Get Ready to Nerd Out....

When it comes to the fantasy genre, what distinguishes the truly great works from the mediocre is attention to detail and the authenticity of the world that is created. This may include the creation of a new species or culture or a modification of one that already exists. Some authors will even develop a mythology that is unique to their universe. In very rare cases, a writer will actually develop an entire language for their novel.

One of the greatest examples of this is J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. In addition to being a writer, Tolkien was a philologist, who loved studying languages. He drew on elements of different languages to develop his own. But he soon found something was missing – a culture behind the language. This was the principle factor that led him to develop Middle Earth, the setting of all of his most famous works. Though he created several languages for his stories, it is Elvish that stands out in most fantasy enthusiasts’ minds because it is the most structured. Some hardcore fans have actually attempted to learn Elvish and several actors in the Lord of the Rings movies were required to learn it. Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn, in particular, fell in love with the language and actually asked for more of his lines to be written in Elvish. Though it is extremely well-developed for a constructed language, Elvish is not a fully functional language and lacks certain aspects of grammar and syntax and does not have a fully developed vocabulary. Nevertheless, it is still more fully realized than most “languages” that appear in the fantasy genre and Tolkien remains as one of the few authors to ever construct a language so comprehensively.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s attention to detail and rich development of language is the reason why his works are so enduring. Few fantasy writers have put that much effort into the creation of their worlds. Besides sketching out an entire language, Tolkien also put a lot of thought into the races of people that feature in his novels (hobbits, elves, dwarves, orcs, Ents etc.) as well as the setting, geography, and landscape of Middle Earth. Each race lives in a distinct landscape, which is reflected in their culture; for instance, hobbits live simple, comfortable lives in the Shire, a peaceful, idyllic countryside, while dwarves prefer caves and mountains because they provide them with the resources of their main occupation and love – mining for jewels and precious metals. All of these elements add a layer of realism to Tolkien’s fantasy world, but it is still the language that sets him head and shoulders above the rest of most fantasy authors. For this reason, Tolkien has influenced many modern fantasy writers as well as game designers and movie producers. Appropriately enough, Tolkien even has a word in the dictionary named after him – tolkienesque and his imaginary creation of the hobbit, also appears as an entry.

We now live in a world where hobbits, Klingons, and Muggles* are familiar household names. This is because their creators have made them utterly unforgettable, by either ascribing to them a language or a richly layered culture and background. While Tolkien was not the first to do this, he was one of the best who did and has greatly influenced an entire generation of fantasy movies, games, and of course, novels.

*Muggles, of course, refer to non-magical people in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter universe. While the people the word describes aren't particularly special and aren't ascribed any of things I mentioned, the word itself and the people who use it are unforgettable and that is what I was going for. I apologize for any confusion.