hobbit Langage

[Man of the Old Hope]

I'm not sure where that note (about feminine names ending in 'o') occurs in the appendices, but there are certainly plenty of masculine hobbitish names ending in 'o': Frodo, Bilbo, Drogo, Bungo, Polo, Lotho - to mention but a few.

The whole matter of 'translation' is one of the more fascinating aspects of Tolkien's Middle-Earth saga. The section of Appendix F "On Translation" is a sheer joy to read, especially so for me some twenty years ago after I had the opportunity to spend a semester studying Old English while at university. Tolkien philological prowess and love of language shines through his invented languages and his 'translations' of those languages: the 'translation' of Westron by modern English and of Rohirric by words redolent of Old English; his use of varying forms of modern English to represent dialects (such as the more antique, formal-feeling English used to 'translate' the Westron spoken in Gondor); the Finnish resonances of Quenya and the Cymric (Welsh) feel of Sindarin (I have a smattering of Cymraeg, more vocabulary than grammar, but one gets a real feel for the influence that Cymraeg - Welsh - had on Tolkien's development of Sindarin).

In Letter 144 (To Naomi Mitchison) Tolkien wrote:

'If it will interest you, I will send you a copy (rather rough) of the matter dealing with Languages (and Writing), Peoples and Translation.

'The latter has given me much thought. It seems seldom regarded by other creators of imaginary worlds, however gifted as narrators (such as Eddison). But then I am a philologist, and much though I should like to be more precise on other cultural aspects and features, that is not within my competence. Anyway 'language' is the most important, for the story has to be told, and the dialogue conducted in a language; but English cannot have been the language of any people at that time. What I have, in fact done, is to equate the Westron or wide-spread Common Speech of the Third Age with English; and translate everything, including names such as The Shire, that was in the Westron into English terms, with some differentiation of style to represent dialectical differences.'

Apropos hobbits, Tolkien's letters are full of explanations for how he came to choose the 'translations' that he did for given and family names among the hobbits.