The Linguistic Genius of J.R.R. Tolkien

Invented Languages and Words

People who construct languages are called ‘conlangers’, which is itself an invented word. Conlanger is a portmanteau – a word created by merging the sound and meaning of two other words, in this case construct and language. Other common portmanteaus include ‘chillax’ (chill + relax), ‘emoticon’ (emotion + icons) and even Brexit (Britain + exit) as well as our very own word: AQUILAnaut! There are other ways of creating new words too. Sometimes shortening words that already exist can create a new word, like ‘app’, which has been shortened from ‘application’. Acronyms are words that take the first letters from a group of words to create a new word; like ‘lol’, which comes from the much longer ‘Laugh out loud’. Sometimes words are just invented, like the word ‘hobbit’!

Authors often invent languages or words to help distinguish between species and cultures and to embellish the mythical worlds they are creating. Lewis Carroll is famous for creating strange-sounding words (often portmanteaus) to make Wonderland appear bizarre. ‘Twas brillig and the slithy toves…’ is the opening line of Carroll’s fantastic poem ‘Jabberwocky’ which is full of words that are sternge but familery. However, few writers go to the great lengths Tolkien went to, to make his languages really work. Some famous invented languages that you can actually learn to speak include ‘Klingon’ from Star Trek and ‘Ewokese’ from Star Wars.

The Languages of Middle‑earth

Tolkien invented at least 14 different languages for his Middle-earth novels, though he worked on many more. He didn’t create every word in a language, but there are enough Elvish words for a short conversation. As you read The Hobbit, The Silmarillion or The Lord of The Rings you will see that Tolkien worked different languages and ways of speaking all the way through the books he wrote.

The Men of Middle-earth are portrayed as speaking English, called the ‘Common Tongue’. Tolkien would use different types of English depending on where the characters were from. In Rohan they used old English. In Gondor their speech contained Latin and French-sounding words to make them sound educated and intelligent.

Elvish

Tolkien wanted the languages of the mysterious elves to sound gentle, musical and ethereal, so he based them on real languages he found charming. The elves had two languages. Quenya (or high-Elven in English) was based on the Finnish language and Sindarin (grey-Elvish) was based on Welsh.

The Elven languages were supposed to be related, so they shared some words in common. Because Tolkien was a keen linguist he made sure the languages made sense. Language creation was not just a case of inventing an unusual or funny sounding word. Tolkien would think carefully about what each word meant and also consider the word’s etymology – the word’s history, how it relates to other words and how it is used.

Balrog vs. Valarauko: The Linguistic Connection in Tolkien’s Mythos

Take the word ‘Balrog’ – the fearsome fiery creature the fellowship of the ring face in the mines of Moria. Balrog is an Elven Sindarin word but in the Elven Quenya language a Balrog is called a ‘Valarauko’. Balrog and Valarauko sound very different, but they are connected. The end of each word (rog/rauko) is derived from the shared root word ‘rauko’ which means demon. Rauko and Rog actually sound quite similar if you say them out loud and your tongue moves in the same way, from front to back. Try it! Valarauko is a combination of Val, meaning power and Rauko, meaning demon – in English Balrog means demon of might!

Alphabets

Tolkien also developed some alphabets for the languages he created. The Tengwar or Fëanorian alphabet is beautiful but complicated. The shape of each letter indicates the way in which you say the sound. This is rather clever, usually alphabets don’t do this – there is no reason why our letter ‘m’ is associated with a humming sound, it is just what we all agree upon. The inscription on the One Ring is written in Tengwar. The Dwarves used a runic alphabet called Cirth. The Runes were made with lots of straight lines and were easier to carve on Dwarven mine walls than the curlier Tengwar alphabet.

This all sounds complicated – and it is a bit, but just remember Tolkien made all this up himself, just to make Middle-earth seem as realistic as possible! If you are writing a story and creating a new land, perhaps you could invent a language for your characters to speak. Or perhaps you could learn a little Elvish!