[ArcusCalion]

This thread will continue the Lammas with the next section, the Lambion Ontalë, or Descent of Tongues. This text is roughly equivalent in material and in scope to the original Lhammas in HoME V, but it is much more recent and updated information-wise to the later canon, so it is infinitely preferable to include.

Our basis text is that of "Lambion Ontalë" given in Parma Eldalamberon 18. Wherever the text is different from HoME V/XII, this is marked by an editing mark.

The markings are:
LO-xx for tracking any changes to the intro text for the Lambion Ontalë.

Some conventions of my writing:
Normal Text is from the basic text that is mentioned above (when I change the basic-Text it will be mentioned)
Bold Text = source information, comments and remarks
{example} = text that should be deleted
[example] = normalised text, normally only used for general changes
<source example> = additions with source information
...... = This section of the paragraph is unchanged from the source.

LAMBION ONTALË
The Descent of Tongues

Here is set forth the structure of the language of the Quendi or Elves, and the manner of its change in the course of time to the diverse speeches of the Quendelië or Elf-race.
Now this language the Elves began ....eldest of all tongues. Yet LO-01 {if that be so,} the Elves have {not} heard it [seldom] {, not at the least} within the days of their memory. LO-02 {It may well be}[Thus it was] that when Oromë first found the Quendelië, .... was their own and Elvish. [Footnote: Quoth Rúmil. LO-03 {So AElfwine notes.} This passage seems an excerpt from another work.]
In all that pertains to the beginnings .... from their kindred in the West.
The most ancient structure of the tongue ..... Avari as we here in LO-03.5 {Eressëa}[Eriador] have set down in these later ..... fully treated are: firstly the Quenya LO-04 {[or Elf-latin <Footnote: Quoth AElfwine.>]}, which is indeed ..... long and changeful history LO-05 {, of which a little is known to us}. Something also is said of the Telerin language of Valinor. What is known of the LO-06 {Danian}[Nandorin] tongues of old, especially that of Ossiriand, is also told. Little is said of the Avarin tongues, many and diverse, that were used of old in Middle-earth. There they linger still in remote places where the Avari hide themselves from Men.

