[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Well, just as I said that "thane" is only for Edain, I came across a "Thane Maedhros" - but it's said by a Beoring. I clearly haven't paid sufficient attention when I read this. What still needs to be proven though is whether "thane" would ever be used by an Elf to refer to another Elf. In any case, I kept Maedhros as Lord, leaving Thanes for the mortals.

Well, we do use what we're used to. I think Maedhros would be quite put out at being referred to as a vassal-lord, but that doesn't mean a Beoring wouldn't do it.

Given the ambiguity inherent in whether Maedhros is a king or not (he's in a similar position to Finrod, except for the abdication thing), 'Governor' or 'Warden' might actually be my preferred title for him. He is, theoretically, running Himring in the name of the High King, and it sets up a nice modern/ancient dichotomy with the Thane title. For additional ambiguity, the other Feanorions could just be "prince".

(It is possible that I choose my words based entirely on what would wind House Feanor up the most.)

(More historically, the name of the March of Maedhros suggests the Marcher Lords. I note that the Welsh term is cognate with 'baron'.)

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I know, but they should. (Well, I think so, because they do in Russian). Generally, English doesn't do as much word-building as Russian does, and I think this is part of it. I can't think of children-titles for all titles, but for some certainly. Going with knyaz, there are knyaginya (wife), knyazhich (son), and knyazhna (daughter). For king (korol) there is a related queen (koroleva); while "prince/princess" are usually used for their children by analogy to Western European languages, there is a possible "korolevich / korolevna" for their children. In fact, Luthien in this fic is a "korolevna" to Korol Thingol. But it's a moot point, mainly - I don't think the children-titles appear often enough to be ungainly, at least for "thane".

No need to invent diminutives when you can just find another language and mug it for vocab!

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

...Right. Which means I have to go back and make sure I actually call the Haladin leader a Chieftain.

I mean, you don't have to. It looks like the Haladin word being translated is just "Hal", meaning 'chief' or 'head'. I'm now amused by the idea of The Hal and The Beor both using the other's title as a veiled insult. ^_^ (Note: both of these are technically 'Taliska' words, from back when Taliska was the language of both Haleth and Beor. Given that both remain in use, we can probably assume they were split when Tolkien decided they were different languages.) Unlike the Beor, there's no overlord to give the Hal a different title - unless you think Thingol has come up with a word for 'that grubby lot squatting in my borderlands'.

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I am having trouble keeping my languages and canonicities straight... But it's worth it, I think. This book does a lot of world-building and language-building, a lot of it Elvish that goes over my head (there are too many Elvish dialects for their own good, and for mine too) but quite a bit of it real-language word-smithying, which is both confusing and delightful to track.

It does sound like a lot of fun.

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Currently my difficult word is "esteemed" as a form of address, as in "my dear Frodo", but when you want to say someone is not dear but, well, esteemed. I can totally hear the concept in my head playing out for someone like Bilbo (a respectable hobbit, one must say!), or Thorin (a most respectable and admirable Dwarf) - but while it sounds decent in third person I am not sure how it plays out as an epithet of address. "Most esteemed Bilbo, you are a wonderful hobbit and all, but so much journeying about across the Brandywine simply cannot be good for a hobbit!" Ugh.

I mean... you sound like Gandalf when you say that, so I think it works? Except I'd go with "my" over "most", like with 'dear'. Looking at terms of address in the British peerages, it looks like we mostly use Honourable and Reverend, with an occasional Much Honoured (Scottish feudal barons), Most Noble (Dukes and Marquesses), or Venerable (Anglican Archdeacons). So not a lot of use there. Given that English letter-writing went all-in on 'dear' a long time ago, I'm not sure you'll improve on 'esteemed' unless you literally stumble across something.

hS