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Jvalin
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Post The easiest to learn..
on: May 16, 2005 09:13
First off, Hello!

I can't believe I haven't found this before. I feel like I have wasted alot of years.
I have browsed through alot of posts and from what I gather:
Sindarian is the common Elf language and
Quenya is more of a formal Elf language.

I have tried and can't seem to find a section here on Dwarven. I have most fonts of the Tolkien language.
I also have several starter guides of all 3 of these languages in word or PDF. But I digress.

My son is a fan of Lotr as I am. He really wants to learn 1 of the lanuages. I will have to and want to learn it with him. He is 11. Which laguage would be best to get him started on?

I thank you for your reply and look forward to spending some time here.

Cheers,
Jvalin
Fíriel
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Post RE: The easiest to learn..
on: May 16, 2005 11:42
Hi Jvalin!

tried and can't seem to find a section here on Dwarven.


That's because Dwarvish (or 'Khuzdul') is an even more incomplete language than Quenya or Sindarin. Very little is known about the vocabulary or the grammar, and any sites that claim to teach Dwarvish have either made up a substantial amount or are not actually about Tolkien's Dwarvish. What we know about Khuzdul is summarised in this Ardalambion article.

My son is a fan of Lotr as I am. He really wants to learn 1 of the lanuages. I will have to and want to learn it with him. He is 11. Which laguage would be best to get him started on?


Some will tell you they found Quenya easier, or Sindarin more challenging (for instance), so you might be interested in the language for that reason. However, I'm going to say that you study the Elvish tongue to which you (or your son) felt an instant attraction -- some people, for example, fall in love with Sindarin as soon as they see it, others Quenya. (Quenya's inspiration was Finnish (and also similar to Latin, I believe), Sindarin's Welsh, both Elvish tongues emulating to some degree the grammar and sounds of their inspirations. Thus, if you've encountered Latin inflections before, you might find Quenya easier. Or you might want to avoid it for that reason. Same goes for Welsh consonant mutations and Sindarin. )

If you're one of many who's impartial either way, try to make an informed decision by looking at compositions in the language or by reading articles like the Guide. You should know though that while Quenya is thought to be easier than Sindarin (not something I necessarily agree with ), both sets of courses presented on this site can get rather technical in nature, something to take into account for your son.

[Edited on 17/5/2005 by Fíriel]
Fallendil
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Post RE: The easiest to learn..
on: May 18, 2005 03:19
I tried to start studying Sindarin some time ago but it was before some of today´s great resources became available. I got discouraged and looked at Quenya instead. I am happy to have finally come back to Sindarin! Personally, I feel that Quenya is more obviously beautiful, with every word sounding wonderful. The problem with that is that it is difficult to feel natural when speaking it. The beauty of Sindarin mainly seems to come from the strange and mysterious ways in which sentences are constructed.
gwendeth
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Post RE: The easiest to learn..
on: May 18, 2005 04:17
It is very much a matter of 'preference', and Fíriel's answer

For me, I started out with Quenya, but didn't get very far. I switched to Sindarin for two reasons: one - the 'sound' of the language is very beautiful to me, and I kept hearing it was 'harder' to learn. heh I can't resist a challenge! - But, for me, though, Sindarin is 'easier'.
"Tolo si, a tiro i cherth Eru" "Come now, and see the works of God"
Jvalin
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Post RE: The easiest to learn..
on: May 18, 2005 05:01
Thank you for your opinions. I have a friend from Lapland (Finland) and really didn't care for the language as much as most ppl do. I find Welsh very soothing. I think my mind has been made up, Sindarin it is.
Tarie_Telpewen_Ucenite
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Post RE: The easiest to learn..
on: May 18, 2005 11:16
I'm more into Quenya myself... Though I don't get a lot of time to practice and deepen into it. But I try at every possible time I get... Unlike you, gwendeth, I think Quenya sound more beautiful=) But I would like to learn SIndarin in the future too.
Quenarth
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Post RE: The easiest to learn..
on: May 19, 2005 05:08
At first I wanted to do Sindarin, because all of Gandalf's spells, and place names, and objects, are *in* Sindarin...that was when I read the books for my first time a looong time ago. But as I started looking into it, I started Quenya because it came first. Then I went to Sindarin, and could find similar patterns etc. related to Quenya and it would work the other way around to (Sind. first then Quen.). But I'm a Tolkien admirerer, I wanted to do it historically correct. Hee hee!
Tenial
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Post RE: The easiest to learn..
on: May 19, 2005 05:39
I believe Quenya is easier to learn than Sindarin, no offense at all. But there are those more skilled in Sindarin who have a higher opinion than I do, so I will not go further into the matter of the complexities of Sindarin.

But I should recommend Quenya if you want an easy start. But like Sindarin, it's very pretty. Whichever you choose is a wise choice; Tolkien was an incredible linguist.
~Caradhriel~
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Post RE: The easiest to learn..
on: May 31, 2005 03:17
Im lucky to live close enough to Wales to have been influenced by the language, therefore Sindarin seemed to make a little more sense to me than Quenya.

Quenya is, undoubtedly, a beautiful language with a fantastic history, but I believe Sindarin is easier to speak. It just seems to roll off the tongue!

Good luck with the learning! I started learning Sindarin when I was 11/12. Im now 13 and have learnt enough Sindarin to keep a conversation going if I ever happened to meet an elf!
Rilaisseth_of_Mirkwood
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Post RE: The easiest to learn..
on: May 31, 2005 11:01
I am about to turn 12, and was learning Quenya. I found it too difficult, and didn't like the sound of it. I tried Sindarin and I'm not finding it hard. But that could be because I'm only on lesson 6.
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