Re: Tolkien language(s) question

Mark J. Reed scripsit:

> Sindarin:Quenya :: Italian:Latin.  Which is why Frodo got a laugh when
> he greeted the Elves in Quenya, like the modern tourist who tries to use
> Latin in Rome ("Been a while since your last visit, has it?").
I think it was his accent (ei and ou for ee and oo).  He was talking to
High-Elves, who were originally Quenya-speakers, though they shifted
to Sindarin as their usual language thousands of years before.  However,
it is quite likely that some of the Elves Frodo is talking to still
remember speaking Quenya.  Sound-change in Elvish languages is not
generational, but a deliberate act of individuals.

As someone else has pointed out, Sindarin is the much-changed descendant
of Telerin, a sibling of Quenya.  The best analogue I think is
French to Classical Latin, since French is the much-changed descendant
of a sibling to Classical Latin, namely Vulgar Latin.

--
If you understand,                      John Cowan
   things are just as they are;         http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
if you do not understand,               http://www.reutershealth.com
   things are just as they are.         jcowan@reutershealth.com

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