Tolkien's Tongues: The Phonetics and Phonology of Tolkien's Quenya Language
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2014
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Tri-College (Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges). Department of Linguistics
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Thesis
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and other Middle Earth tales as well as Oxford professor of linguistics, constructed over 14 languages in the development of the background of his stories. This thesis will seek to understand Tolkien's linguistic experiment of Quenya, first in its historical context, and then assess its linguistic merit and behaviors. In the first few sections, Tolkien's linguistic and academic background will be investigated, setting the scene for further linguistic analysis. This thesis then explores how the authentic nature of the language is developed and evoked through the phonetics and phonology of Tolkien's Quenya, using the poem "Namárië" from The Fellowship of the Ring for analysis. Smith (2010:7) argues that Tolkien created a "flowing," "light and melodious" language, designed much like a Romance language, with no "potentially harsh" phonemes or "brusque English consonant clusters." But with such claims must come evidence. This thesis provides the background research Smith (2010) lacks behind these claims, defining Quenya as a functional language, with clear patterns and tendencies towards particular phonetic and linguistic behaviors.