Q: What drew you to the Elven languages in the first place ?
Malinornë: Curiosity … but as the Appendices weren’t included in the Swedish translation of LOTR, I didn’t realize that the Elven languages in the books were so ‘real’ and ‘complete’ that they could be studied until I more or less accidentally came across some language sites on the internet.
Fíriel: While I saw the Elven languages in the books, in the movies I thought they sounded pretty, especially Sindarin, so out of curiosity I simply searched for some websites… It was a happy day when I discovered Ardalambion.
Q: Describe Sindarin/Quenya in a few words. What does the Elven languages mean to you ?
F: The languages Quenya and Sindarin are spoken by the Eldar of Arda, and so represent the beauty of Tolkien’s works – for me, on a literary level, they represent the scope of Tolkien’s world, an epicness which I adore. On a more personal level, Tolkien’s love for languages is clearly reflected in how lovingly he crafted his Elvish tongues – the nuances of the words, the cadence of its lines… I’m in awe of his devotion to the Elvish tongues, and I hope to somehow follow in his footsteps someday.
M: Quenya is the ancient language of the elves, the one they spoke in the Blessed realm of Valinor and later brought with them in exile to Middle Earth. In the Third Age, this language is used mainly in ceremonies, spells etc. The grammar of both Quenya and Sindarin is very different from English.
I agree with Fíriel that these languages are the essence of LOTR, and to me, studying them means bringing some of the good of that world into the sometimes dull reality.
Q: What is your favourite word/line in Sindarin/Quenya ?
M: Laurelindórenan. It’s an early name for Lothlórien in Quenya, and I just like the way it sounds. My favourite Sindarin word is “gwilwileth” (butterfly)… for the same reason. There are no “gw” or “th” sounds in my first language, so these are beautiful and exotic to me.
F: Oddly enough, my absolute favourite is the Quenya aiya Eärendil elenion ancalima (‘hail Eärendil brightest of stars’), even though I prefer Sindarin as a language. Like Malinornë, I also love Sindarin words with sounds like ‘th’, ‘gw’, and ‘ie’ in them, and I like to shout out gurth an glamhoth (‘death to the din-horde’) to vex certain relatives.
Q: What song would you like to translate into Quenya/Sindarin?
M: That’s the hardest question so far! I’m more interested in translating poems, but all kinds of translations are interesting challenges.
F: Whatever song catches my interest at the time – I’m fickle in my musical tastes, although I would like to attempt ‘Bright Side of Life’ by Monty Python, if it were possible.
Q: What was the weirdest/strangest phrase someone has asked you to translate?
M: That must be the girl who asked to have her name translated into Quenya, stating that its meaning was “daughter of hell”. Happily, most translation requests revolve around more pleasant things, such as love and friendship.
F: I can’t name a particular instance, but the Elvish Names Database always receives the oddest requests; a name like Tiffany as ‘dragon queen’ is a fairly mild one.
Q. What is your opinion on the Elven tongues as presented in the movie?
M. I wish they had used more Quenya…it’s discrimination that they didn’t! On a more serious note, the grammatical correctness of many of the Sindarin phrases constructed for the movies could be argued about for a long time, but to me the most important thing is that they made a serious attempt to include this essential part of Tolkien’s world.
F: I think they did a fine job in achieving their purpose – immersing the viewer in Middle-earth, and showing the ethereal qualities of the Eldar. Also, as Malinornë pointed out, some could dispute the Sindarin grammar in the movies, but I was just thrilled to hear spoken Elvish, however dubious the construction was (which is also why I cringe every time Galadriel says ‘Erendil’ instead of ‘Eärendil’!).
Q: Would you like to know more about other languages of Middle-earth, like Westron, Adûnaic or Black Speech ?
M: Sadly, it doesn’t seem that Tolkien wrote much on any of them, but if more information turns up in the future, Adûnaic would be my first choice out of these three. The Black Speech seems to have an interesting structure, but I find the sounds too ugly and the creatures too vile to want to spend much time on their language!
