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Old 02-28-2003, 10:48 AM   #20
Rina
Pile O'Bones
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Taniquetil
Posts: 18
Rina has just left Hobbiton.
Tolkien

To me, all the elvish names are very rolling, and liquid, which makes them seem melodic, as opposed to be angular and prosy.

Elrond especially demonstrates this as it has the two liguid sounds back to back, l and r. I'm not sure what his name connotes to me.

Glorfindel and Galadriel both begin with a G sound. There is a linguistic term which I believe is called phonostheme, which means that sounds can have a theme or their own particular connotations. In English, some sounds with GL often connote light or brightness. For example, glisten, glitter, glimmer, glow, etc. It seems that a good many elven names begin with G and this may be why, because elves are thought of as bright. Also, in elvish, I believe the stem "Galad" means light.

Glorfindel contains the stem "glor," which to me not only connotes light, but is similar to the word glory. Perhaps Glorfindel is one who finds glory.

Galadriel reminds me of the word glad, which seems contradictory to me. Galadriel is wise and powerful, but I don't see her as being truly glad.
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Rina

"God is the Lord, of angels, and of men - and of elves."
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