Hello Beloved Friends, I was reading recently a History of so called "invented Languages; actually , i think the phrase is a misnomer. All languages, i think, are in one sense "invented".....English had to be invented at some time , somewhere , by somebody. I understand, though, what is generally meant; i.e. that most languages evolve organically , from many different, sources; over a long period of time. Whereas, other languages, like Elvish, Klingon...(hope there are some Star Trek fans here)..and Esparanto , were developed mostly by one person , in a short space of time. I was reading that many hundreds of thosands of people worldwide, now speak Elvish...(and Klingon)...whearas less than a few thousand speak Esperanto.... I have a possible theory for this; my thesis is that I feel language. to become popular, must have a cultural, or mythological context, which gives it meaning. Elvish & Klingon both have a cultural context, albeit a fictional or mythological one...(although, of course, as a true LOTR fan, I would dispute the term "fictional"....); but i feel that Esparanto does not. The motivation for learning Elvish is that we want to gain a greater understanding of the world & culture of the Elves...but what is the motivation for lerarning Esperanto?.......(My apologies if there are any Espaeranto fans here!....) Anyway, i was just thinking, and , well...does anyone have any views...? Love to you all.....

I was reading that many hundreds of thosands of people worldwide, now speak Elvish ...

 

 

In my opinion speaking Elvish is not possible -- the following articles explain in more detail what I mean by this, and what I mean by 'speaking' Elvish (Carl Hostetter's 'Elvish as She Is Spoke', the second link below, is more in depth than the FAQ concerning various points)...

 

 

http://www.elvish.org/FAQ.html 

 

http://www.elvish.org/articles/EASIS.pdf 

Oh absolutely Alana -- generally speaking, within the conceit, Grey-elven was the living language of the Eldar in Middle-earth, used for daily communication in Frodo's day. Quenya could be spoken too of course (by some), but by this time (in Middle-earth) it had become more of a language of lore, or song, or employed for 'high matters' and so on.

In theory there were many Elvish dialects and languages, and the reader imagines these languages existed 'in full', just like we imagine there is much more to Entish or Westron than we actually see represented in the books. 

The issue is external: Tolkien never tried to complete any of his Elvish languages so that they could be spoken by modern people (like Esperanto); and he was not against changing his mind about linguistic matters both great and small, but in any case he did put enough in print to make Middle-earth seem all the more real to the reader.

 

And yes, in general, when the Elves are 'speaking' English in the book (if one is reading an English translation that is), then they are imagined to be speaking Westron.

Yes, I see now; thanks for elucidating that , Galin.....

Elbereth, you are not nuts at all; i often just read a dictionary; I love words....the power of words can change the world.....the pen is mightier than the sword......you keep reading, my darling......

Yes, learning a new language requires time and the everlasting patience. I can understand people and express myself more or less in other languages but to master a foreign language is very difficult.

With respect to the dictionary I was joking, I find it very interesting and it really surprises me from time to time. How many words, even a native speaker wouldn't use or learn them in a lifetime!

I don't think I have time to learn Elvish actually because I have too many things to do, if I could tell... too many! But maybe later, with time I would be really pleased to learn some Elvish because it sounds pretty sweet and wise.