 |
 |
| Sindarin The Language of the Grey Elves |
| The Sindarin
language has it's roots in Common Telerin, which was derived from Primative Elvish. It was
spoken by the Grey elves, who had not traveled to Aman, staying instead in Beleriand.
Sindarin flourished in Middle Earth for many years, under going changes and becoming the
most widely spoken of all Eldarin tongues. Despite it's changes, "it was a fair
tongue still, well fitted to the forests, the hills, and the shores where it had taken
shape". When the Noldor returned to Middle Earth, Quenya and Sindarin widely differed from each other. Around this time, Sindarin had stabalized into what is considered classical Sindarin. At this time there were at least three dialects - the archaic form of Doriath, the Falathrim of the western coasts and the northern Mithrim. Upon the Noldor's arrival to Middle Earth, the Elves found their languages had grown too far apart to be mutually intelligible. The Noldor mastered the Grey-elven tongue quickly and began to use it in daily life, even translating their Quenya names to Sindarin forms. Some names were translated carefully and kept their meanings, such as Galadriel's was. But some simply adapted their names to Sindarin sounds or incorporated both languages, sometimes losing the meanings in the transformation. The use of Sindarin by the Noldor was hastened by Thingol's banning of Quenya after learning of the killing of his kin during the Noldor revolt. Thus Sindarin became the speech of the Noldor, Quenya now being the language of books, except in the royal houses where it was still spoken. When the Edain entered Beleriand, they soon learned Sindarin, their own language being distantly related to the Elven-tongues. The Edain adopted Sindarin as a common language, some speaking it as skillfully as the Elves. However, the House of Haleth did not speak it well, nor did they show much interest in it. The use of Sindarin spread further when the Edain sailed and established Númenor. The majority of the people used Adûnaic as their daily speech, but most had some knowledge of Sindarin. However, the descendants of Beor used Sindarinas their first language. Under the reigns of Ar-Gimilzôr and Ar-Pharazôn the use of all Eldarin speech was banned. But through the surviving Elf-friends, Sindarin remained in use among the Edain even after the fall of Númenor. The Grey-elven tongue was used in the newly formed realms of Arnor and Gondor. Adûnaic became the language of the common people, while Sindarin was spoken by the literate class and those of high birth. The use of Sindarin was a sign of Númenórean descent and not taught to other Men. After the destruction of Beleriand, Sindarin spread once again among the Elves, this time to the realms of the Silvan Elves who dwelt in the East. In the Third Age it had displaced the Silvan tongues in the regions of Mirkwood and Lórien. Here it aquired an accent so that those who were not well aquainted with Sindarin might believe it to be a Silvan tongue, as Frodo did upon meeting the Elves of Lórien. Although in these realms some Silvan words did survive and were incorporated into Sindarin. In the Third Age, only the Dúnedain were the only Men who knew and spoke Sindarin, a sign of their Númenórean descent. Though it is not known for sure, perhaps Sindarin, along with Quenya, was kept alive in Gondor throughout the Fourth Age. The following part of 'A hymn to Elbereth' illustrates Sindarin's usage;
|
|
| The Languages: Return to the list of languages found in J.R.R. Tolkien's writings. |
|