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Language Forum Information |
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Language Forum Etiquette |
This forum is for discussing Tolkien’s invented languages, not for discussing Real Life languages such as Spanish and French, nor for discussing creating one’s own invented language. Before opening a topic, browse through the first two pages of topics to see if a similar one already exists. Please also look at the Language Help Desk which has links and simple questions, and the Translation Desk, where you can ask for help with translations.
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A Word about “Elvish” |
There is no one language called “Elvish.” There are many different languages spoken by the Elves, including: Quenya, Sindarin, Telerin, Nandorin, and Avarin. Only two of these languages were developed enough by Tolkien to be spoken or written: Quenya and Sindarin. The one being spoken in the movies is Sindarin, although there are a few lines in Quenya.
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What is the difference between Quenya and Sindarin? |
Quenya was the language of the Elves who journeyed to Aman. Sindarin was what the language developed into amongst the Sindar, who remained in Beleriand. In the lands of Middle-earth, Quenya was only studied in books, much like Latin today, while Sindarin was used for daily communication. Most Quenya words end in vowels, whereas Sindarin words mostly end in consonants.
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Can I find out what my name is in Quenya or Sindarin? |
You can go to Behind The Name for names translated into Quenya or Sindarin. If your name is not listed there, you can ask someone here to translate it for you. Beware of the name generators at The Barrow Downs and Chriswetherell.com. These give random elements from Sindarin and Quenya, and do not actually translate your name.
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Can I get something translated into Elvish? |
No translation program or dictionary can accurately translate things into Quenya or Sindarin for you. You can post requests in the Translation Desk thread in the forum, and perhaps someone who studies the language will be able to help you.
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What did they say in the movies? |
For everything you could possibly want to know about languages in the movies, go to Gwaith i-Phethdain.
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Learning the Languages |
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Can I learn to speak/write Quenya or Sindarin? |
There is a great Quenya course by Helge Fauskanger at Ardalambion. Thorsten Renk’s Quenya and Sindarin courses and articles can be found at Parma Tyelpelassiva. Another good resource is the Plaza house Tham Lammath Edhellin. Some of Tara’s Sindarin grammar lessons and helpful tools are available on the Rivendell kingdom pages. Ryszard Derdzinski has some articles at Gwaith i-Phethdain.
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What about Tolkien’s other languages, like Dwarvish and Entish, can I learn those? |
No, not really. Tolkien did not develop these languages well enough to be spoken or written; but Tolkien did represent Rohirric with Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon. The University of Calgary offers free online lessons here.
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Where can I find a Sindarin or Quenya dictionary? |
Didier Willis’ Hiswelókë Sindarin Dictionary is an excellent resource. There is a program form called Dragon Flame for PC’s, and a less-up-to-date PDF version. Alcarnarmo has made a great Online Sindarin Dictionary that also includes many reconstructed words and translates to English, French, and German. (That site is currently down, so link has been removed). The best Quenya word list is probably the one at Ardalambion.
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How do you pronounce these languages? |
You can hear Tolkien recite A Elbereth in Sindarin and Namárië in Quenya. For specific help learning the sounds in Sindarin, listen to Lothenon’s sound files at Mellyn-in-Edhil.
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How can I learn to write the script that is on The One Ring? |
This is called the Tengwar. It is just a writing system, not a language. You can find out about it at Amanyë Tenceli or from Per Lindberg's excellent Tengwar Primers. For examples of how numerals were written in Tengwar, see Dan Smith. If you wish to carve out ’runes’ or Cirth, go to Omniglot. An excellent article on the history of these scripts and their different modes and uses, can be found here. A document of the known tengwar samples can be found here.
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Where can I find fonts to write with the tengwar? |
You can find a nice font at Amanyë Tenceli, and others at Dan Smith’s Fantasy Fonts. Also worth looking at are Elfica, and the cursive font found on the One Ring. Do not download a font called Gandalf Tengwar, for it is wrong.
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Beyond this Forum |
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Where can I learn more about Tolkien’s languages? |
An excellent resource for information about Tolkien’s languages is Ardalambion. The Elvish Linguistic Fellowship publishes a journal called Vinyar Tengwar and has some informative articles. There’s an excellent email discussion list called ELFling, all posts are archived and searchable.
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What books or websites should I avoid? |
There are no reliable books you can buy, they are all out-of-date. However, these books offer theories that are worth reading: "Elbisch" by Helmut Pesch (in German), "Basic Quenya" by Nancy Martsch, and "An Introduction to Elvish" by Allen. "The Languages of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth", by Ruth Noel, is terribly inaccurate and should not be used as a resource. Many internet websites offer incorrect information. The Grey Company does not teach Tolkien’s languages, but used them to create their own language. Be wary of any site that does not specify between Quenya and Sindarin. Learnelvish.com and hotelf.com should be avoided, as they are very inaccurate.
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Where can I find poems or texts written in Elvish? |
The following sites contain some original works and translations of texts in the Elvish languages:
But before using any of the works from these sites, as well as from any other site, ask permission or always give proper credit to the author.
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