Elvish Is King for Fans of 'Rings' (For LOTR afficionados only – others keep out)

The Daily Herald [Suburban Chicago] ^ | January 6, 2004 | Beth Sneller

[quidnunc]

It's not often that a linguist becomes a celebrity.

But for a roomful of die-hard "Lord of the Rings" fans, language expert David Salo merited as much awe as movie stars Liv Tyler or Orlando Bloom.

The man whom filmmaker Peter Jackson hired to translate Middle-earth languages spoke about his experiences working on the movies at Lisle Library on Monday.

Sporting an Elvish brooch on his vest, Salo spent a little more than an hour showing his listeners how he translated parts of the screenplay, explaining how he filled in the gaps for some of the languages and entertaining them with tales from the movie.

"Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien provided detailed guides to the languages — particularly Sindarin and Quenya, the Elvish languages.

So in many parts of the movies, Salo said, it simply was a matter of figuring out how the lines fit into the system Tolkien set up.

And yes, it really was a complex system.

"He's not just writing random sounds on a page," he said. "Each of them means something. It's part of a system."

Although Tolkien invented his languages, Salo said, he did borrow ideas from existing tongues, like Welsh and Finnish.

Salo used that same strategy when Jackson asked him to translate movie lines in languages Tolkien hadn't spelled out so clearly in his writings.

For instance, Jackson wanted Salo to write Dwarfish words for a men's chorus to sing when Frodo and his friends were traveling through the Mines of Moria in "The Fellowship of the Ring."

Tolkien hadn't specifically spelled out that particular tongue.

But everything the author had written indicated that the dwarves' word systems were Semitic in style, Salo said, so he figured the language should sound something like Hebrew or Arabic.

"I happened to be taking a course in Arabic at the time, so it worked out well," he said.

-snip-

[quidnunc]

Here is a video which LOTR and Star Trek fans may enjoy (but it won't be to everybody's taste so don't post any snarky, censorious replys to me if you don't like it!).

To Watch This Video Click Here

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[Land of the Free 04]

For LOTR afficionados only – others keep out

Afficionados of the book or the movies? I love the book, but much of the movies makes me cringe.

[camle]

what's real scary is that I have that album.

[newgeezer]

I thought I was an afficionado. But, as much as I really, really enjoy LOTR, being so much into the fictional languages is plainly over the edge. ;^)

[Caipirabob]

Hobbits: The other white meat...

[Prime Choice]

It's not often that a linguist becomes a celebrity.

Tell that to the Klingon-speaking Trekkies.

I'll learn Elvish only if I'm tutored individually by Liv Tyler.   (rrrrowrrrr)

[netmilsmom]

>>For LOTR afficionados only – others keep out<<

How about wanna-bes?

[Professional Engineer]

ping

[BushCountry]

I guess I will let her wash my car. };O)

[Prime Choice]

I guess I will let her wash my car.

*POUNCE*   Mine! MINEMINEMINE!! Not yours! MINE!

; )

[ecurbh]

Ring Ping!!

There and Back Again: The Journeys of Flat Frodo

Anyone wishing to be added to or removed from the Ring-Ping list, please don't hesitate to let me know.

[Conservomax]

Where, why and when was that video made?

[Sloth]

Who knew, the One Ring was actually a roll of duct tape.

[Gordian Blade]

Let's bring Star Wars into this for a tri-fecta. Q: Why is duct tape like The Force? A: Both have a light side, a dark side, and hold the universe together.

[StoneColdGOP]

Ping!

[MrConfettiMan]

When I first saw the title I thought it said, "Elvis is King for Fans of Rings." :)

[quidnunc]

Conservomax wrote: Where, why and when was that video made?

As near as I can determine Nimoy first recorded the song in 1969, though it is uncertain if it was filmed at the same time.

As to where and why it was made, your guess is as good as mine.

[Sloth]

"Vivaaaaaaaaaa Dol Guldur!"

[Colonel_Flagg]

Oh, my goodness gracious.

However, I'll let you guys fight over the lovely Liz Tyler. Just let me be first in line for Miranda Otto. :)