PLATT@CIT-20@sri-unix.UUCP (08/10/83)
From: John Platt <PLATT@CIT-20>
As far as I heard, "An Intoduction to Elvish" is a hard book to
get, being only published in the UK. Once, someone in my Tolkien
discussion group went on vacation to England, and brought back a
copy. It brought a round of applause.
For a possibly more available book on Elvish (and other things),
you make want to try the book, "Languages of Middle-Earth" by
a friend of mine, Atanielle Noel (she wrote the book under the
name Ruth S. Noel). It not only tells you how to write and speak
in Elvish (what little of it is known), but also tells you the
philological sources for many names in Tolkien's sub-creation.
Another book by Noel is "Mythology of Middle-Earth", which
explores the mythological background that Tolkien drew upon.
Between the former and latter books, I'm sure you could find out
the source of the names we have been discussing. For example, I
recall that the dwarven names (Ori, Nain, etc.) come from
Old Norse (possibly from the "Prose Edda" or "Elder Edda" by Snorri
Snurrison, although my memory is hazy about such things.)
Another good book on Tolkien's inspirations is "Englnd and
Always" by Jared Lobdell (a professor at CMU). A book you may want
to avoid is "The Individuated Hobbit" by O'Neill, which is full of
the most illogical Jungian analysis of literature I have ever seen.
John Platt
PLATT@CIT-20
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