The Common Tongue and Latin

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Galin

If you mean Westron is English, then no . . . but if you mean Tolkien has, in theory, translated Westron with English, then yes!

I actually did mean English - specifically English in the current time. A language that many people learn as a second language, that aids in communication between people from different places (like the Downs!), that is the go-to for any large scale communication. I would argue that the Common Tongue is the functional equivalent of modern English - not because of anything Tolkien "translated", but because of its usage by the characters.

[Galin]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I actually did mean English - specifically English in the current time. A language that many people learn as a second language, that aids in communication between people from different places (like the Downs!), that is the go-to for any large scale communication. I would argue that the Common Tongue is the functional equivalent of modern English - not because of anything Tolkien "translated", but because of its usage by the characters.

Sorry for the ambiguity. I was "talking to" R.R. J Tolkien. I knew what you were getting at.

And that said, a linguist named Elhath has just added a very interesting post (elsewhere) which looks at a number of actual Westron forms compared to Catalan.

And as not-a-linguist, I'll shaddap for now