The Division of Tongues

The whole Elf-race is named ..... or in English Quendian LO-07 {[Cwendisc: AElfwine]}.
The first division was ..... into the branches Eldarin and Avarin.
The second division befell when the followers of that lord that is named LO-08 {Nano or Dan}[Lenwë or Denweg] forsook the hosts of the Teleri upon the long march and wandered in Middle-earth. These are the Nandor, LO-09 {or Danian Elves,} [Footnote: Who were also in Ossiriand called the {Laiqendi}[Laiquendi] or Green-elves.] and their tongues ... any tongue of the Avari.
The third division befell .... Noldor were lore-masters.
The fourth division befell ..... is still the daily speech of LO-10 [Lindon]{Eressëa}.
The fifth division befell through the Exile of the Noldor who returned to Middle-earth and dwelt for well-nigh six hundred years in Beleriand. During that time their language became LO-11 {greatly} changed {, and grew to resemble the tongues of Beleriand, Sindarin and Nandorin}. Those few of the Noldor that remained in Aman became merged with the Vanyar and did not retain their own speech.
Quenderin or Quendian is thus .... which the Eldar know little, and nothing before the LO-12 {Third Age}[later ages]. LO-13 {Kalaquenderin}[Calaquenderin] is the name of the tongues .... were many and divided.]
The separate Elf-tongues that are still spoken or written, or are still in some part recorded and known to the lore-masters, are thus named as follows.
1. Quenya. This name meant in the beginning simply ‘language’ LO-14 {(see above p. 3)}, or in contrast to .... themselves in these later days. LO-15 {Also the Quenya has for ages been used as a common tongue among all the Eldar, whose native speeches have become diverse, and this tongue is no longer felt to belong to any one kindred more than to another}.
In the early days the language of the ..... even the loremasters of the Eldar know LO-16 {nothing}[little]. Moreover, the Vanyar were the .... either ancient Noldorin or Telerin.
Quenya is in its written form also called Parmaquesta, or ‘book-language.’ This is LO-17 {[the Elf-latin and is]} retained in spelling and grammar even as it was of old. It is used still in Valinor and in Eressëa for many kinds of writing: histories, legends, hymns, poems, and other lore.
When it is spoken, Quenya ...... is regarded as the best. LO-18 {Yet}[And] in fact the {Noldor}[Vanyar], and {especially} the loremasters among {them}[the Noldor] (for the Noldor have no rivals in learning) use both sounds and forms that are more archaic and nearer to the written Parmaquesta. This is true especially in the matter of pronunciation, since the usage of the {Vanyar}[Noldor] shows the effect of the changes in their daily speech of later days. All these matters are treated more fully below.
LO-19 {The Parmaquesta belongs to VY. 2500 at the earliest, and is contemporary with the ancient Noldorin, from which it is already widely different.}
2. Vanyarin. This name is given .... alphabet of Rúmil LO-20 {(belonging to a period about VY. 2200 or a little later)}, begin before the period of .... had as yet very little diverged.
3. Noldorin. All the speeches or dialects of the Noldor have this name, from the most ancient records in Túna, until now when the LO-21 {much changed} language of the Exiles survives still among those ..... shows from the first LO-22 [not] much divergence from Quenya (and Telerin), [but nonetheless] becoming already before the Exile a {wholly} distinct {speech}[dialect], in which many of the great changes that took place during the Exile are foreshadowed.
After the Exile that remnant of the ..... those of Hithlum, LO-23 {the Falas,} Nargothrond, and of East Beleriand (the speech of the sons of Fëanor and their people). These dialects did not differ greatly one from another.
LO-24 The language of the returned Exiles in Eressëa is derived in the main from the speech of Gondolin. So also was the Elvish speech adopted by the Atani, the Fathers of Men, and spoken by the high men of Númenor in that isle LO-25 {, and after during the Third Age upon the western shores of Middle-earth}.
4. Telerin. This name is often given ..... who remained behind.
Ancient Telerin is the name of the earliest ..... but they used letters seldom.
5. Sindarin. This is the name ..... themselves they called the LO-26 {Eglath}[Egladhrim] 'the Forsaken'.
Before the coming of the Exiled Noldor, the Sindarin (or LO-27 {Eglathrin}[Egladhrimin]) was spoken far and wide ..... with little or no change.
After the coming of the Noldor ...... east of the Isle of Eressëa.
LO-28 {In its development in Middle-earth Noldorin grew more and more to resemble Sindarin, and though when more closely observed these tongues can readily be seen to be far-sundered, yet in sound and style and idiom they are much alike. This the loremasters ascribe in the first place to the influence of the land itself, that Beleriand which is now lost in which both tongues dwelt and changed. But the influence of the peoples, one upon the other, and of their tongues was not without effect.} In spite of estrangements .... many of the Noldor took refuge with LO-29 {Thingol in Doriath}[Círdan on Balar]. There were {Alamanyar}[Úmanyar] of Doriath in the remnant that gathered under Eärendil at the Mouths of Sirion; and Eärendil drew his blood not only from Men, but also from both Noldor and {Alamanyar}[Úmanyar].
6. Nandorin LO-30 {, or Danian}. This people .... A branch of the LO-31 {Danian}[Nandorin] Elves, turning .... realm many took refuge with LO-32 {Thingol in Doriath}[the sons of Fëanor / Eärendil at the Mouths of Sirion], and thus record was there preserved of their ancient tongue, ..... Of the East-{Danian}[Nandorin] LO-33 [and Avarin] beyond the mountains, from which it is said that the Atani, the Fathers of Men, learned much of their first speech, LO-34{nothing}[little] is now known LO-35 {in Eressëa}.

LO-36 <GA Excursus on the Languages of Beleriand

It was indeed at the landing of Fëanor LO-37 {three hundred and sixty-five long years of the Valar since the Noldor had passed over the Sea and left the Sindar behind. Now that time was in length} well-nigh {as} three thousand and five hundred years of the Sun <moved since the Noldor had passed over the Sea and left the Sindar behind>. In such an age the tongues .... new words unknown to the Sindar.
LO-38 <Words, Phrases, and Passages In the {N(W)}[northwest] there were settlements of Elves, who seldom went far abroad, and only rarely and temporarily ever passed the {Eredwethrin}[Ered Wethrin]. They must, as history and the surviving traces of their language indicate, have been mainly Teleri in origin; but a tradition lingered that some were in fact Noldor, who failed also to embark. (Not quite like Thingol, but evidently because they had explored too far away from the Shore, or had struck up friendships with the Teleri who came up behind.) Their tongue, though generally of 'Sindarin' kind in all linguistic departments, early diverged from that of the remainder of their kin-in the days of the wars and of the Noldor, and especially of the arrival of the Edain their speech had become almost a separate language though it was still in some measure intelligible. This Mithrimin left no connected records, but is preserved in many place-names and personal names, and some of its words and forms eventually became incorporated in Sindarin of Sirion. LO-39 <later in Words Phrases and Passages {The}[As the] Teleri never dwelt (before the return of Morgoth) very far from the West-shores, the center of the Northern Speech was thus in Mithrim.> (The Bëor-folk of the Edain were influenced by the LO-40 {Finrodians[?]}[sons of Finarfin] especially in personal names, during their residence in the highlands.)>
But it came to pass ere long that the Exiles ...... of the Wars of Beleriand, LO-41 {[} well-nigh {>] more than} six hundred years, were times of great change, ..... from letters remained unaltered. But LO-42 {these}[the] histories were made after ..... had in the spoken speech at the last.>

