Art and Literature News

From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages

Posted by on November 16, 2011 at 11:56 pm

From Elvish to KlingonFun fact: I was going to write this entire post in Elvish.

I kid.

Or do I?

Moving on.

Michael Adams’s From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages seems to be one of those books that promises nerds like us the opportunity to get a different take on Tolkien as a linguist. Chapter four, specifically, is dedicated to the man and to his fifteen (FIFTEEN!) invented languages. The only invented language I ever experience is when my husband talks in his sleep.

And while fans of Tolkien will definitely want to pick this one up,  the other chapters sound enjoyable as well. There are essays on sci-fi languages, gaming language (Simlish, anyone?), dystopian vocabulary, and even revitalized languages. Word nerds, world-builders, armchair linguists – I think everyone can find something fun in here. I’ll be picking this one up pretty soon and will offer a full review later on.

 

 

 

 

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Author: From time out of mind, Oloriel has been typing away in her little apartment, cats at her feet, hoping to reach out to other fantasy lovers by way of folkandfairy.com. Her discovery of Tolkien as a young adult awakened her long-dormant love of the otherworldly, and now she sees magic everywhere. Oloriel has a degree in writing, which she put to work during a three-year stint in vanity publishing – an experience not unlike purgatory and very much like having to read 20 bad books each week – which she prefers not to talk about. To renew herself, she knits, naps, reads, prays, writes, walks in the woods, and eats too many cookies.

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