sepdet
04-19-2003, 08:12 PM
Sorry for the capslock. It looks like this forum has the usual problem: inexperienced Tolkienites post "Where can I learn Elvish?" because they don't see the last time it was answered. Maybe this will help.
There are two Elvish languages you can study.
Quenya: a language of lore, much like Latin, it had ceased to be spoken in LOTR. But it's easier to learn (some say) since Tolkien worked out its system more fully, and there's more words to choose from, more that you can read.
Sindarin: an Elvish language which had become the spoken language by the time of LOTR. It's the one used in the movies, by and large.
To learn Sindarin, I recommend:
1) Skim Fellowship of the Wordsmith's summary of Sindarin grammar (http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/language1.htm#singrammar). Then check out their complete analyses of the movies' elvish (http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/movie.htm).
2) Go to the best-known website for all Elvish languages: Ardalambion (http://www.ardalambion.com). Helge's page on Sindarin: the Noble Tongue (http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/sindarin.htm) is more comprehensive and is how I learned most of what I know.
3) But that page can be intimidating because it covers so much at once. Go to Council of Elrond's (http://www.councilofelrond.com) Elvish 101 forum and step-by-step lessons in Sindarin. There are people to answer your questions and help you along.
Of course, there are also many such people here!
Now I haven't started Quenya, but Ardalambion (http://www.ardalambion.com) listed above has excellent Quenya resources and lessons which I assume are as good as the rest of the site.
Perhaps someone who knows Quenya can post a "where-to-go" even more specific than this like I did for Sindarin. :)
There are two Elvish languages you can study.
Quenya: a language of lore, much like Latin, it had ceased to be spoken in LOTR. But it's easier to learn (some say) since Tolkien worked out its system more fully, and there's more words to choose from, more that you can read.
Sindarin: an Elvish language which had become the spoken language by the time of LOTR. It's the one used in the movies, by and large.
To learn Sindarin, I recommend:
1) Skim Fellowship of the Wordsmith's summary of Sindarin grammar (http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/language1.htm#singrammar). Then check out their complete analyses of the movies' elvish (http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/movie.htm).
2) Go to the best-known website for all Elvish languages: Ardalambion (http://www.ardalambion.com). Helge's page on Sindarin: the Noble Tongue (http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/sindarin.htm) is more comprehensive and is how I learned most of what I know.
3) But that page can be intimidating because it covers so much at once. Go to Council of Elrond's (http://www.councilofelrond.com) Elvish 101 forum and step-by-step lessons in Sindarin. There are people to answer your questions and help you along.
Of course, there are also many such people here!
Now I haven't started Quenya, but Ardalambion (http://www.ardalambion.com) listed above has excellent Quenya resources and lessons which I assume are as good as the rest of the site.
Perhaps someone who knows Quenya can post a "where-to-go" even more specific than this like I did for Sindarin. :)