Literary Mysteries: Did Tolkien Really Create Entire Languages for His Books?文學之謎：所有語言都是托爾金造的？

文/特雷西·芒福德 譯/鄧夢寒

By Tracy Mumford

Tancave!That’s Quenya for “yes.”

[2] Quenya is just one of the dozens of languages Tolkien dreamed up for the inhabitants of Middle Earth. Technically,it’s part of the Elvish language family,which has over 15 different languages and dialects within it.

[3] And that’s only the beginning.Tolkien created his first constructed language when he was just a teenager.He was a master of actual languages as well. He knew 35 different tongues,both ancient and modern—everything from Old Norse to Lithuanian. He taught himself Finnish for fun.

[4] For Tolkien, the languages came first. Middle Earth and the “Lord of the Rings” epics were created around his constructed languages. Basically, he invented words and needed speakers.

[5] He created the 15 different Elvish dialects, along with languages for the Ents, the Orcs, the Dwarves, the men and the Hobbits and more. He thought of everything: The Dwarves even had a separate sign language, because the forges they worked were too loud.

[6] If Tolkien had gotten his way,the books wouldn’t have even been in English at all. “I should have preferred to write in Elvish,” Tolkien said.

[7] Of all the languages Tolkien created, two have enough words and grammar to be considered functional.They’re not “complete,” in the sense that they lack niche words, like “ flambe”or “hydro nucleic acid,” but people do speak and write in them. These languages are both Elvish in origin:Quenya and Sindarin.

[8] When he died, Tolkien left behind a large number of unpublished works,many of which are still being studied.New words are still being uncovered.Tolkien was meticulous with his languages. His original manuscripts,which are at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., contain extensive notes in the margins about his word use.

[9] Curious folk who want to converse in Elvish themselves are in good company. The Internet abounds with language worksheets and pronunciation videos to kick start your studies.

[10] Quel marth! (Good luck!) ■

Tancave!這在昆雅語中意為“是的”。

[2]昆雅語只是托爾金為中土世界居民虛構的眾多語言之一。嚴格說來，它屬于精靈語系，該語系有超過15種不同的語言和方言。

[3]這只是開始。托爾金十幾歲時就自創了第一種虛構的語言。他也精通很多現實中的語言。他知曉35種不同語言，包括古代的和現代的——從古斯堪的那維亞語到立陶宛語。為了消遣，他還自學了芬蘭語。

[4]對托爾金而言，語言最重要。中土世界和“指環王”史詩系列皆圍繞他虛構的語言創造而來。從根本上講，他創造了話語和所需的說話者。

[5]他創造了15種不同的精靈方言，還為樹人、半獸人、矮人、人類和霍比特人等生物創造了各種語言。他把一切都想到了：矮人甚至還有一種單獨的手勢語，因為他們工作的鍛造環境噪音太大。

[6]如果由著托爾金自己，他甚至根本都不會用英文來寫這些書。“我更想用精靈語來寫。”托爾金說。

[7]在托爾金創造的所有語言中，有兩種語言擁有足量的詞匯和語法，被認為具有功能性。它們并不“完備”，因為缺少像flambe或hydro nucleic acid這樣的術語，但是人們說話和書寫的確都用它們。昆雅語和辛達林語都起源于精靈語。

[8]托爾金去世后，留下大量尚未出版的著作，其中許多仍在研究之中。人們還在不斷發現新的詞語。托爾金對自己創造的語言精益求精。他的原稿收藏在位于美國威斯康辛州密爾沃基市的馬凱特大學，稿中空白處標注了大量有關其詞語使用的注釋。

[9]想用精靈語交流的好奇者們可以成為好朋友。互聯網上有很多語言活頁練習和發音視頻可供展開研究。

[10] Quel marth！（祝你好運！） □

（譯者單位：上海交通大學）