Ma polilyë quetë i lambi Eldaiva? Would you know how to respond if someone asked you that question? Helge K. Fauskanger would! The language is Quenya, one of the tongues invented by J.R.R. Tolkien for the Elves that populate Arda, the world in which The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion are set. Mr. Fauskanger would know that he was being asked if he is able to speak the languages of the Elves, and he would be able to answer in the affirmative. Polin.
Helge Fauskanger lives in Norway, and he is, as he calls himself, a "long-term student" of Tolkien's languages. "From an early age, I was interested in mysterious scripts, symbols, and words," he says. In fact, his first introduction to Tolkien as a teenager was with the languages used in The Lord of the Rings. "I remember that I was instantly captivated by the samples of Elvish writing on the title page, and I got Volume 3 out of the library and started studying the Appendices on scripts and languages before I ever read the novel as such!"
At the time when he began his pursuit, learning Tolkien's languages was especially challenging. Most of Tolkien's writings that specifically dealt with his languages had not been published yet, and few outside resources existed. Thus, one method presented itself to Mr. Fauskanger: analyzing examples. "The Rosetta stone method" he calls it. In Quenya, for instance, the observant student can deduce many rules of grammar by simply dissecting similar words. "By considering such words as Elda 'Elf' pl. Eldar or Vala 'angel, god', pl. Valar and many others, we can tell that one Quenya plural ending is -r. We knew that long before there finally turned up explicit notes of Tolkien's to the same effect."
Since then, many more of Tolkien's writings have been published by his son Christopher, including The Lost Road (1988), which included the all-important (at least to students of his languages) "Etymologies." That word list suddenly made the languages fairly functional. "Starting in 1991," Mr. Fauskanger states, "[Christopher Tolkien] sent photocopies of thousands of pages of material to a group of American Tolkien-linguists who have since, with irregular intervals, been presenting transcribed and edited versions of Tolkien's writings in the journals Vinyar Tengwar and Parma Eldalamberon. Seventeen years into the project, estimates of how much material remains to be published range from 50 to 70 per cent of the total." Mr. Fauskanger obviously acquires each new publication as quickly as he can get his hands on it.
Despite the growing bulk of source material, complications still exist. Tolkien constantly revised his languages, and his writings on the subject span several decades. Thus, many of the word forms found in his earlier writings cannot be considered valid in his later, more highly developed versions of the languages. Since Tolkien never really stopped revising them, it is often difficult to arrive at definitive answers. "Many sources plainly contradict one another, so part of our task is to distinguish between the various 'conceptual phases', as we call them," Mr. Fauskanger explains.
Nevertheless, over the years Tolkien-linguists have been able to sort out the complexities of the languages pretty well, especially of Quenya and Sindarin, the two major Elvish languages. Quenya and Sindarin are the ones to which Tolkien really devoted his attention, with Quenya being the more highly developed. The plight of the Quenya or Sindarin neophyte is no longer as formidable as it once was, thanks largely to Helge Fauskanger. Tolkien-language enthusiasts may be familiar with Mr. Fauskanger's name, but even more know of his website, Ardalambion, which students of Elvish generally consider to be one of the best resources online. Ardalambion features wordlists, courses, pieces written in Elvish or translated, and numerous articles. Translations of many of the articles are also available.
Mr. Fauskanger focuses primarily on Quenya and says he spends approximately ten minutes a day translating texts into Quenya. He believes it to be the most beautiful of Tolkien's languages, just as Tolkien himself did. He is, however, very interested in seeing more writings on Sindarin published. Although Mr. Fauskanger has as thorough a knowledge of the two Elvish languages as just about anyone, he clarifies that he does not actually "speak" any of Tolkien's languages, in the strictest sense of the word. "While I do believe that Quenya in particular could be developed into a spoken idiom," he explains, "enthusiasts tend to be widely scattered and are rarely able to practice spoken 'Elvish' (foreseeable advances in telepresence and virtual reality are likely to fix that problem, though)."
In addition to being a Tolkien-linguist, Mr. Fauskanger has a knowledge of a number of other languages. He is fluent in Norwegian, his native tongue, and English. From the University of Bergen he received a degree in Nordic languages. He has studied Classical Hebrew and Greek as well as some German.