LO-43 <D&M The Dwarves were in many ways ..... It thus served as a LO-44 {lingua franca}[common tongue] between all Dwarves of all kinds; ..... those of other race.
The Dwarves were not, however, ..... Daeron used by the Sindar was known and used. LO-45 {This was, no doubt, due to the influence of Celebrimbor, a Sinda who claimed descent from Daeron.} Nonetheless even in Eregion the Runes ..... being originally devised for them.
The {Longbeard}[Long-beard] Dwarves therefore adopted the Runes, and modified them for their own uses (especially the expression of Khûzdul); and LO-46 {they adhered to them even far into the Third Age, when they were forgotten by others except the loremasters of Elves and Men. Indeed} it was generally supposed by the unlearned that they had been invented by the Dwarves, and they were widely known as 'dwarf-letters'. LO-47 [Footnote: They did not, however, appear in the inscriptions on the West Gate of Moria. The Dwarves said that it was in courtesy to the Elves that the Fëanorian letters were used on that gate, since it opened into their country and was chiefly used by them. But the East Gates, which perished in the war against the {Orks}[Orcs], had opened upon the wide world, and were less friendly. They had borne Runic inscriptions in several tongues: spells of prohibition and exclusion in Khûzdul, and commands that all should depart who had not the leave of the Lord of Moria written in Quenya, Sindarin, the Common Speech, the languages of Rohan and of Dale and Dunland.]>

LO-48 <Lhammas The languages of Men were from their beginning diverse and various; yet they were for the most part derived remotely from the language of the LO-49 {Valar}[Elves]. For the Dark-elves, various folk of the {Lembi}[Avari], befriended wandering Men in sundry times and places in the most ancient days, and taught them such things as they knew. But other Men learned also wholly or in part of the Orcs and of the Dwarves; while in the West ere they came into Beleriand the fair houses of the Eldest Men learned of the {Danas}[Nandor], or LO-50 {Green-elves}[Silvan Elves]. But naught is preserved of the most ancient speeches of Men, save the tongue of the folk of Bëor LO-51 {and Haleth} and Hador. Now the language of these folk was greatly influenced by the Green-elves LO-52 [and Dwarves], and it was of old named Taliska, LO-53 <LQ [Footnote: From this speech came the common tongue of Númenor.]> and this tongue was known still to Tour, son of Hour, son of {Gumlin}[Galdor], son of Hador, and it was in part recorded by the wise Elves of Gondolin, where Tour for a while abode. LO-54 Yet Tour himself used this tongue no longer, for already in {Gumlin}[Galdor]’s day [many] Men in Beleriand forsook the daily use of their own tongue and spoke and gave even names unto their children in the language of the {Gnomes}[Sindar]. Yet other Men there were, it seems, that remained east of {Eredlindon}[the Ered-Lindon], who held to their speech, and from this, closely akin to Taliska, are come after many ages of change languages that live still in the North of the earth. But the swarthy folk of Bór, and of {Uldor}[Ulfang] the accursed, were not of this race, and were different in speech, but that speech is lost without record other than the names of these men.>

