A word by any other name ...

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

So one can in fact self-consistently pretend that these languages existed in our distant past but are, largely or entirely, unrelated etymologically to any modern language.

This would be one of the gaps then in the Legendarium. We could thus posit some sort of Babel myth in the Legendarium to explain why the languages are unrelated, although clearly this would impact on the Translator Conceit discussed in an earlier thread. That might involve a Rosetta Stone story.

The fan fiction or RPG possibilities expand.