LOTR Discussion: Appendices E and F

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by The Gaffer

To be honest, I found the whole languages thing a bit overdone and annoying on first reading LOTR, aged 13 and being blissfully ignorant of philology. I guess a philologist's experience might be different.

Being an amateur philologist, I can confirm that my experience was different!

Realising that the alphabeths were

showing phonetic relations through certain regular variations in the signs

was in fact what really got me interested in Tolkien's world, even after having read LotR a couple of times.

Appendix E was just what I had been learning in phonetics classes - but then again, what would happen when a child learning to read, confused two sounds and found that the corresponding signs were easily confused as well? What I had learnt at teacher training college, warned me that this might be a problem ...

I presented an essay discussing this at a meeting in the local Tolkien society, and revised it for printing in their newsletter. Eventually I put it on the Internet and translated it into English - you can read it here (or read the original Norwegian version if you prefer).

Originally Posted by Eärniel

For the story LoTR itself, it is not really necessary. But for Middle-earth itself, it creates a sense of realness.

[...]

Too much language and the ordinary reader looses interest, Tolkien must have realised he needed a balance between the story and the languages. His philologist-friends may have preferred de-constructing of languages, but the average reader has much less interest in things like that.

I agree. It makes that realness of the background of this world more complete. There is enough of language to intrigue people like me, but it is also possible just to let it float by and be a part of the backstory and the coloration of the background.