![]() Tolkien’s Elvish languages have inspired academic papers, journals, and even the creation of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship, an international organization dedicated solely to the study of the invented languages of Middle Earth. Tolkien later referred to Gnomish as “the Elvish language that ultimately became that of the type called Sindarin.” He deliberately chose Welsh-sounding phonetic structures, as he felt that it seemed to “fit the rather ‘Celtic’ type of legends and stories told of its speakers.” It stemmed from his Gnomish language, dating from as far back as 1917 and first published in Parma Eldalamberon #11. Sindarin, in particular, is one of Tolkien’s most highly developed languages. For his collection of fantasy novels, he created not only Sindarin and Quenya, the languages of Elves, but also abbreviated lexicons and syntax for the languages of Men, Dwarves, Ents, Ainur, and Orcs. Tolkien started creating languages at the age of thirteen, starting with Nevbosh. ![]() The Na’vi language may be only a couple of years old, but the languages of Middle Earth have been the subject of study for decades. Those feeling up to the challenge of learning to converse with natives of Pandora can find lessons at Learn Na’vi, or listen to samples of the Na’vi language here. The hardest part of Na’vi, according to Avatar star Zoe Saldana, wasn’t speaking the language itself, but speaking English with a Na’vi accent. In a recent interview, Frommer describes his thought process behind the language’s creation. Na’vi incorporates morphology and syntax from many existing languages, such as the infixes of Austronesian and Austroasiatic languages, and the tripartite language system of the Wangkumara people. The director chose the ejective structure and from there, Frommer created the 1,000-word language. He created a list of 30 base words that encompassed the “smooth and appealing” sound that he envisioned for the Na’vi language, and then passed that list on to linguist Paul Frommer.įrommer, in turn, presented Cameron with three distinct phonetic structures: one tonal, one using different vowel lengths, and one using ejectives. In honor of the linguistic work in Avatar, Beyond Words has compiled a shortlist of films that feature invented languages, and a brief discussion of the linguistic research behind each one: Paul Frommer’s Na’vi Languageįor the indigenous Na’vi of the planet Pandora, James Cameron wanted to create a “complete and consistent” language that sounded both pleasing and alien, but was learnable by the human actors who would be required to speak it. Among the ten films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, one prompted a lot of discussion amongst language professionals: James Cameron’s Avatar, which features the fictional language, Na’vi.
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