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In the other sections I have discussed the creator of Middle Earth, and the many races that inhabit its world. I shall now focus on the Elves and their languages and writings.
There are two types of Elvish, each coming from the mother language called Eldarin. This language got its name from those who speak it, the Eldar. Eldar was originally the name of all Elves, but that changed.
The first language that came from Eldarin is called Quenya, and the other is called Sindarin. Quenya is also known as High-Elven. The ones who speak Quenya are still called the Eldar or the Quendi, Not all elves count as Eldar. Instead Eldar is a title for the three kindreds of elves that accepted a summons by the Valar (Holy spirits that came from the original creator, Illuvatar) to go on The Great Journey over the sea to the land of Aman, a great western continent that was free of evil (Foster 414).
In the third age, Quenya is not spoken for any situations excluding ceremonies, and for “high matters of lore and song, by the high elves that had returned in exile to middle earth at the end of the first age” (The Return of The King 407). Sindarin had the same mother language as Quenya, but it developed differently. When a group of Elves, named the Teleri (who happened to be the largest group of the Eldar), remained in middle earth instead of crossing the sea with their kin, they were no longer considered to be the Eldar. These elves were called the Sindar or Grey Elves. The language developed for many years in Middle Earth. By the time that the High-Elves returned in exile, Sindarin had become the dominant language. The exiles adopted it for daily use. In The Lord of The Rings, Sindarin is primarily what is spoken.
The development of the Sindarin language represents another important sociolinguist concept. This concept is called language change. In 1871, August Schleicher created the “Family Tree Theory”. This theory assumed that languages all stemmed from a larger mother language, and every language created from that language was a branch. For Sindarin, the mother language was called Eldarin. Then, a branch would come down and it would show a split between the two languages of Sindarin, and Quenya.
There are two types of Elvish, each coming from the mother language called Eldarin. This language got its name from those who speak it, the Eldar. Eldar was originally the name of all Elves, but that changed.
The first language that came from Eldarin is called Quenya, and the other is called Sindarin. Quenya is also known as High-Elven. The ones who speak Quenya are still called the Eldar or the Quendi, Not all elves count as Eldar. Instead Eldar is a title for the three kindreds of elves that accepted a summons by the Valar (Holy spirits that came from the original creator, Illuvatar) to go on The Great Journey over the sea to the land of Aman, a great western continent that was free of evil (Foster 414).
In the third age, Quenya is not spoken for any situations excluding ceremonies, and for “high matters of lore and song, by the high elves that had returned in exile to middle earth at the end of the first age” (The Return of The King 407). Sindarin had the same mother language as Quenya, but it developed differently. When a group of Elves, named the Teleri (who happened to be the largest group of the Eldar), remained in middle earth instead of crossing the sea with their kin, they were no longer considered to be the Eldar. These elves were called the Sindar or Grey Elves. The language developed for many years in Middle Earth. By the time that the High-Elves returned in exile, Sindarin had become the dominant language. The exiles adopted it for daily use. In The Lord of The Rings, Sindarin is primarily what is spoken.
The development of the Sindarin language represents another important sociolinguist concept. This concept is called language change. In 1871, August Schleicher created the “Family Tree Theory”. This theory assumed that languages all stemmed from a larger mother language, and every language created from that language was a branch. For Sindarin, the mother language was called Eldarin. Then, a branch would come down and it would show a split between the two languages of Sindarin, and Quenya.