Glossopoeia and myth-making: The importance of linguistic creation in J.R.R. Tolkien's fiction

Abstract

J.R.R. Tolkien, high fantasy writer, poet and philologist, as well as Oxford professor of linguistics, created over 14 languages in the development of the background of his stories. From the cosmogonical creation myth of "The Silmarillion", to the fairy-story lightness of "The Hobbit" and the quest fantasy of "The Lord of the Rings", Tolkien’s fiction has its roots in the mythopoetic logics of his theory of creative writing (or myth-making). This dissertation will seek to understand Tolkien’s linguistic creation and his experiment of Quenya in particular, first in its historical and literary context, and then assess its linguistic merit and behaviors. In the first introductory chapter, Tolkien’s linguistic and academic background will be investigated, along with mythopoetic construction in the author’s legendarium, setting the scene for further linguistic analysis. In the second chapter, the timeline of Tolkien’s linguistic creation will be traced, starting from the delineation of the different Middle-earth languages, to the development of the more complex and articulated Quenya. The third and last chapter will deeply analyze Quenya language, focusing on its internal and external development. This thesis aims to explore how the authentic nature of the language is developed and evoked through the phonetics and phonology of Tolkien’s Quenya, using the poem “Namárië” from The Fellowship of the Ring for analysis. Smith (2010:7) argues that Tolkien created a “flowing,” “light and melodious” language, designed much like a Romance language, with no “potentially harsh” phonemes or “brusque English consonant clusters.” But with such claims must come evidence. This thesis provides the background research Smith (2010) lacks behind these claims, defining Quenya as a functional language, with clear patterns and tendencies towards particular phonetic and linguistic behaviors.