Language Of Middle Earth

Journey back to Middle-earth at 'LOTR' screenings

For many fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series, there's one film trilogy to rule them all. And for three days this month, Edwards Cinemas will bring Peter Jackson's interpretation of the much-beloved Middle-earth back to the big screens of Bakersfield.

Beginning Tuesday, the theater will screen each film in its "extended edition" format for one 7 p.m. showing, preceded by a special introduction from director Peter Jackson. Following the "Fellowship of the Ring" screening on June 14 will be "The Two Towers" on June 21 and "The Return of the King" on June 28.

This special showing is limited to 500 theaters across the country and marks the first time the trilogy has officially been released back into theaters since 2003. "The Return of the King" screening also conveniently coincides with the release date for the 15-disc "The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition" Blu-ray package.

For fans of the epic films, the opportunity to once again experience the sweeping landscapes of Hobbiton or Rivendell and be fully immersed in the story of Frodo Baggins and the rest of The Fellowship's quest to destroy The One Ring is an opportunity that's hard to pass up.

"I was really excited to find out they were releasing the films back into theaters," said Brenna Wuillamey. "It's a great experience -- a lot of it's because of the crowd interaction. I don't know if you've ever heard someone shout out 'Wingnut!' at a 'Lord of the Rings' film, but when that screen comes up, someone will shout it. You'll hear people gasp, and you'll hear people cry.

"You're so immersed in it. It's easy to get distracted when you watch the films at home, but when you see them in the theater, you pay your money, you sit down, and you see it from one corner of the room to the other. And the other people there are paying good money to be there with you, so you know they're excited about it, too."

As with nearly every book-to-film adaptation, Jackson's version of the "LOTR" trilogy does have its omissions and takes some creative license with Tolkien's tales. And while the films do have their detractors, they've also helped induct an entirely new generation of "LOTR" fans into a fandom whose canonical works were first published more than half a century ago.

Initially encouraged to persevere through the sometimes difficult language of the three main "LOTR" novels by a high school reading requirement, longtime fan Christeen Abee's love of the trilogy wasn't fully solidified until she saw "Fellowship" in 2001.

The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-Earth | Find Smart Sale

Do not buy, do not buy, and did I mention do not buy?

This book is very outdated and not entirely accurate. It really contains only a fraction of the available Tolkien language material, and there are some languages that nobody even knew existed when this work was published.The chapters about Dwarven names and those of the Hobbits and Rohhirim are good, though. As for the rest of the book, if you want up to date, accurate info, I advise you to go to Helge Fauskanger’s excellent web-page, Ardalmbion [online] the biggest and best resource on the net or in print.

This is a terrible, massively inaccurate book. It is filled with misinformation and egregious errors. These are not simple typos, they are serious problems that will greatly misinform the reader at every turn. There are not just a few errors, there are more than one hundred! The more I look, the more errors I find — multiple errors per page! I wish I could change my vote to ONE STAR.

If you buy this book for yourself or another person, you will only spread misinformation.

This book does not include anything from The History of Middle-Earth, but that is not a severe problem, since including all of that would require several volumes. The chapters on Hobbit, Dwarven, and Rohirric names seem fine.

But the sections about Elvish languages and the dictionary contain an unacceptable number of serious errors, misspelled words, and wrong information. How can you learn to speak Elvish from a book where the words are spelled wrong? Here is a list of [some of] the errors that I found.

1. Consonant mutation, an essential part of Sindarin grammar, is totally ignored. You just can NOT learn or use Sindarin without the consonant mutation.

In the Glossary and Dictionary:

2. Several words and names are assigned to the wrong language (including aiya, Altariello, Andúni, Aros, Baran, Bereg, Carn Dm, Golfimbul, kal, khelek, le, Morgoth, oial, omentielvo, Shagrat, Sindarin, tark*, tarkil, Turgon). Many of these were correctly identified in the Quotations Translated chapter, while others are identified in the Silmarillion or Lord of the Rings, so this is clearly a case of sloppy editing.

*an Orkish word, listed under Quenya!

3. In the Dictionary, Noel lists “Hobbit” as a language separate from Common Westron. This is plainly untrue, Noel herself agrees that the Hobbits spoke Westron. There is no such language as “Hobbit.” All of the words identified as “Hobbit” in the Dictionary are actually Common Speech (Westron).

The complete guide to Middle-earth, from the Hobbit through the Lord of the rings and beyond

Middle-Earth Languages, Quenya

The real Middle-Earth, exploring the magic and mystery of the Middle Ages, J.R.R. Tolkien and "The Lord of the Rings"

The origins of Tolkien's Middle-earth for dummies

The languages of Tolkien's Middle-earth