Lord of the Rings : The Return of the Read - Appendix F: I. The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age
Words, words, words.
Tolkien uses this section to illuminate us on the nature and history of languages in Middle Earth, including the "true" language of the saga (ie. not English). The different races, and sometimes the different strata of races, have their own linguistic histories that have brushed against each other over the centuries. The older languages retain an air of higher order and sophistication, particularly the Elvish tongues (aided, no doubt, by their longer years and deep dedication to lore) and that of the Numenoreans.
While many of the languages influenced each other, the Black Speech stands alone in its form, a likely creation of Sauron himself. While it bled into other languages, it was a language with such a limited and focused use that reciprocal adoptions would be stagnated. It only served as a "common tongue" for those in deep service to Sauron, and I also do not see him as someone responding lightly to attempts to reshape his language.
I remember some of the history of the Dwarves, and to them alone it also makes sense that they have a unique and secretive language, but that will have to wait until The Silmarillion.
Tolkien uses this section to illuminate us on the nature and history of languages in Middle Earth, including the "true" language of the saga (ie. not English). The different races, and sometimes the different strata of races, have their own linguistic histories that have brushed against each other over the centuries. The older languages retain an air of higher order and sophistication, particularly the Elvish tongues (aided, no doubt, by their longer years and deep dedication to lore) and that of the Numenoreans.
While many of the languages influenced each other, the Black Speech stands alone in its form, a likely creation of Sauron himself. While it bled into other languages, it was a language with such a limited and focused use that reciprocal adoptions would be stagnated. It only served as a "common tongue" for those in deep service to Sauron, and I also do not see him as someone responding lightly to attempts to reshape his language.
I remember some of the history of the Dwarves, and to them alone it also makes sense that they have a unique and secretive language, but that will have to wait until The Silmarillion.
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