Kalimac
03-05-2002, 09:31 PM
I'm not sure if this should go in the languages section or this one, hope I made the right choice. This is one of those incredibly picky but (hopefully) kind of interesting things.
Anyway - in the appendix "On Translation" Tolkien talks about all the various difficulties and ways of translating Westron (while giving only a few actual *words* in it...grr...) but at various points he says that the -a ending was masculine (so Frodo's name would have really been Froda) Samwise was actually Banazir, and Merry was really Kali, short for Kalimac. But what was Pippin's Westron name? Peregrin, "traveler" is a little too English-sounding to be anything except a "translation" into English. I've read the appendices a couple of times but can't find any original names for Pippin except the Gondorian "Ernil i Pheriannath" which isn't much help. Did Tolkien ever say what Pippin's name really was? Even if he didn't, what do you think it might have been? Besides the obvious, of course smilies/smile.gif
Anyway - in the appendix "On Translation" Tolkien talks about all the various difficulties and ways of translating Westron (while giving only a few actual *words* in it...grr...) but at various points he says that the -a ending was masculine (so Frodo's name would have really been Froda) Samwise was actually Banazir, and Merry was really Kali, short for Kalimac. But what was Pippin's Westron name? Peregrin, "traveler" is a little too English-sounding to be anything except a "translation" into English. I've read the appendices a couple of times but can't find any original names for Pippin except the Gondorian "Ernil i Pheriannath" which isn't much help. Did Tolkien ever say what Pippin's name really was? Even if he didn't, what do you think it might have been? Besides the obvious, of course smilies/smile.gif