Language and Culture in the Lord of the Rings

1080 Words3 Pages

In the foreword to the second edition, Tolkien affirmed The Lord of the Rings “was primarily linguistic in inspiration and was begun in order to provide the necessary background or ‘history’ for Elvish tongues” (Tolkien 2004:xxii). Without a doubt, language is the foundation upon which Tolkien defines cultures and individuals: Tolkien’s invented languages, particularly those wholly alien to the Westron or ‘Common Speech,’ vividly reveal and reflect cultural differences in Middle-earth, but it is the manner in which an individual utilizes language that sets him apart from his contemporaries. Complicating Tolkien’s process in the fiction of translation is the need to distinguish closely related language groups; nevertheless, Tolkien adeptly weaves his linguistic web by varying the kind of English used.

Assuming his role as ‘translator’ of the Red Book, Tolkien declares, “Only the languages alien to the Common Speech have been left in their original form; but these appear mainly in the names of persons and places” (Tolkien 2004:1133). Considering Tolkien’s statement, is the reader to presume these ‘alien’ languages serve no other role than to lend an aura of authenticity and suspend disbelief? Absolutely not! Instead, utilizing a variety of tongues and maintaining them in their original form, Tolkien crafts a complex mythology composed of unique races and people groups; more importantly, Tolkien’s use of these languages reveal and reflect cultural differences in Middle-earth. By way of illustration, consider the Elves who, besides the Westron, employ two native tongues: Quenya, an ancient tongue or ‘Elven latin’ used for ceremony, lore and song and Sindarin, a tongue for daily use, in origin akin to Quenya (Tolkien: 2004 1127-1128)...

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...ien’s use of non-standard English forms and constructions Johannesson concludes that Hobbit speech reveals “social stratification” and “linguistic accommodation” (Johannesson 2004:55). Without a doubt, “the whole of the linguistic setting has been translated as far as possible” (Tolkien 2004:1133).

In a letter to Houghton Mifflin Tolkien wrote, “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 … But there is a great deal of linguistic matter (other than actually ‘elvish’ names and words) included or mythologically expressed in the book. 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?’” (Letters #164, pp 219-220).

Works Cited

Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

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