Elvish page you will find translations (and illustrations) of the Elven words and sentences that appear in the books of The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales.
And at the pages titled Songs & Inscriptions you will find translations (and illustrations) of the Elvish phrases used on weapons, structures and art as well as in musical form. The texts used in the songs of The Lord of the Rings films are mostly taken directly from Tolkiens own words and you will find their background stories here.
Click the Elven signets to explore the magic of Tolkiens written speech. |
