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{{short description|Tolkien's theory of language}}
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{{Use British English|date=February 2022}}
[[J. R. R. Tolkien]] was both a [[philologist]] and an author of [[high fantasy]]. He had a private theory that the sound of words was directly connected to their meaning, and that certain sounds were inherently beautiful. Scholars believe he intentionally chose words and names in [[Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien|his constructed Middle-earth languages]] to create feelings such as of beauty, longing, and strangeness. Tolkien stated that he wrote his stories to provide a setting for his languages, rather than the other way around. Tolkien constructed languages for the [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]] to sound pleasant, and the [[Black Speech]] of the evil land of [[Mordor]] to sound harsh; [[Poetry in The Lord of the Rings|poetry suitable for various peoples]] of his invented world of [[Middle-earth]]; and many place-names, chosen to convey the nature of each region. The theory is individual, but it was in the context of literary and artistic movements such as [[Vorticism]], and earlier [[nonsense verse]] that stressed language and the sound of words, even when the words were apparently nonsense.
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[[File:Aerlinn in Edhil o Imladris.png|thumb|Untranslated, but still appreciated:{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=129–131}} the long version of "A Elbereth Gilthoniel," written in Tolkien's [[Tengwar]] script]]
The linguist [[Allan Turner (scholar)|Allan Turner]]{{sfn|Honegger|Vanderbeke|2014}} writes that "the sound pattern of a language was the source of a special aesthetic pleasure" for Tolkien.{{sfn|Turner|2013|pp=330–331}} In his essay about [[Constructed language|constructing languages]], "[[A Secret Vice]]", Tolkien wrote that
{{blockquote|The communication factor has been very powerful in directing the development of language; but the more individual and personal factor—pleasure in articulate sound, and in the symbolic use of it, independent of communication though constantly in fact entangled with it – must not be forgotten for a moment."<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1983|p=208}}</ref> }}
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* {{cite book |last=Martin |first=Philip |title=The writer's guide to fantasy literature : from dragon's lair to hero's quest: how to write fantasy stories of lasting value |publisher=Writer Books |publication-place=Waukesha, Wisconsin |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-87116-195-6 |oclc=49379142}}
* {{cite book |last=Podhorodecka |first=Joanna |year=2007 |chapter=Is ''lámatyáve'' a linguistic heresy. Iconicity in J. R. R. Tolkien's invented languages |editor1-last=Tabakowska |editor1-first=Elżbieta |editor2=Ljungberg, Christina |editor3=Fischer, Olga |title=Insistent Images. Iconicity in language and literature. Proceedings of the Fifth Symposium in Language and Literature |pages=103–110 |___location=Amsterdam/Philadelphia |publisher=[[John Benjamins Publishing Company|John Benjamins]] |isbn=978-9027243416 |url=https://www.academia.edu/19105666|doi=10.1075/ill.5.11pod}}
* {{cite journal |last=Robinson |first=Christopher L. |title=What Makes the Names of Middle-earth So Fitting? Elements of Style in the Namecraft of JRR Tolkien |journal=[[Names (journal)|Names]] |volume=61 |issue=2 |year=2013 |pages=
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