LotR --- Appendix E -- Writing and Spelling

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by davem

I can only speculate on Tolkien’s reasons for his use of C instead of K: probably because ‘Celeborn’, as written looks better than Keleborn: ‘K’ looks too sharp & angullar. ‘Celeborn’ looks more beautiful than ‘Keleborn’ (or ‘Seleborn’). In a written narrative the shape of the word as well as the sound plays a part: ‘Celeborn’ is a more attractive collection of letter shapes than, say ‘Ugluk’.

I think it is from the use of "C" in celtic languages as a hard "C" rather than a soft "C". The most famous example is probably Celtic FC; the football team is known as "Seltic", but the culture it's named after is "Keltic".

[Guinevere]

Have you read this appendix thoroughly, sketchily, or not at all?

In contrast to the part about the calendars, which was the only one that didn't really interest me, I studied this part quite thoroughly!

I think that for many of us the pronunciation guide in the first part of this Appendix is in the wrong place

True, but I was so curious that I had a look at the appendix as soon as I had got the books and noticed the pronounciation guide, so I had the right sound from the start. BtW, this was much easier for me than for people of English mothertongue, for mostly the letters are pronounced like in German. (e.g.Fëanor or Finwë don't need the "funky little dots" in the German edition) But I had to look up many English words in the dictionary just to find the right pronounciation, even if I knew the meaning! (eg "devour")

As for substituting K with C, Tolkien mentions in this appendix

The High-elven Quenia has been spelt as much like Latin as its sounds allowed. For this reason c has been preferred to k in both Eldarin languages

and if I remember rightly his son (CT) wrote somewhere that his father had for a long time written the names with K's and only in the last moment decided to use C's instead. (Can't find that reference now)

As to which syllable has to be stressed, I'm not always sure. (Neither is the movie-crew, who talk about Pelennor instead Pelennor fields and don't notice that "Mumakil" is the plural of Mumak)
I'm ever so glad I have that wonderdul CD with the recordings of Tolkien (and Christopher Tolkien) reading from his works!
I know Quenia was inspired by Finnish, but to me it sounds rather like Italian.


I love the Tengwar and the Cirth! Already when I read the Hobbit I thought it was great fun to find out the Dwarf runes from the map and Elrond's translation and to be able to decipher what was written on the title- page of the book!

Same with the LotR : I was determined to find out the meaning of the Cirth and Tengwar on the title-page. I soon found, that the Cirth, though looking similar, were not the same alphabet as the dwarf runes of the Hobbit!
However, the Cirth were relatively easy to decipher; the Tengwar proved much more difficult! No wonder if "none of the letters had in itself a fixed value"!
I wasn't interested in the values for Quenia or for Sindarin but those for English, and by studying this chapter closely managed finally not only to read the title-page inscription of LotR, but of the the Silmarillion and U.T. as well! I was quite proud! but later I found aTengwar chart in the Internet which made it much easier!

In one of Tolkien's letters there is another slightly different mode of "Elvish writing". (To a boy named Hugh Broghan, I believe)
I had bought a poster with the map of ME and all around this there were Tengwar - and I found that this was written in the mode of this "Broghan letter" .(with tengwar for the vowels instead of tehtar.)
About 2 years ago I was quite enthusiastic about all this. I even wrote a birthday letter to my brother in Tengwar!