Welsh: Difference between revisions

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'''Welsh''' is the [[Celtic]] language spoken throughout Wales and some nearby parts of England. [[Mark T. Hooker]] observes that "Tolkien's definition of Welsh does not exactly coincide with the modern perceptions of the word. When Tolkien says Welsh, it is as a portmanteau that includes Cornish and Breton as well."<ref>[[Mark T. Hooker]], ''[[Tolkien and Welsh]]'', p. 1</ref>
{{quote|Welsh is of this soil, this island, the senior language of the men of Britain; and Welsh is beautiful.|[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]<ref name=TW/>{{rp|189}}}}
'''Welsh''' is the [[Celtic]] language spoken throughout Wales and some nearby parts of England. [[Mark T. Hooker]] observes that "Tolkien's definition of Welsh does not exactly coincide with the modern perceptions of the word. When Tolkien says Welsh, it is as a portmanteau that includes Cornish and Breton as well."<ref name=TW>[[Mark T. Hooker]], ''[[Tolkien and Welsh]]''</ref>{{rp|1}}


==Sindarin==
==Sindarin==
 
{{quote|The names of persons and places in this story were mainly composed on patterns deliberately modelled on those of Welsh (closely similar but not identical). This element in the tale has given perhaps more pleasure to more readers than anything else in it.|J.R.R. Tolkien<ref>{{HM|MC}}, p. 197</ref>}}
[[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] admits to have been greatly inspired by Welsh when creating the [[Elvish]] language [[Sindarin]].<ref>{{PE|17}}, p. 40</ref> Several similarities have been pointed out:
[[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] admits to have been greatly inspired by Welsh when creating the [[Elvish]] language [[Sindarin]].<ref>{{PE|17}}, p. 40</ref> Several similarities have been pointed out:


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Editor [[Carl F. Hostetter]] has noted that the singular form ''[[lotheg]]'' is formed by the addition of a diminuitive/singular ending ''-eg/-ig'' to the plural form ''[[loth]]'', much like in Welsh where a singular noun can derive "from a plural form by the addition of a singular ending".<ref>{{VT|42a}}, p. 30 (note 42)</ref>
Editor [[Carl F. Hostetter]] has noted that the singular form ''[[lotheg]]'' is formed by the addition of a diminuitive/singular ending ''-eg/-ig'' to the plural form ''[[loth]]'', much like in Welsh where a singular noun can derive "from a plural form by the addition of a singular ending".<ref>{{VT|42a}}, p. 30 (note 42)</ref>
===[[Lenition]]===
===[[Lenition]]===
==External links==
==External links==
*{{WP|Welsh language}}
*{{WP|Welsh language}}

Revision as of 10:55, 6 April 2018

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"Welsh is of this soil, this island, the senior language of the men of Britain; and Welsh is beautiful."
J.R.R. Tolkien[1]:189

Welsh is the Celtic language spoken throughout Wales and some nearby parts of England. Mark T. Hooker observes that "Tolkien's definition of Welsh does not exactly coincide with the modern perceptions of the word. When Tolkien says Welsh, it is as a portmanteau that includes Cornish and Breton as well."[1]:1

Sindarin

"The names of persons and places in this story were mainly composed on patterns deliberately modelled on those of Welsh (closely similar but not identical). This element in the tale has given perhaps more pleasure to more readers than anything else in it."
― J.R.R. Tolkien[2]

Tolkien admits to have been greatly inspired by Welsh when creating the Elvish language Sindarin.[3] Several similarities have been pointed out:

Singular/Plural

Editor Carl F. Hostetter has noted that the singular form lotheg is formed by the addition of a diminuitive/singular ending -eg/-ig to the plural form loth, much like in Welsh where a singular noun can derive "from a plural form by the addition of a singular ending".[4]

Lenition

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Mark T. Hooker, Tolkien and Welsh
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays, p. 197
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 40
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 42, July 2001, p. 30 (note 42)