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Re: Poll by Email No. 3

From:Andreas Johansson <and_yo@...>
Date:Tuesday, March 5, 2002, 18:42
Daivd Peterson wrote:
>Question 1: > >D. I don't want to say that I hate Tolkien and his elves, but I really, >really dislike them. From a fiction point of view (I'm a fiction writer >first), I find the Lord of the Rings story rather dull and repetitive >(recycled plot problems with different kooky characters and the occasional >"sudden twist", whose position is also rather predictable). Not that >predictability is bad inherently (everyone goes to a Shakespearean tragedy >knowing everyone is going to die), but this type I find unexciting. From a >conlanging point of view, I've only looked very briefly at his languages, >and >they didn't interest me. Thus, I can't say anything for their complexity >or >artistry; I don't doubt they're amazing. Yet, I didn't even know he >created >languages until I joined this list, which was well after I'd started my >first >language--I thought the only other language ever created had been Esperanto >(I hadn't done much searching on the web). However (and for those who like >Tolkien, please read this part), I can look at what Tolkien has done and >appreciate it. He's created something massive and complete, and even >though >I don't much care for it, I won't go around decrying him from the highest >tower. Wuthering Heights, on the other hand...
Complete? As a matter of fact, Tolkien's languages aren't even close to complete, mainly because Tolkien couldn't really control his creativity - there was always something new to try out. Andreas _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com