Speaking of his success as a Tolkien-linguist, Mr. Fauskanger says, "Whatever field you work in, you obviously hope that eventually, you will stop being a Nobody and actually be counted as a Somebody--one whose opinions are at least noted. But I guess I never expected that my articles would be translated into lots of languages." He cautions people that he is not perfect, and he is aware of the influence he has and the responsibility that comes with it. "People should not treat me as a substitute for Tolkien himself, calling on me to pronounce 'definite' answers or decisions on matters that are left vague in the Professor's writings. This is especially true in the current situation, where a large part of Tolkien's linguistic material is still unpublished and hence unavailable to me." While valid points, Mr. Fauskanger's modest statement does not negate the fact that the surprising number of people who share his interest are indebted to him for his efforts. Both the curious novice and the serious student will find that he has supplied them with invaluable resources. Even someone with no interest at all will find it difficult not to admire the obvious passion Mr. Fauskanger has for Tolkien's languages.
1. How and when were you first
introduced to Tolkien and his works?
I simply picked up "The Lord of the Rings" in the local library,
as a teenager in the late eighties. I remember that I was instantly
captivated by the samples of Elvish writing on the title page, and I
got Volume 3 out of the library and started studying the Appendices
on scripts and languages before I ever read the novel as such!
2. What made you begin studying Tolkien's languages?
I was fascinated by them, what else can I say? From an early age, I
was interested in mysterious scripts, symbols and words.
3. How did you go about learning the languages?
Actual grammatical writings of Tolkien's have been published only in
recent years (and since these grammars date from the earlier phases
of his work, they are not always "valid" for the languages
as they appear in The Lord of the Rings anyhow). So when I started learning,
and to a considerable extent even now, I and other students are simply
analyzing actual samples of the languages. The Rosetta stone method,
if you like. A very simple example, drawn from the Quenya or "High-elven"
language: By considering such words as Elda "Elf" pl. Eldar
or Vala "angel, god", pl. Valar and many others, we can
tell that one Quenya plural ending is -r. We knew that long before
there finally turned up explicit notes of Tolkien's to the same effect.
Here and there, Tolkien will indeed provide a note on some aspects of
grammar, and he once did produce a list of the Quenya case endings.
As Tolkien-linguists, we are trying to bring together all the information
provided by the Professor and the data we have gleaned from our own
analyses, and so hopefully arrive at an understanding of the languages
that is as complete as possible. The fact that Tolkien very often changed
his mind about the details is an added complication! Many sources plainly
contradict one another, so part of our task is to distinguish between
the various "conceptual phases", as we call them.
4. What sort of resources were available when you were first learning
the languages?
Little else than the "primary sources" themselves, the original
books, such as had appeared around 1990. But the information found in
them is generally widely scattered and not set out in a very "user-friendly"
format, since these sources usually touched on the languages more or
less incidentally and were not intended as tutorials.
5. What other languages do you speak?
Is the implication that I "speak" any Tolkien-language? While
I do believe that Quenya in particular could be developed into a spoken
idiom, enthusiasts tend to be widely scattered and are rarely able to
practice spoken "Elvish" (foreseeable advances in telepresence
and virtual reality are likely to fix that problem, though). But for
now, the only languages I can fluently speak are English and my native
Norwegian. I can read the other Scandinavian languages, I once tried
to study German with limited success, and I have some knowledge of Classical
Hebrew and Greek. (The latter two are of course not languages you study
in order to "speak" them, but to read ancient texts.)
6. What is your academic background in linguistics?
I studied Nordic (Scandinavian) languages at the University of Bergen.
In recent years I have also been studying Classical Hebrew and now Greek,
as noted above.
7. Why did you decide to create a website and provide resources for
other students of Tolkien's languages?
In the mid-nineties, when I started developing that site, there were
no good resources available online. Fresh learners had nowhere to turn
to absorb the basics. To some extent, each new student had to reinvent
the wheel by studying the primary sources. I had the time, and at least
some of the knowledge, required to improve the situation. (Since then,
quite a few high-quality sites have appeared.)
8. How does it feel to be one of the most well-known Elvish experts?
Did you ever think you would get to that point?
Whatever field you work in, you obviously hope that eventually, you
will stop being a Nobody and actually be counted as a Somebody -- one
whose opinions are at least noted. But I guess I never expected that
my articles would be translated into lots of languages.
At the same time, I never call myself an "expert" -- if anything,
you can call me a "long-term student." While some of my theories
have been vindicated by later publications, others have turned out to
be completely wrong (or at least simplistic). In this field, we typically
have very few examples to go on, and the publication of just a few new
forms may completely shift the balance of the evidence.
