“Mae g'ovannen!” means “well met!” in Sindarin and is commonly used to greet people. In Quenya, general greetings and thanks include “namárië” (be well), “aiya” (hello), and “hara máriessë” (stay in happiness).
King of CrispsOf course there were many who spoke elvish in Gondor even though they had no contact with them. The very name Boromir is Sindarin just as Faramir. Denethor is older than that and derives from king Denethor who came with the Nandor to help Thingol in the first battle of Beleriand.
Said that, Quenya is a bit difficult, Sindarin is a hell. The difficult part in Quenya are the declinations (if you're a spanish/german/french speaker it won't be so difficult, because we have also a lot of declinations in our languages) and in Sindarin are the mutations (there are very very very few in english).
Legolas was a Sindarin Elf who was part of the Fellowship of the Ring in the Third Age. Son of the Elvenking Thranduil of Mirkwood, Legolas was Mirkwood's prince, a messenger, and a master archer.
Quenya and Sindarin were related, with many cognate words but differing greatly in grammar and structure. Sindarin is said to be more changeful than Quenya, and there were during the First Age a number of regional dialects.
This was later called Quenya (High-elven) and is one of the two most complete of Tolkien's languages (the other being Sindarin, or Grey-elven). The phonology and grammar of Quenya are strongly influenced by Finnish, Latin, Greek and elements of ancient Germanic languages, and Sindarin is strongly influenced by Welsh.
I greet you! Le suilon! Well met! Mae g'ovannen!
You see, there are some people who can speak Elvish, but then that's really not too hard if you've learned the pronouncements for a couple of weeks and you can read it off a paper. However there are nil-to very very few people who can actually speak it.
Ni Meleth le, Belethcristion!
What language is closest to Elvish? Quenya was designed to sound somewhat like Finnish, while Sindarin was designed to sound somewhat like Welsh.
However the word Elvish used in Lord of the Rings refers to Sindarin, since it was the main vernacular and living Elven language of Middle-earth, during the time the events of the book happened. Quenya and Sindarin are the most developed languages that Tolkien made, and the only ones someone can study, learn and use.
Quenya is only spoken by the high elves as described in the Silmarillion. Personally, I like Quenya more, especially the script, but I choose to start with Sindarin as it is more well known. Maybe if you learn it to such an extent you could create the course here on Duolingo.
Notable features
- Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines.
- Tengwar is written is a number of different ways known as "modes".
- Vowels are indicated by diacritics (tehtar) which appear above the consonant which precedes them (in Quenya mode) or above the consonant which follows them (in Sindarin mode).
Seeing that High Valyrian from Game of Thrones is being taught here in duolingo, it is only fitting enough to teach elvish as well (specifically sindarin). Elvish is not only a beautiful language, but a historical one as well. It has touched the minds and the hearts of people all over the world.
It's difficult. I started a course, but there is no way that you will start speaking the language. the only think you may succeed in 2-3 months of continuous study is to understand phrases and probably write down your own (but really slowly and always using the dictionary).
Aragorn's mother also lived in Rivendell with him, so it is likely that he learned Westron (the Common Tongue) from her. His tutors would also have made sure he knew it, as they were well aware of his identity (though he himself was not) and therefore of the languages he would need to know in adulthood.
Arwen is definitely descended from King Thingol through his daughter Luthien to Elrond, her father. And, as was noted, Legolas was a son of Thranduil, and Thranduil might have been a descendant of Thingol, as well.
Legolas was probably bilingual (Sindarin and Silvan dialect). Lorien was mostly Sindarin speaking with a few dialectal phrasings and words still remaining, but in Mirkwood there were speakers of both languages.
2 Answers. Aragorn isn't a half-elf, he's a tiny fraction of an elf. Elros, who was a half-elf (actually 9/16), was his very remote ancestor. But more importantly, the heirs of Elros were not given the choice to be elven or human, although the Valar did grant them unusually long life-spans.
Aragorn: [Sindarin]'Sit down, Legolas. '
When Aragorn was two years old, his father was slain when an Orc arrow pierced his eye. As was the tradition of his people, Aragorn was fostered in Rivendell by Elrond as if he was his own son. The Wise decided that his identity was to be kept secret, as he would be vulnerable to the Enemy.
| Galadriel |
|---|
| Location | Tirion, Doriath, Nargothrond, Harlindon, Eriador, Eregion, Imladris, Belfalas, Lothlórien |
| Affiliation | White Council |
| Language | Quenya, Sindarin, Westron, and Silvan Elvish |
| Birth | Y.T. 1362 Tirion |
Mîbo orch! (or Bado mîbo orch!) ….. Go kiss an orc! Lasto lalaith nín! ….. Listen to my laughter!
vanimelda adj., said to be "the highest word of praise for beauty", with two interpretations that were apparently considered equally valid and simultaneously true: "beautiful and beloved" (vanima + melda, with haplology), i.e. "movingly lovely", but also "elven-fair" (fair as an Elf) (vanima + elda).
Aragorn [to Legolas]: 'Thank you. '
Literal: Good! Sindarin: Ma! Literal: It can't be so! Sindarin: Û!
If you knew you were going to Middle-earth but not when, Sindarin would be your best bet. If you want to write in the language itself, Quenya would be far easier. /u/eremiticjude was correct that we have no record of either language in a single phase complete enough to be fluent in.
A collection of useful phrases in
Quenya, a member of the Amanya branch of the
Elvish language family invented by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Useful phrases in Quenya.
| Phrase | Quenya |
|---|
| Pleased to meet you | Vandë omentaina Saesa omentien lle (Pleasure meeting you) |
| Good morning (Morning greeting) | |
| Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting) | |
