Language · 2

J.R.R. Tolkien spent decades developing which invented language before he began writing the stories of The Lord of the Rings?

Answer

Quenya

Tolkien began constructing Quenya, an Elvish language inspired by Finnish, years before he wrote the novels, later building Middle-earth's stories partly to give the language a history and speakers.

💡 Did you know?

J.R.R. Tolkien spent decades perfecting Quenya before writing The Lord of the Rings—the language came first, then the stories.

Other options people guess

  • Klingon
  • Dothraki
  • Na'vi

Topics

  • invented-languages
  • tolkien
  • fiction
  • linguistics

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