I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time when I was 11, in 5th grade. I read the Silmarillion the following year, and after completing that I spent much time in other Arda-related books and maps. I learned as much as I could, but I soon found myself without anyone with which to have in depth conversations regarding Tolkien's works (at most, my friends had only read LOTR). I am now a Junior in college and have begun to find many new Tolkien fans who know a good deal more than my middle-school friends. I've joined this forum to learn and hone my knowledge once again...and, of course, to make friends . Glad to be here!
Sincerely,
Teralectus
-- Edited by Teralectus on Sunday 15th of September 2013 04:25:33 PM
Teralectus, Welcome to the Tolkien Forums. I too began reading The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings at about the same age as you did. But that was back in the mid 1960's ... the interest in fantasy was just beginning to warm up and "Bilbo Baggins" had yet to appear on a T-shirt ... but there was a small surge in scholastic responses to Tolkien's works ... and then came the flood of scholarship and critical assessment. Needless to say I got "hooked" on Tolkien in my university days ... and his works ended up as a reference over and over in my academic work. I am semi-retired now (clinical depth psychology) and so I'm on the Forums because it is fun and there are such wonderful people here. I am only a member but if I can help with site navigation, or the nuances of finding what you are interested in, or just general question, feel free to post a private message, or write in the chatbox, or just reach out through your posts. I think you will find folks are most very welcoming and are interested in anything Tolkien. Just check out the past threads and if you find a topic with an older posting date please don't hesitate. We love re-opening these threads and enjoy new opinions and insights.
On your interest in pronunciations and the various languages I may have a good resource. A lady named Ruth S. Noel has a small book titled "The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-earth." It claims to be a complete guide to all fourteen of the languages Tolkien invented, contains a dictionary of all non-English words, an English/Elvish glossary, Rules of grammar and pronunciation, and even how to write Elvish and other alphabets and runes. The current edition (1980) is published by Houghton Mifflin Company. You might be able to gain access through your university library or your own copy through Amazon.
Once again; Welcome!
Bear an Elf-Friend
-- Edited by Bear on Sunday 15th of September 2013 10:14:33 PM
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Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit Called or uncalled, God is present
I hate to say this after Bear's recommendation [apologies Bear], but Ruth Noel's book is out of date these days. I recommend checking out the resources page over at 'E.L.F.' before you decide on a purchase.
Go to Main Forums page and under the Miscellaneous subtopic you will find "Lord Of The Rings games and films" forum! And that is where you will find (or if you care to start a thread) what we have topics of that interest.
And Galin my friend no apologies needed ... I am always happy to learn from you!
-- Edited by Bear on Monday 16th of September 2013 02:32:09 AM
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Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit Called or uncalled, God is present
I mentioned I am at university but I realized I didn't specify my major. I'm an English Major in the Writing and Linguistics Emphasis as well as a Mass Media Major. But anyway, to your questions.
My favorite book is either the Fellowship of the Ring or the Silmarillion. The Fellowship I read when I'm looking for light, enjoyable reading. The Silm. I take up when I want to really engage my mind and learn about Eä, not just Third Age Middle-Earth. (I used to draw out genealogies to keep the characters straight lol). So it's between those two. My favorite moment in the books is Fingolfin's encounter with Morgoth. My favorite line in all of the books is when Fingolfin is calling him out at the gates of Angband and it says just one short sentence: "And Morgoth came."
To the second question. I also posted this same introduction to the fanatic section because I feel like I am a "recovering fanatic", if you will. I used to live and breathe Tolkien, as my post says, but at such a young age none of my peers did, so I fell away from it during high school. I've retained a lot of knowledge, but obviously there being so much to Tolkien's world, I have forgotten a lot as well. I was going to post this question in the Fanatic threads, but I'll post it here too. It's about his pronunciations. In the real world, umlauts and circumflexes denote different sounds for different languages. In Tolkien's world, how are they used? My only conjecture with any basis is that a circumflex in Dwarven language denotes a long vowel, based on the pronunciation of "Khazad-dûm". Anyway, if anyone could shed some knowledge on this subject, that'd be awesome.
Thank you, Bear. I've been reading a lot of posts today and have seen many of yours. You seem to be quite the friend.
Thank you for referring me to that book. I will definitely have to purchase it (I have thing for owning books :P). I look forward to conversing with you in the future.
I don't have much to add to what has already been said. I just thought one more hello wouldn't hurt :)
One bit of advice might help. That would be to subscribe to your favortie thread. That way you get emails when something new has been posted. For example, I love the quote game (as some may have noticed). Anyway, everytime someone posts on there I get an email. It's a great way to stay on top of stuff.
Enjoy and if you have any questions, give a shout.
. Glad to be here!
I'd advise you to start jumping into the discussions but I think such advice would be redundant!