F: Well, I would like to know how Adûnaic works – again, it’s another exotic language, as different as anything else in Middle-earth. Also, learning Black Speech would be fun when you’re feeling particularly sinister, I suppose.
Q: What is your opinion on Tolkien’s statement that “LOTR is…largely an essay in ‘linguistic aesthetic’” ?
M: It is obvious from the books that names and languages were very important to him, so I see no reason to oppose that statement. But it for sure is an entertaining essay, and one extremely enjoyable even to readers without the slightest interest in linguistics!
F: I can only agree with Malinornë in this instance. It’s certainly the most pleasant essay I’ve ever read, and the best thing is, you don’t even notice it until you begin to feel an urge to study Elvish.
Q: Have you ever studied another constructed language apart from Quenya or Sindarin?
M: No, but I was quite interested in Klingon at one time. However, that was before I had much Internet access, so I lost interest before I could find out much about it.
F: I’ve never had any interest in Klingon, and in fact, my interest has actually been drawn the opposite way, to the ‘easy’ conlang Esperanto, because it had the premise of being a universal language. I haven’t made much progress on it so far.
Q: What other languages do you speak?
M: Swedish is my first language, and apart from that, English and Russian are the only ones I speak reasonably well. I’ve also studied French, ancient Greek and a tiny bit of Icelandic, but I’m afraid I’ve forgotten most of those.
F: I can speak basic conversational Vietnamese, and I can read and write French reasonably well (speaking and listening is a different matter). I also know just enough Esperanto to save my life, if needed.
Q: Is linguistics one of your hobbies in real life, too?
M: No, but I guess you could say that it’s part of my work, as it involves translating between Swedish and Russian.
F: Besides an amateurish interest in languages, not really. I don’t have any aspirations to become a linguist either, since history is my main passion.
Q: Which real life languages are you most interested in? Why ?
M: The dead, odd ones, I think, those that don’t seem to be at all useful. I chose to study Russian because of the “incomprehensible” letters, and because my mother insisted I study German, which, according to her, would be more useful. But if I were to study a new language now, it would probably be Old English … it looks like a fascinating blend of modern English and Scandinavian. Though I’ve always mourned not having the opportunity to study Latin in school.
F: I like all kinds of languages, although whether I’m capable of learning any of them is a different story. I want to learn Vietnamese because it’s my ancestral language, and French because I like the culture. Learning Latin or Old English would be fascinating to see what roots Modern English words have in them, and I’d like to dabble in Welsh someday, because of the beauty of the language (it actually inspired my interest in Sindarin) and the mythology.
Q: What is your favourite book ? (LotR or non-LotR)
M: Apart from Tolkien’s works, where Silmarillion is quickly becoming my favourite, it would probably be “Contact” by Carl Sagan.
F: My favourite Tolkien work is the Silmarillion also, and as for a favourite non-Tolkien work…it’s hard to choose, but ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy by Philip Pullman and ‘The Farseekers’ by Isobelle Carmody are some of them.
Q: What advice would you give to Elvish students ?
M: Not to hurry! Studying Elvish is an exciting hobby, but for most people, rushing through all lessons and exercises at the speed of the light isn’t a good way of learning. Also, it’s not necessary to memorize everything at once. The important thing is to try to understand.
F: In addition to Malinornë’s advice, here’s some of my own – firstly, please choose an Elvish language that appeals to you; if you’re studying an Elvish language on the basis that it’s easier to learn than the others, your enthusiasm for Elvish won’t outlast the challenges you’ll meet in learning it. Secondly, if you need help with something, don’t be afraid to ask questions! The Language staff are always available to help, and the students at Elvish 101 and the Quenya forum are also very helpful. Finally, there are also many helpful resources in the Language section, so don’t forget to look there first.
