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Old 04-28-2011, 02:06 PM   #3640
Pitchwife
Wight of the Old Forest
 
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Unattended on the railway station, in the litter at the dancehall
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Pitchwife is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.Pitchwife is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.Pitchwife is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.Pitchwife is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.Pitchwife is a guest of Galadriel in Lothlórien.
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Originally Posted by Erurin View Post
I have a hard time with actual elvish speech! I can't quite grasp the grammar.
You're not alone there. I don't think there is such a thing as 'actual elvish speech' - meaning that Tolkien's Elven languages weren't designed to be used in an actual conversation (unless you're content to talk mainly about stars and trees). Even the Prof himself achieved only a number of (still quite remarkable) poems and snippets of dialogue - when he tried to translate the Pater noster into Quenya he changed his mind about the words and constructions every time he copied it.

Anyway, have you been to Ardalambion? Helge Fauskanger has a whole Quenya course there, and IMHO he's quite good at explaining grammar without assuming that the reader knows a lot of linguistic terms to start with.
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