tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 24 12:30:47 1993
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Re: Tolkien's Lingos as actual Spoken Languages.. (fwd)
- From: [email protected] (The Songbringer -- Marnen to the common folk)
- Subject: Re: Tolkien's Lingos as actual Spoken Languages.. (fwd)
- Date: Wed, 24 Nov 93 15:27:52 EST
The following appeared on the Tolklang list (dedicated to Tolkien's
languages). I thought I'd post it here since it contains material of interest
to us tlhinganpu'. I'll post replies back to Tolklang when I get back from
Thanksgiving vacation.
----------------------------------naDev yipe'----------------------------------
Michael P Urban says:
[headers]
: Your message dated: 22 Nov 1993 21:11:16 PST
: > Does anyone speak any of the languages of Tolkien's creations??
: > Much in the same vein as Klingon is spoken by some trekkies/trekkers..
: > Might be a way to figure out the missing words is to
: > see how people speak it..
:
: First, I have strong doubts that there are any Trekfolk who speak
: Klingon in the sense of being able to spontaneously converse in the
: language; this probably includes the author of the language, who
: has said that the published vocabulary is inadequate for practical
: use. I know some very hardcore Trek fans, and none of them can speak
: `unrehearsed' Klingon, nor do they know anyone who can. During the
: summer, some effective publicity from Paramount about the `Klingon
: Language Camp' left the impression of hordes of Trekfolk making
: Klingon into the next Esperanto.
:
: Tolkien's languages, like Klingon, are works of fiction; they are
: inextricably bound to the fantasy world of which they are a part.
: Like Klingon, they have insufficient vocabulary -- and perhaps grammar
: -- for use in spontaneous informative conversation. So, who could, or
: would, speak such a language? And why would we lend any credence to
: the coinages they came up with?
:
: It seems to me that the question of original word-making in Elvish (or
: Klingon, for that matter) requires a clear focus on just what one
: intends to _do_ with Sindarin or Quenya. If one is writing poetry or
: translating bits of Tolkienian prose, it seems to me that one is
: creating a work of Art, just as when one paints a picture of Minas
: Tirith. Most of the creation is Tolkien's, but some must be added by
: the artist, and only someone intimately familiar with the original
: might be able to tell where one ends and the other begins. If one is
: writing a textbook or article about Gnomish, on the other hand, one
: must be extremely clear about which forms are attested, which are
: formed by analogy, and which are sheer speculation on the part of the
: author. Other cases may be more ambiguous; for example if one
: publishes a Middle-earth game that equires new names for people or
: places.
:
: When I play the computer game Civilization, I try to give my cities
: legitimate Sindarin names, although I remember little of such things
: nowadays. The new SimCity 2000 game also lets you name things -- what
: Sindarin name would you give to a bus line?
:
:
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