I guess I have considerable influence on what grammatica conventions
others adopt for their own "Neo-Elvish" compositions (post-Tolkien
texts written in his languages, as far as we understand them). Since
I am the author of some of the most widely-consulted courses and tutorials
available, that follows automatically. But it also means that I must
take the blame if my theories turn out to be wrong. I am painfully aware
that some of my writings are overdue for revision.
People should not treat me as a substitute for Tolkien himself, calling
on me to pronounce "definite" answers or decisions on matters
that are left vague in the Professor's writings. This is especially
true in the current situation, where a large part of Tolkien's linguistic
material is still unpublished and hence unavailable to me. Remember
what I said about just a few new forms shifting the weight of the evidence
completely!
9. Do you have a lot of correspondence with other people studying the
languages?
I do subscribe to some mailing lists devoted to the subject, yes. How
much I actively participate is of course very variable. I also handle
many requests from people who want "Elvish" inscriptions for
rings or tattoos. (When the movie hype peaked, there was a period when
I simply had to remove my e-mail address from my site, or it would be
too much to handle.)
10. About how much time do you devote to Tolkien's languages?
That is also very variable. When new publications appear, I will (ideally
speaking) try to update my wordlists and articles. Currently I am trying
to translate certain ancient texts into Quenya, and on average I guess
I spend around ten minutes a day on that project. Over a few months,
this adds up to very substantial texts.
11. What sort of things do you do now in relation to the Elvish languages
and the Tolkien community in general?
As for what I "do now", see above. As for Tolkien-related
stuff that is not narrowly linguistic, I have been working on a somewhat
elaborate discussion of how the story of the Downfall of Númenor could
be fleshed out as a movie, and many have taken an interest in my writings
on the subject. I think it would be a far more powerful "prequel"
to the Jackson trilogy than "The Hobbit" can ever be, though
it would also have to be much darker in tone.
12. How do you find out new information, like when a word is newly published?
In other words, what are your sources?
The publication of Tolkien's linguistic material has been an extremely
long process, and even now it is far from complete. It has now been
going on for more than half a century, counting from the publication
of The Lord of the Rings itself in the fifties. In the seventies and
early eighties such books as The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales
appeared, with new words and samples. Then Christopher Tolkien started
publishing the History of Middle-earth series; in all, twelve
volumes would appear before the series was completed in the late nineties.
For our purposes, an especially important volume was The Lost Road
(1988) which suddenly gave us an enormously extended Elvish vocabulary
because it included "The Etymologies", Tolkien's list of hundreds
of Elvish root-words and their derivatives. It suddenly became possible
to compose actual texts in these languages, something that was scarcely
possible before.
Yet Christopher Tolkien could not well include all of his father's narrowly
linguistic writings in this book series, since this material would be
too obscure for readers in general. Starting in 1991, he sent photocopies
of thousands of pages of material to a group of American Tolkien-linguists
who have since, with irregular intervals, been presenting transcribed
and edited versions of Tolkien's writings in the journals Vinyar Tengwar
and Parma Eldalamberon. Seventeen years into the project, estimates
of how much material remains to be published range from 50 to 70 per
cent of the total. (Tolkien really wrote a lot about his languages,
you see!) I obviously take care to get each new publication, and I imagine
the publication project will still be going on for at least ten more
years.
13. Which of Tolkien's languages is your favorite and why?
I spend most time on Quenya, for the simple reason that it is by far
the most highly-developed Tolkien language. Tolkien held it to be the
most beautiful language and I agree. Even so, I hope we will eventually
see published more information especially about Sindarin, the other
major Tolkien-language, which is itself highly euphonious (in a Celtic
style).
14. Do you have any other comments or anecdotes about being a Tolkien
linguist?
Well, do you recall the very first words we hear in the Jackson movies?
I mean, Galadriel whispering, "i amar prestar aen", which is intended
to mean "the world is changed"? It was one of the lines developed
for the movies by American Tolkien-lingustic David Salo. The innocent
movie audience has no idea of the intensity, even vehemence, with which
this sentence was discussed on Tolkien-linguistic mailing-lists: Had
David Salo interpreted the use of the Sindarin participle aen correctly,
or hadn't he?! It is attested just once, in a single Tolkien text, and
its exact meaning and function in the relevant sentence is disputed.
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