These letters and abbreviations are used in the following histories and grammars for the names of those Quendian tongues that are cited or mentioned.
AQ. See Q., N.
Av. Avarin.
Bel. Beleriandic. This is used as a name for all the languages of the Sindar or Grey-Elves (more properly called Sindarin). It does not include {Danian}[Nandorin], since Ossiriand though in fact part of Beleriand was regarded as a separate country.
C. Common: as in CE, CQ.
LO-55{Dan}[Nan.] {Danian, or} Nandorin. Unless noted the language of Ossiriand is intended. {WDan.}[WNan.] for West-{Danian}[Nandorin], and {EDan.}[ENan.] for East-{Danian}[Nandorin] are also used.
Dor. Doriathrin. The chief Sindarin dialect; that of Doriath, the realm of King Thingol.
E. Eldarin. This includes Vanyarin, Noldorin and Telerin (and its branches Sindarin and Nandorin). CE 'Common Eldarin' is the language of the Eldar before their divisions.
Ex.N. Exilic or Etya-noldorin, the language of the Exiled Noldor in Beleriand.
Fal. The dialect of the Falas, LO-56 {either of Noldorin (Fal.N.), or}a dialect of Sindarin (Fal.S.) {, as the case may be}.
Fe., or Fean. Fëanorian: the eastern dialect of Noldorin in Exile.
Gon. Gondolinian dialect of Noldorin.
LO-57 {Hith. N. dialect of Hithlum.}
K. or KQ. {Kalaquendian}[Calaquenderin]: the language of the Elves of Valinor (insofar as it showed common features distinct from the {Alamanya}[Úmanya] Eldar). For this Val. or V. is often used as in VTel.
LO-58 <moved from above {Hith. N.}[Mith., Sindarin] dialect of {Hithlum}[Mithrim].>
N. Noldorin. Where unspecified this usually refers to Exilic or Ex.N., Exilic Noldorin.
AN. Ancient Noldorin.
Os. Ossiriandrin.
Q. Quenya. Where it is necessary to distinguish: PQ denotes the Parmaquesta (or more archaic book-language), and TQ the Tarquesta. AQ refers to the Ancient Quenya (or earliest recorded form of Vanyarin). But in CQ Q stands for Quenderin and CQ refers to the primitive language of all the Elves or Quendi before their separation.
S. Sindarin.
T. Telerin. AT. Ancient Telerin.

LO-01: This contradicts what is said in the later text of Q&E, since Rúmil is said to have stuied the Valarin, and so did Fëanor. However, I think it is ambiguous enough inthis edited form.

LO-02: Continuation of the editing about the Valarin.

LO-03: Removed a reference to AElfwine.

LO-03.5: Apologies for the weird numbering, but I found this after I had written out the rest of the post and I didn't want to go back and change all the numbers. This reference to Eressea must be removed since we are told in Q&E that the Lammas is written in Eriador.

LO-04: Removed a reference to AElwine and 'elf-latin' which is problematic.

LO-05: Pengolodh is half-sindarin, he knows the whole language. When this was written, Sindarin was a curiosity, and the language we know now as Sindarin was called Noldorin. This is the source of a lot of changes to this text, but if you bear with them, I think you'll find we can make it work.

LO-06: Changed because Dan was changed to Denweg, and Danian to Nandorin.

LO-07: Removed a reference to AElfwine and his unnecessary old-english footnote.

LO-08: I used both the later names of Denweg instead of the earlier ones.

LO-09: Removed the 'Danian' from the reference.

LO-10: Another change because of the change of location for the writing of the Lammas and its transmission.

LO-11: This is explicitly not true, since later he decided that Quenya was only used as a language of lore in the wider realm of Beleriand, and it did not change much at all.

LO-12: If this is from Eressea and Bilbo is translating it, it must have come through the Numenoreans in the Second Age, so no mention of Third Age is allowed.

LO-13: This is a simple linguistic update changing the K to C and the q to qu.

LO-14: Removed a page reference.

LO-15: This is no longer true since he introduced the story of Thingol banning Quenya later on. If anything, Sindarin is the common language, but even that is hardly true everywhere.

LO-16: This is changed because of the Valarin we have from Q&E.

LO-17: removed because it does not function as an equivalent to latin as a common tongue any longer.

LO-18: In the Shibboleth we learn that the Vanyar use the older forms of the language, as well as in pieces of Q&E. Therefore we must change this around. I think my editing here works, even though it is somewhat manipulative.

LO-19: Not only can this not be used because of the uncertainty of the Valian years, but the statement is untrue in later canon as well.

LO-20: Removed for a reference to the Valian Years.

LO-21: The language did not change too much, although it did change somewhat through the influence of Telerin and Sindarin.

LO-22: Added to reflect the same point as the last change. The Quenya of the Noldor did not change nearly as drastically as he envisioned it. Remember, he is still thinking of 'Noldorin' as what we now know as Sindarin, which would indeed be a dramatic change. But since that is no longer true, and Quenya was preserved as a tongue of lore, it did not change nearly so much as he indicates here.

LO-23: The Falas dialect was a Sindarin dialect, not Noldorin.

