Full Description
From the 1910s to the 1970s, author and linguist J. R. R. Tolkien worked at creating plausibly realistic languages to be used by the creatures and characters in his novels. Like his other languages, Sindarin was a new invention, not based on any existing or artificial language. By the time of his death, he had established fairly complete descriptions of two languages, the 'elvish' tongues Quenya and Sindarin. He was able to compose poetic and prose texts in both, and he also constructed a lengthy sequence of changes for both from an ancestral 'proto-language,' comparable to the development of historical languages and capable of analysis with the techniques of historical linguistics. In A Gateway to Sindarin, David Salo has created a volume that is a serious look at an entertaining topic. Salo covers the grammar, morphology, and history of the language. Supplemental material includes a vocabulary, Sindarin names, a glossary of terms, and an annotated list of works relevant to Sindarin. What emerges is an homage to Tolkien's scholarly philological efforts.
Contents
List of Tables Preface List of Abbreviations 1. The History of Sindarin 2. The Sounds of Sindarin 3. Sindarin Writing Systems 4. Historical Phonology of Sindarin 5. Mutations 6. Nouns 7. Adjectives 8. Pronouns 9. Verbs 10. Adverbs, Prefixes, and Prepositions 11. Conjunctions 12. The Article 13. Interjections 14. Word Formation 15. Compound Words and Names 16. Loanwords in Sindarin 17. Syntax Appendix 1. Extant Texts in Sindarin Appendix 2. A Sindarin-English Glossary Appendix 3. Eldarian Roots Appendix 4. An English-Sindarin Glossary Appendix 5. Sindarin Names Appendix 6. Miscellanea Glossary of Linguistic Terms Annotated Bibliography Addendum
