From: Ray Saintonge <saintonge(a)telus.net>
Reply-To: wikipedia-l(a)Wikimedia.org
To: wikipedia-l(a)Wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Wikipedia-l] Middle-Earth Wikipedia
Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:41:22 -0700
Wouter Steenbeek wrote:
I would
also be happy to rid Wiktionary of this sort of thing. The
supporters of these languages seem to have only questionable contact with
reality. Tolkien was a learnèd man whose philological studies helped to
make his stories more vibrant, but sometimes people need to be reminded
tha "Lord of the Rings" was a work of _fiction_. The languages developed
there are also works of fiction with no credibility in the real world,
and no basis for development beyond the context of Tolkien's books. That
being said, any attempt at building an encyclopedia in these languages
must falter when it needs to develop vocabulary for concepts that are
alien to Middle Earth.
It is fitting that Wikipedia have an article giving an outline of these
languages, and that Wikibooks might even give an outline of the grammar.
Apart from that can we at least try to find some separation between the
real and fantasy world?
Ec
Please, please, please, don't get personal!
W.
There's absolutely nothing personal in that. Try as I might I can only see
generic comments in what I said. However, if you really think that there
is such a place as Middle Earth I shall be more than happy to apologize to
its residents. :-)
Ec
Huh huh huh. There we go again. Do you see what I mean now? Of course the
Tolkienists know it is fantasy. Why the HELL should anyone learning a
fictional language be pathologically confusing fantasy and reality. there
are perhaps a few who do, but it is really offensive and personal to state
they all do, or the majority of them does. Learning Quenya and Sindarin is
most of all a tribute to Tolkien's great work and the beatiful languages he
created. And note: a language is always an abstracted thing. It either never
exits or already exists when someone invented it, since it dwells in
people's minds and in written records. So while elves, Isengard, dwarves,
Sauron, hobbits, Gandalf, Lothlorien etc. all don't exist, Quenya and
Sindarin surely do.
Btw I speak none of Tolkien's languages (yet).
Wouter
_________________________________________________________________
Nieuw: Download nu MSN Messenger 7.0
http://messenger.msn.nl/