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Spoilers Lord of the Rings TV series

I agree, and disagree with this. I enjoyed the language used in LotR (e.g., ere, thither and hither), because it was actually like the ancient Anglo-Saxon and Norse epics. The language should be coherent, but not too colloquialized. Like, Frodo shouldn't respond to Gandalf's proposition of the quest, with: "No cap? Bet, bro." or something of the sort.
Says who? It's made up fantasy land. Tweenage Hobbit slang could sound like literally anything. Also, nobody is actually supposed to be speaking english at all. It's just a narrative conceit for the benefit of the viewers anyway. ;)
 
Says who? It's made up fantasy land. Tweenage Hobbit slang could sound like literally anything.
Tolkien's languages are crafted incredibly carefully; he had degrees in linguistics. So Tweenage Hobbit slang would be based on how languages morph in reality, not just burbeldy-bork.
Is this actual extant slang or is it your own invention?
Yep, unfortunately this is the language used in schools across the nation. Google it. Or *shudder* scroll through *another shudder* tiktok.

EDIT: for the reader's convenience:
"cap" means "bullsh*t"
"bet" means "yeah" or "alright"
"bro" is just a vocative.
 
As a general rule, I'm not opposed to slang. However, contemporary slang absolutely should not appear in a Tolkien adaptation.
But thats the problem -- I would be shocked if they hired a linguist (Mark Okrand would do great) to create slang that actually works, instead of "burbledy-bork bork-bork berk" meaning "Hello, how are you?", or some such. Or they'd try to appeal to younger audiences by using modern slang.
 
Exactly. There's a reason why The Silmarillion is so weird, it's because it's not a coherent novel, but instead closer to a collection of old tales and songs, the kind which are mostly transcribed from second or third hand oral traditions and archaic translations.

It actually claims Frodo threw the ring into the fire, and we know that's not how it went down!
 
I agree, and disagree with this. I enjoyed the language used in LotR (e.g., ere, thither and hither), because it was actually like the ancient Anglo-Saxon and Norse epics. The language should be coherent, but not too colloquialized. Like, Frodo shouldn't respond to Gandalf's proposition of the quest, with: "No cap? Bet, bro." or something of the sort.
You can still update the way the characters talk without necessarily turning it into that.
 
The Similarion does?

Direct quote from page 365 of the Del Rey Paperback of the Silmarillion:

"For Frodo the halfling, it is said, at the bidding of Mithrandir took upon himself the burden, and alone with his servant he passed through peril and darkness and came at last in Sauron's despite even to Mount Doom; and there in the Fire where it was wrought he cast the Great Ring of Power, and so at last it was unmade and its evil consumed."

The bold is mine. Obviously, the true story is only known to some. It would also not reflect well on Frodo for everyone to know that at the last, he claimed the ring for himself and would have doomed the world if not for Gollum's last act of desperation, so perhaps this distortion in the 'official record' can be forgiven. Also, he took the burden of his own volition, not "at the bidding of Mithrandir."
 
Direct quote from page 365 of the Del Rey Paperback of the Silmarillion:

"For Frodo the halfling, it is said, at the bidding of Mithrandir took upon himself the burden, and alone with his servant he passed through peril and darkness and came at last in Sauron's despite even to Mount Doom; and there in the Fire where it was wrought he cast the Great Ring of Power, and so at last it was unmade and its evil consumed."

The bold is mine. Obviously, the true story is only known to some. It would also not reflect well on Frodo for everyone to know that at the last, he claimed the ring for himself and would have doomed the world if not for Gollum's last act of desperation, so perhaps this distortion in the 'official record' can be forgiven. Also, he took the burden of his own volition, not "at the bidding of Mithrandir."
Reads like an oral tradition that has had some shortening.
 
Ah, slang. The bane of each previous generation. :guffaw:

misusing_slang.png


:biggrin:
 
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