I need some reasons...

[The Saucepan Man]

Why do we discuss Tolkien here on the Downs? Because it's something we enjoy and it gives us a better appreciation of his tales.

Wanting to learn Elvish is a similar thing. It's not for me, but if you enjoy it then why not?

Although having said that, I do find it amusing that people are queuing up to learn Elvish when teachers seem to have such a hard time getting children to learn real life languages (or at least they did when I was at school).

And why not any of the other Middle-earth languages. I suppose it's that Elvish (both Sindarin and Quenya) are so much more developed than others.

[Formendacil]

I can understand wanting to learn Quenya or Sindarin. I'm not a linguist or philogist by any means, but I have always been fascinated by foreign languages, and wish I could speak them.

However....

I am far too lazy to spend that much time on any language other than English. Also, I think my mind is far too strongly grounded in this crazy language. I have become quite proficient in it, and have thus perhaps lost my ability to wrap my mind around other tongues.

I can pronounce Quenya and Sindarin better than the man on the street, and I know the common roots, but that's it.

I can pronounce Latin, recognise various words, have various prayers committed to memory, and can vaguely grasp a bit of the grammatical structure, but that's it...

I love the sounds of German, Anglo-Saxon, and the Meditarrean languages. I love foreign accents. But I don't know any more than a couple phrases and words in German. And in French, but French I don't enjoy as much...

That's it. I understand the motive, but not the drive to translate it into effort. I applaud you for it, though!

[Celebuial]

I've also been attempting to learn Quenya and Sindarin. I've been doing it for about two years but I haven't got very far because I'm also studying for my A-levels. Most of my friends think I'm crazy but a few understeand. Some of them have even started to reply to my greetings in the same tongue!

Who cares what your friends think? Eventually they'll get used to it. One guy that I just met in Russia can speek Gailic(ok I cant spell that!) and although he belives that I'm insane and taking things too far, he normally translates anything I say in Elvish to English, French or German (and sometimes Spanish) for our other friends.

I say you should just go for it! I'm sure you're friends have obsessions that you don't understand or share but you just have to accept that that is a part of them, and they'll just have to accept that Elvish is a part of you!

[Finwe-89]

Most important reason: It's fun, and enjoyable!

[Child of the 7th Age]

Shadow_lady,

Good question!

This isn't the first time nor will it be the last that someone will tell you something you want to do or learn is irrelevant or useless. It will probably happen many times in various contexts so the best thing to do is block your ears to the carping and learn to stand your ground in a polite but stubborn way. The worst thing you could do is to change who you are or what you want to do solely on the basis of what others say. If you start "caving in" on little things like learning Elvish, you're going to yield to the same kinds of pressures when it comes to the big decisions such as figuring out what you want to do with your life.

I had to smile when your friend urged you to take Latin. Years ago I grew up in a neighborhood of factory workers. When I told my family and friends I wanted to learn Latin, I got an earful about how a study of a dead language was a particularly useless way to spend your day. I plugged my ears, took four years of Latin, and went on to use Latin both in undergraduate and grad school. In a very real sense, 'applicability' is in the eye of the beholder.

I could give you a whole list of reasons why Elvish (or Latin) is something that has 'practical' value, but other people have already mentioned many of those things. The plain truth is that Tolkien had it right. We are all sub-creators. It is built into our souls, and that is reason enough for each of us to explore a thousand different worlds. For some subcreation is learning Elvish or writing poetry; for others it's craftsmanship, the impulse to heal or fix, or to raise a garden or a family. Who can judge which of these endeavors is more worthwhile than the other?

Yes, it's possible for someone to give you 'practical advice', to point out that a particular choice is more or less likely to lead you to the point where you can eventually gain employment or reap some kind of monetary reward. But the 'worth' of an endeavor to you as a person is something entirely different.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Just tell your friend that you are having fun and you enjoy doing it. Then ask her why she watches professional wrestling or goes to Nascar races or does embroidery or collects beetles or does whatever useless entertainment she enjoys.

And tell her that Fordim Hedgethistle says *sheesh*.

[alatar]

When I first picked up the books, many years ago, I read over everything and looked into the languages that Tolkien created. It held my interest for a while as I would interpret the names of people and places in the books, hoping to glean any additional information that I could. Now, there's barely time to read the books..

Anyway, in regards to your question, you might not want to bother wasting time trying to defend your choice as most people will see it as odd and as a complete waste of time - but so what? It's your time to 'waste' and as long as you are balancing it with other commitments (i.e. "I decided to quit my job in order study Elvish 24/7..." ), where's the issue?

I find it odd that on a beautiful day people (many in my own extended family) will sit on the couch for hours screaming at men playing with a ball on the television. But I guess there's some justifiably good noble important reason for this activity that I must be missing.

Good luck with your studies, as you never know where they will lead you.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

A waste of time and energy? Not useful?

What does your friend mean by 'waste'? As to utility, she is utterly wrong. The activity is a highly useful way to occupy yourself.

But 'waste', hmm.......that's a strange thing to say. In a way, all energy is wasted. But then again, it's there to waste. Moreover, it is there for you to waste.

And time cannot be wasted. You do not own it and you cannot do anything useful with it, let alone waste it.

I disagree with your friend. And I greatly admire you for learning some Elvish.