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Birdland · 03-25-2002, 11:22 AM

Having no other language but English, I can only assume that every culture has it's epic or formal style of speech or writing.

I would say that Tolkien is using the formal style of speech in his dialog, particularly with the the Men, Elves, and Dwarves. The Hobbits are mostly using a more casual form of 19th or early 20th Century rural speech, and characters like Sam and the Gaffer, are rendered in a rural dialect. (Saying "taters", instead of "potatoes", for instance.)

And Gollum! Well, his speech, with the drawn out "ssssss", suggest an almost reptilian form of speech, which suggest evil very nicely.

Tolkien's descriptive writing is pretty much set in the 19th/early 20th century form. I think his writing style is great. Some authors can really get bogged down in descriptions. Tolkien's visualizations are just right, poetic and rich, but not verbose.

I'm sure these forms could all be translated in other languages, if the translator can get into the "spirit" of the book. But maybe I'm wrong. Do they have an equivalent to written "dialect" in French or Greek? Would a King speak like "a King" in a book, and not like a peasant? How would you suggest the word "The Shire" in another language, since "Shire" in English immediately give a picture of a peaceful, rural setting, but wouldn't suggest anything to a Japanese or Spanish reader.

I'm really missing something, not knowing another language. [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

03-25-2002, 11:22 AM	#59
Birdland Ghastly Neekerbreeker Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the banks of the mighty Scioto Posts: 1,751	Having no other language but English, I can only assume that every culture has it's epic or formal style of speech or writing. I would say that Tolkien is using the formal style of speech in his dialog, particularly with the the Men, Elves, and Dwarves. The Hobbits are mostly using a more casual form of 19th or early 20th Century rural speech, and characters like Sam and the Gaffer, are rendered in a rural dialect. (Saying "taters", instead of "potatoes", for instance.) And Gollum! Well, his speech, with the drawn out "ssssss", suggest an almost reptilian form of speech, which suggest evil very nicely. Tolkien's descriptive writing is pretty much set in the 19th/early 20th century form. I think his writing style is great. Some authors can really get bogged down in descriptions. Tolkien's visualizations are just right, poetic and rich, but not verbose. I'm sure these forms could all be translated in other languages, if the translator can get into the "spirit" of the book. But maybe I'm wrong. Do they have an equivalent to written "dialect" in French or Greek? Would a King speak like "a King" in a book, and not like a peasant? How would you suggest the word "The Shire" in another language, since "Shire" in English immediately give a picture of a peaceful, rural setting, but wouldn't suggest anything to a Japanese or Spanish reader. I'm really missing something, not knowing another language. [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]