[Iarwain]

Allow me to quote Frodo. "I cannot read the fiery letters". He did not say "I cannot read the foul tounge" or "I cannot read the funky language". He specifically said "letters", meaning that he could not understand the bits of the alphabet displayed on the ring. Also, we can see that there were various forms of the tengwar, and that those displayed on the ring were a particularly archaic form. When Gandalf enters Hobbiton in Ch1 of the FotR, the children specifically notice the letter 'g' marked on all of the fireworks in his cart "g for grand" they say, but the g displayed in the text as the mark on the fireworks is not the tengwar g as shown in the ring inscription.<P>Iarwain