Which character speaks the most languages?

[Roccotari Eldandil]

Being a language freak, I have to know this. (You can include Silmarillion/HoME people too.) I think it's probably Gandalf; he most likely knows:
Valarin Quenya Sindarin Westron Whatever the Haradrim speak Adunaic? Black Speech (he can read the Ring)
If you think of any other stuff or another character that speaks more languages, please post!

[The Saucepan Man]

Gandalf also understood the language of the Wargs, since he was aware of their discussions below the trees in which he, Bilbo and Thorin and company were trapped in Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire.

Edit: He probably spoke Entish too, although I cannot think of any evidence offhand.

[ March 23, 2003: Message edited by: The Saucepan Man ]

[elven maiden Earwen]

probly any maia or valar would understand the most languges. I belive gandalf could also understand most other animasls or birds speech.

[Turambar]

Didn't Aragorn also speak most or all of those languages, as well?

[Scott]

Being a Dunedan (or of the Dunedain), Aragorn would have known Adunaic and Westron most certainly. And since he was raised in Rivendell, he would have known Sindarin and probably would have been well versed in Quenya. I don't think he would have had too much exposure to Telerin or Valarin though, or the Black Speech, warg speech, or Haradrim for that matter either. He certainly didn't know how to speek Entish. I don't even know if the Istari could speek it.

[Sharkû]

Ómar.
smilies/wink.gif

[piosenniel]

The Fëanturi would surely speak all languages.

[Lalaith]

Aragorn probably did know the language of Harad, and possibly even other languages of the southern lands, he said he had travelled to those lands of the far south "where the stars are strange," remember?
And he spoke Rohirric, he had ridden with an eored at some point in his life. (Gandalf I am sure also spoke Rohirric.)

[Maerbenn]

Eärendil seems to have known many languages. From The Problem of Ros in HoMe XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth: In the havens of refuge, when Morgoth's conquest was all but complete, there were several tongues to be heard. Not only the Sindarin, which was chiefly used, but also its Northern dialect; and among the Men of the Atani some still used their Mannish speeches; and of all these Eärendil had some knowledge. It is said that before Manwë he spoke the errand of Elves and Men first in Sindarin, since that might represent all those of the suppliants who had survived the war with Morgoth; but he repeated it in Quenya, since that was the language of the Ñoldor, who alone were under the ban of the Valar; and he added a prayer in the Mannish tongues of Hador and Bëor, pleading that they were not under the ban, and had aided the Eldar only in their war against Morgoth, the enemy of the Valar.

[Inderjit Sanghera]

Feanor was one of the few Elves who could speak Valarin.

[Lalaith]

Tell us more Inderjit. How and why did he learn it?

[Tinuviel the Nightingale]

Gandalf wasn't the most powerful Maiar there, but he must have been pretty high up on the Valar's list to be allowed to live again. Only a few mortals/immortals got to do that- luthien, beren cant remember if there any more (little off the topic i know but i just have to comment).
Anyway I think Gandalf is able to speak every language there is even Dunlending and Pukel Men Speak.

[Tinuviel the Nightingale]

Yeh I think everyone forgot about the poor little fat pukel man and maybe even the dunlendings too. B]Don't they get a say in a ll this???[/B]

[Noxomanus]

we shouldn't forget Entish could only be mastered by the Ents themselves,while Khuz-dul was so secret that only very few words were ever wellknown (probably on Kazad(-Dum),Zirakzigil and a few other names and words.

[Inderjit Sanghera]

Few of the Eldar ever learned to speak Valarin...Feanor indeed, before his discontent, is said to have learnt more of this tounge then any others before his time...but what he knew he kept to himself HoME 11; Quendi and Eldar

This also shows Feanor's genius in which two able loremasters, Rumil and Pengolodoh were in awe (In a way) of him, when writing this, and mastering Valrin was difficult even for the Noldor. I can post some of the 'real' names of the Valar if you want.

[Lalaith]

Oh, go on....

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Well...about Gandalf (sorry if it's been posted, I don't have time right now to read the whole thread smilies/frown.gif , remember that poem about him that Frodo sang in Lorien? I don't know if this was meant to be figurative, but I think it was mentioned that he spoke languages of animals, etc.

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

No doubt he knew the language of eagles as well (and as far as the film goes moths, but that may be a stretch). I'd assume he knew more dwarven than any non-dwarf. And let's not forget tree-talk. And then there's-

Thank god someone shut me up.

[Scott]

I hope no one is forgetting him, I almost did myself... but I think Tom Bombadil might take the cake for languages known (or a possible tie with Gandalf smilies/smile.gif). He claimed to have been around since the beginning, and if he really is a Maiar or some other higher power, he would probably be able to out-speak anyone with a tongue.

[Lalaith]

Inderjit, I've been very patiently waiting for those names for days now... smilies/smile.gif

[Inderjit Sanghera]

Tulka= Tulukhastaz

Manwe=Manawenuz

Ulmo=Uluboz

[Lalaith]

Thanks!
Are there any other examples of Valarian?
I wonder what language Tolkien based it on...

[Maerbenn]

Valarin - like the glitter of swords (http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/valarin.htm) by Helge Fauskanger

[Lalaith]

Thank you very much.
It's amazing, the new Tolkien knowledge one is always encountering...I had no idea the Valar had their own language.

[lore_master]

dont forget that Gandalf (olorin) was tyhe wisest of the mair so he would probably know more than any mair. i would say that Gandalf was conversational in entish and warg, but not really fluent.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

You people are forgetting someone who happened to be a pupil of Aule... a little someone with a knack for these things... that's right... the evil one... the great Sauron himself! He's been everywhere, seen everything, and ruled everyone (except Bombadil!). He's a Maiar so he can percieve what most anything is saying. He can decipher hidden languages (look what he did to Felagund). And as the base-master of all treachery, he probably had invented a few of his own (besides the Black Speech) for his own devious purposes. If not him, I'd have to go for Bombadil, since he is Master. He was the first, so he watched all these puny little languages be born. He probably knows the speech of rocks!

[Voralphion]

My guess would be that Aule knew the most languages. Being a Valar he would've known the elven tongues as well as Valarin and probably the language of animals, he also possibly alone of the Valar knew Khuzdul the language of the dwarves as he was the one who first contrived it.