|
"Can you see anything?" "Nothing. There's nothing." The descriptive majority of this article's text is unsourced, and should be supported with references. |
- "It takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish..."
- —Treebeard in The Two Towers, "Treebeard"
Old Entish, or simply Entish, was the unifying and predominant language of the Ents, a race of tree-like beings created by the Vala Yavanna. Their language appears to be based on an ancient form of Common Eldarin, later enriched by Quenya and Sindarin, although it includes many unique additions.
History[]
The Ents had a language of their own, which was described as being long and sonorous. Only Ents spoke Old Entish; not because they kept their language a secret, as the Dwarves did with Khuzdûl, but because no other could master it. It was quite an alien language to all others. The Huorns and trees of Fangorn Forest could understand Old Entish and converse with the Ents and each other with it. The only extant sample, a-lalla-lalla-rumba-kamanda-lindor-burúme, the word for hill (or possibly even just part of the name of a specific hill), was described as a very inaccurate sampling. Even the Elves, master linguists, could not learn Old Entish, nor did they attempt to record it due to its complex sound structure. The grammar structure of Old Entish was also quite bizarre, often described as a lengthy, long-winded discussion of a topic. There may not even have been a word for yes and no: such questions would be answered by a long monologue on why the Ent in question did or did not agree with the Ent who asked the question. Ents as a rule would say nothing in Old Entish unless it was worth taking a long time to say.
Examples[]
- a-lalla-lalla-rumba-kamanda-lind-or-burúmë or a-lalla-lalla-rumba-kamanda-lindor-burúme[1] - "the only extant (probably very inaccurate)"[1] fragment of a part of the word for "rockshelf"[2] or "hill".[3]
- Taurelilómëa-tumbalemorna Tumbaletaurëa Lómëanor - Quenya in Entish fashion meaning literally "Forestmanyshadowed-deepvalleyblack Deepvalleyforested Gloomyland"[1] or as Treebeard put it: "there is a black shadow in the deep dales of the forest".[3]
- burárum - "Entish noise of disgust"[4] directed mainly towards Orcs.[3]
External links[]
- Ardalambion page on Entish
- Entish on turbolangs.com
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Finnish | Entinkieli |
| French | Entique |
| German | Entisch |
| Hebrew | אנטית |
| Russian | Язык энтов |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Lord of the Rings, "Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Other Races", Ents
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon XVII, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", pg. 79
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers, Book One, Ch. IV: "Treebeard, pgs. 465-7, 469
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon XVII, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", pg. 79 (entry burárum)