The Languages of Middle-Earth: The Linguistic Genius of J.R.R. Tolkien

August 22, 2024

What is the first thing that comes to mind when one speaks of J.R.R. Tolkien? Probably epic battles, big adventures, and a world so elaborately explained that it comes very close to reality. But there is something else that heightens Tolkien’s work to an unparalleled literary brilliance: his languages. Middle Earth isn’t just a world with wizards and hobbits; it’s a world where its languages live as much as its characters do.

The Birth of Elvish

For Tolkien, language was more than a tool of communication; it was the world upon which his literature was based. Before the epic tales of Middle-earth even began to take shape, there were the languages. Chief among them is Elvish, a linguistic marvel that reflects the beauty and complexity of the Elves themselves.

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What truly makes these languages remarkable is their depth. As a professional philologist, Tolkien drew upon his extensive knowledge of real-world languages such as Finnish, Welsh, and Latin to form Elvish. He didn’t simply stop at inventing words but devised the history of these tongues, their evolution over time, and even dialects within them—making them as real as any spoken on Earth.

Dwarvish

While the Elvish languages are probably the most highly praised, the Dwarves’ tongue—Khuzdul—is no less interesting. Khuzdul is the language of secrets, known to the Dwarves alone and never disclosed to outsiders. Its sounds are rough and guttural, bearing a mirror from the Dwarves’ very essence of earth and stone—cultures of craftsmanship and tradition, yet resilient.

Tolkien created Khuzdul under immense influence from all Semitic languages, especially Hebrew, to give it a true sense of ancient mystery and weight. The names of Dwarves, drawn from their language, and the scant phrases that fall from their own tongues truly resonate with echoes of long—if not utterly enigmatic—sacred tradition. It is a language that’s not spoken but etched into the very soul of the Dwarven essence.

Black Speech

There is, of course, the Black Speech, the very language of Mordor, the mouth of Sauron. In Elvish, there is beauty and wisdom, but the Black Speech is a craft, a language with a will to dominate and control. It is rough and guttural; all those lyrical qualities Elvish contains, it definitely lacks—an artistic way to be horrifying.

Tolkien invented the Black Speech without any real function of aesthetic beauty. It is raw and harsh, mirroring the characteristic evils of Sauron and his underlings. Perhaps the most famous treatise on the Black Speech is the inscription scripted on the One Ring: “Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.” Even if one doesn’t understand what’s being said, the sound chills to the bone. A language of power—brutal and unforgiving.

Westron

The languages of the Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs might be exotic, but Westron is the lingua franca in Middle-earth. It is the language of Hobbits and Men, forming the tongue of many who cross through Tolkien’s world. Westron is not glorious or mysterious like Elvish or Dwarvish, but it holds the diverse peoples of Middle-earth together.

Using English with its several varieties, as Westron in Tolkien’s books, was a clever narratological move. It brings readers into great involvement with Middle-earth while keeping it open and gesturing to the richness of multi-linguistic reality below the surface. It serves to remind us that even in the imaginative world, what binds everyone together is communicating with each other.

The Linguistic Legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s languages do something more than flavor his stories; they give Middle Earth its soul. Every language attests to the culture, history, and values of the people that speak it. Such power is language, which Tolkien used to bring forth a world that is ancient and lived-in, which feels deeply real.

But Tolkien’s genius in linguistics is more than for scholars or enthusiasts of the fantasy genre. It reminds us of the presence of one of the most powerful tools that very much exists in the world. Language defines us and binds us to our histories and others in this world. In creating the languages of Middle-earth, Tolkien was not creating a world; he was exploring the very best of what it means to be human.