New interview with Christopher Tolkien

[jallanite]

Originally Posted by Galin

And 'those described' would appear to point back to what was said about F, indicating a final -v sound in Gandalf as in Old Norse (if one assumes the name Gandalf is to be included here anyway).

I am not “assuming”. Gandalf is a name found in Old Norse and made of Old Norse elements. The same is true for Forn which is applied to Tom Bombadil, although it is not found in the Eddas.

I agree that the sentence you cite seems to mean that Tolkien’s rules about F should apply to the name Gandalf. However, as you point out, Tolkien elsewhere says that “Gandalf must be supposed to represent a Westron name”. Yet Tolkien elsewhere indicates that Westron represents English and Gandalf is not an English name.

Tolkien is not always perfectly consistent. The tie-breaker is that Tolkien’s own pronunciation of Gandalf with the last letter pronounced f indicates what Tolkien intended despite places where, if Tolkien’s words are pressed to the full, that is not what he is saying.

Gandalf, I see, as Tolkien’s representation of an Old Norse name in English and slightly Anglicized.