English and Welsh

English and Welsh is the title of J.R.R. Tolkien's valedictory address to the University of Oxford of 1955, explaining the origin of the word "Welsh". In a lengthy sidenote, Tolkien discusses his notions of "native tongue" as opposed to "cradle tongue", and of an inherited taste of language. The lecture sheds light on Tolkien's conceptions of the connections of race, ethnicity and language.

The lecture was first published in J.R.R. Tolkien: Scholar and Storyteller. A slightly amended version of the address can be found in The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays.

See also

• cellar door