Tolkien and the 'other' N-word ;) - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Earendilyon · 10-24-2005, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

To keep this post from being wholly off-topic - it occurs to me that I didn't know the word "shibboleth" before reading HoMe XII.

You should read you Bible a bit better and you'd known it already

Lalaith · 11-08-2005, 12:43 PM

Quote:

bivouac

Celebuial, I'm completely amazed that Tolkien used that word, but I've just checked in my Adobe edition, and by jove, you're right.

Dwimmerlaik is my favorite Tolkien word. If I had a full edition of the OED to hand, I'd check to see if had ever been used before....

bilbo_baggins · 11-08-2005, 12:58 PM

Well, I did not learn any 'new' words in LoTR, but I got a good handle for how big a league and fathom was.

Part of Tolkien's archaic terminology is because he wrote these stories nearly 70 years ago, and because as a studier of languagest, I believe he suffered from lingual nostalgia.

And Early Celtic is much, much harsher with gutturals and dentals, rather than the breathy and labial Elvish I read in the books.

Fallenstar · 11-08-2005, 07:45 PM

my first major English reading task (I gave myself four years ago when I first arrived to Canada) was the Fellowship...I understood parts of it...more like just one fourth of it if I was lucky..I learned just about tons of words, I mean I never knew that "cry" can also mean speak out loud or shout, and I started wondering when I reached chapter three that why is everybody crying when they are not sad..

I learned a lot of new words thanks to LOTR, and after tons of re-reading I think I understood more every time.

Still trying to increase my vocabulary.

Holbytlass · 11-11-2005, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gothmog

Point is: it doesn't sound like in English which must have been hard for you anglo-speaking boys and girls in the beginning.

Hee-hee, how true, except for me it was second time 'round. First read, I just read through, in fact didn't know about the appendices till I got to the end of RotK, then I saw how wrong I was pronouncing many words and names.

Second read was when I took my time and looked up pronunciations and words in a dictionary.

P.S.-I remember that political incident, looked up the word at the time and got angry because the idiots who were mad never took the time to! So when I read it in RotK, already knew what it meant!

11-08-2005, 12:58 PM	#3
bilbo_baggins Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: May 2003 Location: In my front hallway, grabbing my staff, about to head out my door Posts: 275	Well, I did not learn any 'new' words in LoTR, but I got a good handle for how big a league and fathom was. Part of Tolkien's archaic terminology is because he wrote these stories nearly 70 years ago, and because as a studier of languagest, I believe he suffered from lingual nostalgia. And Early Celtic is much, much harsher with gutturals and dentals, rather than the breathy and labial Elvish I read in the books. __________________ "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and with more knowledge comes more grief."

11-08-2005, 07:45 PM	#4
Fallenstar Pile O'Bones Join Date: May 2005 Location: In the land of Eren, the Garden of Ilrandir the Creator. Posts: 11	my first major English reading task (I gave myself four years ago when I first arrived to Canada) was the Fellowship...I understood parts of it...more like just one fourth of it if I was lucky..I learned just about tons of words, I mean I never knew that "cry" can also mean speak out loud or shout, and I started wondering when I reached chapter three that why is everybody crying when they are not sad.. I learned a lot of new words thanks to LOTR, and after tons of re-reading I think I understood more every time. Still trying to increase my vocabulary. __________________ What Ship will bear me back, across so wide a Sea?