LO-24: This is a reference to the language on Eressea, but since this work is written in Eriador, I am unsure if and how we should change it. In addition, Sindarin affected the speech of Men more, since Thingol outlawed it. Also, Quenya and Sindarin were both spoken in Númenor, and neither were the common language of the people. We may consider removing this whole paragraph, or editing it severely, but I am unsure.

LO-25: If we keep this paragraph, we will at least need to remove this sentence, since the Lammas was written in the second age in Eriador, and so Pengolodh cannot know of the Third Age.

LO-26: Update of the name per Q&E

LO-27: Same as the last.

LO-28: They did not draw closer together, since Thingol outlawed Quenya, which became a book language. Therefore this whole passage is unusable.

LO-29: This is a risky change, but we know it is true, and Thingol never took Noldorin refugees into Doriath, since he banned them from his kingdom.

LO-30: Removed reference to Danian elves.

LO-31: Name update.

LO-32: This is a risky one. We may not need to replace it, since some of the Elves did go to Doriath, but in addition, Ossiriand was never destroyed by Morgoth, and the Nandor lived there long into the later ages. Therefore, I am unclear what is meant by the ruin of their realm. We may assume they fled during the War of Wrath, but if so Doriath was already destroyed by the Sons of Feanor, hence my other two options.

LO-33: Men are also said elsewhere to learn from the Avari.

LO-34: We know some east-nandorin words, since Lorien and Mirkwood are East-Nandorin, and we know some Avarin as well, since we have Avarin words that are mentioned in Q&E.

LO-35: Removed Eressea reference.

LO-36: I added this section in because nowhere in the Lambion Ontale does Tolkien discuss the very important linguistic development of Sindarin and Thingol's forbidding of spoken Quenya. Much is here that fits well into this material, and I think it is a worthy place to include it, since we did not take it up into the Volume 1 chapters.

LO-37: Removed because of the uncertainties of Valian Years.

LO-38: This bit from Words, Phrases, and Passages I added to give the necessary explanation of the Mithrim dialect which we learn about later in Q&E, which was a later development. I think this works well here.

LO-39: Relevant fact added.

LO-40: The word is awkward, and CT himself puts a ? after it as if he is unsure. Therefore I think we should change it.

LO-41: The final versions of the ending years of the First Age are very unclear to me, and I am unsure if this original reading is accurate. Perhaps someone with better understanding of the dates could suggest an edit here?

LO-42: Changed from these, bc originally 'these' was referring to the Grey Annals from which this section was lifted, and is now no longer a preface to them.

LO-43: This part of the discussion of the language of the Dwarves has not been used by us yet, but should be, and could not be used in the Second Age sections either, due to the abstract linguistic nature of it.

LO-44: replaced english idiom (as we have done before with this term.)

LO-45: This was an earlier conception that was changed.

LO-46: Removed bc the Lammas was written in the Second Age.

LO-47: This can probably stay, but I wanted to make sure none objected to it due to its relation to the previous third age comment.

LO-48: This information naming the language of the Bëorings and Hadorians is not given elsewhere, and is not (to my knowledge) incompatible with anything later.

LO-49: Elvish is no longer sourced from the Valar.

LO-50: Technically the Green-elves only aplied to those who came to Beleriand. Silvan seems the more general term, so I have used that.

LO-51: They are said to have a different tongue.

LO-52: Per the Dwarves and Men insertion above.

LO-53: I think this footnote from LQ is worth repeating here.

LO-54: It is said that Adunaic comes from this language, so they cannot have been said to forgotten it. It is said that in Hador’s household only Sindarin was spoken, but that the poeple kept the memory of the tongue alive. I need some help figuring out how to resolve this.

LO-55: Changed to reflect the change from Danian to Nandorin. We may also discuss here if we even want to include this whole section on abbreviations, since elsewhere we do not use them. The Lambion Ontale was only the first section of a larger work called the Tengwesta Quenderinwa, which went into much more detail about the structure of the elvish language. I discussed with gondowe about including the other sections, but they are purely linguistic and do not relate to history at all. They would require someone with a much much deeper understanding of elvish than I possess to edit. He was against including them, and I am inclined to agree, since they seem to me to lie outside the scope of the project. We may thus remove this abbreviation section, since it won't be used if we do not use the later sections of the Tengwesta.

LO-56: If we keep this section, we need to change this. There was no Noldorin dialect of the Falas, since there were no Noldor there.

LO-57: Because we are going to change Hith. to Mith. (because of the Mithrim language) it changes places alphabetically.

LO-58: This is the proper place alphabetically for it.

Whew that was a lot. Hopefully this chapter can make some sense to you all.