Volume 16 Number 3 Article 11 Spring 3-15-1990 Quenti Lambardillion: To Be or Not To Be: A Quest Paul Nolan Hyde Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Hyde, Paul Nolan (1990) "Quenti Lambardillion: To Be or Not To Be: A Quest," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 16 : No. 3 , Article 11. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol16/iss3/11 This Column is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Discusses the difficulties and pitfalls of anslation,tr illustrated with the example of “The Song of Firiel.” This column is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol16/iss3/11 Page 3 0 SpRlng 1990 CPyTHlORe 61 Quenri Lam6aRdil1ion A Column on CDiddlc-caRth Linguistics Paul Nolan Hyde language families and dialects which we know exist, and To Be o r Nor To Be: A Quest initiate tentative grammars and primers for each. Chris­ topher Tolkien is bravely attempting to do just that, having W hether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer produced ten volumes which have bearing on Middle- The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, earth with several more on the way, perhaps even a Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them..... volume dedicated specifically to the languages. Until that (Hamlet HI, 1:57-60) time, we are compelled to resort to the rather dry activity of cataloguing, indexing, and gently manipulating that which is available. So we linguophiles wait patiently for * sa preamble to his production of The Tragedy of Hamlet, another Rosetta Stone to be unearthed by Christopher in r\ P rin ce o f Denmark, Laurence Olivier (dressed as Ham­ order to rebuild our castles, hopefully with something of let) would stand before the audience and declare "This is more substance than sand. the story of a man who could not make up his mind". Linguists, particularly those who publish their views, fre­ Why, then, attempt translations or more detailed pars­ quently suffer from this Hamletian affliction; they con­ ings than those which J.R.R. Tolkien himself has given to tinually adjust their conclusions, assertions, and (when us? Primarily because it is an infinitely more interesting pinned to a metaphorical or literal wall by an incisive endeavor than "the rather dry activity of cataloguing, mind) apply caveats to every linguistic axiom and law. Not indexing, and gently manipulating". Secondly, most lin­ all of this waffling, however, is founded in original guists (myself included) are rather prone to impatience stupidity. Language is, by definition, a mass of ordered and would rather be doing something than nothing, even confusion. Societal convention and a deep-rooted, if the something that we produce turns out to be nothing. Coleridgean desire to communicate thought and emotion Thirdly, and I believe of most importance, language and have brought a degree of conformity to speech, writing, the love of language are the parents of Middle-earth. In the gesture, art, music, and other forms of expression. W ithin midst of all of the commotion surrounding the child, some­ the conformity, however, individuality runs rampant. In one, somewhere, sometime, m ust look at the progenitors, art and literature there are "movements", "schools", and however annoying that may be to those who love the the "m asters"; in language there are dialects, jargons, and progeny for its own beauty, wit, and grace. codes. To perfectly describe this incessant uproar at any Translations can take a variety of forms. They may one moment would require an omniscient comprehension proceed morpheme by morpheme, a parsing if you will, of of all living beings; to define this most basic of human every semantically significant element in the language experience through the length and breadth of time would text. This is particularly valuable when a linguist is at­ require more than a 386 micro-processor and an 80- tempting to discover precisely how the grammar of the megabyte harddrive. The art of describing language is as language functions. The process is quite methodical, fluid as language itself, as changeable as a shoreline facing generally tedious, and consummately obnoxious to those an open sea. Thus, the linguist who watches the verbal with a modicum of aesthetic sensitivity. Most Tolkien surf, building his pontifical palaces on the sand, can be as Linguists fall into this category, the present writer in­ agile as a seagull when the tide comes in. cluded (See M ythlore issues 33-61: Quenti Lambardillion, Letters, and Articles). It is with this kind of translation that Compounding the already impossible task of knowing linguistics approaches the sciences, and, because of the exactly what is going on in language is the additional attempt at exactness, when most of the ad nauseam question as to why a language is the way it is. By its nature, polemics develop (See Mythlore, Vinyar Tengwar, Parma under the circumstances, this quest is the quintessence of Eldalamberon, Beyond Bree, Quettar, Cirth de Gandalf, and speculation, subject to almost every opportunity for emen­ others1). dation. The linguist stands in verbal quicksand as it is; the act of ferreting out the rationale for language aberration Another approach to textual translation has more of an often buries him. aesthetic aspect. In the original publication of the poem "Narqelion" (Mythlore56), a great deal of time, energy, and Even in Tolkien's invented languages, the problems are space was devoted to suggesting possible directions the similar though not on the same scale. If we had in our translation might take by providing an elaborate (though possession all of the linguistic notes, essays, diagrams, and not definitive) glossary of morphemes and related words, texts which J.R.R. Tolkien produced during his creative which when taken all together might suggest a translation. years, we might be able to begin to define the various In M ythlore 60, however, I suggested another approach CPgTHLORe 61____________________________ Spaing 1990_______________________________________ Page 31 which concerned itself with the literary themes in J.R.R. and Herendil, shrugging his shoulders, followed him. Tolkien's concurrent poetry around the time when "Nar- (LR, pp. 62-63) qelion" was written, which themes could be used as keys In the footnotes to the narrative, Christopher Tolkien to the overall translation of the poem. Obviously, I still had indicates that the entire song, with translation, was to utilize all of the tools2 that I had developed for my originally included in the body of the text but had been treatment in M ythlore 56, but with an aim to soften the deleted in part, leaving only the four lines cited above. science into more of an art. Whether either were successful Footnote #12 on page 72 gives the text and the translation is not the issue here. They simply illustrate two of the many in full, including the developing emendations (a perennial possible methodologies available to the student of Middle- challenge in all of J.R.R. Tolkien's holographs). Translation earth languages. LR-72 A below provides an interlinear presentation of the J.R.R. Tolkien, a linguist by profession and inclination, basic text and translation. The word numbering is mine also possessed a deep sensitivity for sound and rhythm, and is intended to facilitate reference. the strings of a poet's soul. Except in cases where he is Translation LR-72 A being a linguist explicitly (as in The Road Goes Ever On), his The Song of Firiel translations of his own Elvish passages have a tendency to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 be loose, more artistic than linguistic. It is because of this, Ilu Iluvatar en kare eldain a firim oin Tolkien's artistic bent, that many of us who attempt trans­ The Father made the World for Elves and Mortals, lations fall into grievous errors while formulating gram­ mars and declensions, and why we are continually having 8 9 10 11 12 to revise our views as m ore linguistic material is publish­ ar antarota mannar Valion: numessier. ed. It is the nature of the beast, but the beast bites and is and he gave it into the hands of the Lords. They are in the bitten. West. In order to illustrate some of the more obvious 13 14 15 16 17 18 problems when translating from one language to another, Toi aina, mana, m eldielto — enga morion: the rest of the column will deal with a long passage in They are holy, blessed and beloved: save the dark one. Elvish given with translation — the Song of Firiel in the 19 20 21 22 23 Lost Road. talantie. M ardello M elko lende: marie. He is fallen. Melko has gone from the earth: it is good.