Language

Ambar and Middle-earth were home to many different tongues.

The Eldest Tongues

Valarin was commonly reckoned the most ancient of languages. Yet it was held by many that the Elves awoke already possessed of speech, and that the tongue later called primitive Quendian arose with them at Cuivienen. This was the earliest form of Quenya. The origin of Mannish speech was less certain. Some held that early Men also possessed their own tongue from the beginning, while others believed they learned speech from the Avari. Whether the old Hildorin descended from Avarin or arose independently remained a matter of debate. What seemed clear was that the early tongues of Men were shaped greatly by contact with Avarin speech.

The First Age

In the First Age, Sindarin became the common tongue of Beleriand. In many other parts of the world, however, languages of Melkian origin began to spread.

The Second Age

In the Second Age, Sindarin gave way to Adûnaic as the speech most widely used for trade and dealings between peoples. Adûnaic became deeply influential upon many languages of western Harad.

In the East and South, various language families of the Easterlings took shape during this age. These were influenced in different measure, according to region, by Melkian, Orkish, Khuzdul, and Avarin tongues. In later years Adûnaic also left its mark upon certain of these languages, as did the Black Speech where the shadow of Mordor reached.

The Third Age and the Common Speech

In the Westlands, Adûnaic in time evolved into the Common Speech, Westron. This new tongue drew not only upon Adûnaic but also upon certain native languages of the North that were themselves related to Adûnaic's forebears, Taliska and Old Mago.

As Gondor's power grew, Westron spread from the realm into Haradwaith and Rhovanion, becoming the common speech of trade and governance across much of western Middle-earth. Yet in remote regions, isolated local tongues endured, kept alive by peoples who dwelt far from the great roads and kingdoms.

Map showing the most common languages of the Westlands (MERP)

Major languages and families

Major languages and families

Ancient Tongues

• Valarin
  • Aulëan
    • Khuzdul
      • some Edainic tongues and Easterling tongues
  • Giantish
  • Uinenóre
  • Melkian
    • Language of Angband and Utumno
      • Dragon-Speech
        • Old Wômarin
      • Haesig
      • Orcish dialects and Black Speech
        • Mordorin
          • Varadia
      • Varnese
  • Oromëan
    • Primitive Quendian
  • Keladian
    • Iruaric

Animal-Tongues

• Beast-Speech
  • Bird-speech
    • Eryr-Aryth
    • Throseltongue
    • Language of Owls
      • Beth-i-Farithryn
  • Serpent-Speech
  • Vurduk
  • Warg-Speech

Elven Tongues

Main article: Elven tongues

• Primitive Quendian
  • Avarin dialects
  • common Eldarin
    • Common Telerin or Lindarin
      • Nandorin
        • Hawnin
        • Lossidilrin
        • Ossiriandeb or Green-elvish
        • Silvan Elvish (Lam Tawaren)
          • Silvan Elvish of Lórien
          • Silvan Elvish of the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood
          • Uialrin
      • Ninnelen
      • Sindarin
        • Doriathrin
        • Falathrin
        • Númenórean Sindarin
          • Gondorian Sindarin or "King's Sindarin"
        • Noldorin-Sindarin
        • North-Sindarin or Mithrimin
  • Quenya or High-elven
    • Noldorin Quenya
      • Mulanoldorin
        • Kaukareldarin
    • Telerin Quenya or Falmarin
    • Vanyarin Quenya

Mannish tongues

Main article: Mannish tongues

Mannish language families

Primary language families include: Adanic, Rhovanian, Arhûnerin, Talatherin, Mornerin, Linerin, Avaradan, Drughic, Narnerin, Apysaic, Sharaeki, Akanli, and the language of the Old Ones.

Other

• Iglishmek
• Kraluk
• Veyus the Mentalist Tongue
• Waildyth

Abbrevations

A. - Aden Ac. - Aca Ad. - Adûnaic Ae. - Aegawian Ah. - Aharian Ak. - Adek Aka - Akanli Ap. - Apysaic (Far-Haradron) Am. - Amazônaic Ans. - Ansith (Southern Coast pidgin) Ang. - Angmarian Ank. - Anklâ Ar. - Arhûnerin Arc. - Arctic Arch. - archaic As. - Asdraia At. - Abatanian Au. - Aulëan Av. - Avarin Bd. - Baradhrin (Beleriandic Easterling) Be. - Bethteur (Silvan-Elvish) Bef. - Beffraen Bel. - Bellakarin Bl. - Blarm (Native Hillman) Br. - Brâric Bre. - Bregion (Pre-Breelandish) BS. - Black Speech Ch. - Khyan Cu. - Cuina D. - Dunael (Old Dunlending) Del. - Delsk (Dalish, North Rhovanian) Di. - Dilikhran Dn. - Daenael (Proto-Dunlending, Oathbreaker) Dr. - Drêlic Drû. - Drûghic (Drúadan and related) DS. - Dragon-Speech Du. - Dunlending Dur. - Dursindarin Dy. - Dyrian E. - Adanic Eh. - Aivathiudisca El. - Elinse En. - Eneadurin Éo. - Éothéodan (Rohanese, Beorning) Er. - Eriadoran Eri. - Old Eriadoran Es. - Easterling F. - Foradanin Fo. - Folyavulthig (Old Dorwionion) For. -Forodwaithian Fs. - Fasattâli (pre-Hobbitish) Fu. - Fuinarin G. - Goldogrin (aka "Gnomish") Ga. - Gathmarig Ge. - Geshânian GI. - Giantish H. - Hobbitish Ha. - Harnerin Hal. - Halethian (Haladin and related) Har. - Haradaic (Haradwaith Common) Hi. - Hillman Hl. - Hildorin (mannish proto-language) Ho. - Honnin Ht. - Hathorian Ia. - Iauradanil (Chaialla, Yatali-gan and Honnin) Ib. - Ibavin Ig. - Igathig Il. - Ilkorin Intmd. - intermediate Io. - Ioradya Ir. - Iruaric K. - Keladian Kd. - Kuduk (Old Hobbitish) Kg. - Kugathig Kh. - Khuzdul Khe. - Kheyan Ki. - Kîrani Kil. - Kiltanaic Kú. - Kùrúdfarî Ky. - Ky'târin L. - Lôkhan La. - Labba ("Snow-man") Lin. - Linerian Lo. - Logathig Los. - Lossidilrin (Snow-elvish) Lt. -Lintanoin (Pre-Edain) Ly. - Lynerin M. - Mordorian (Mordor Common) Ma. - Magrin Me. - Melkian (Angband, Utumno language) Mb. - Mebion Bron (Pre-Hillman/Breelandish) Mg. - Old Magol (Hadorian or Marachian) Mo. - Mornârin (Pre-Snowman) Mû. - Mûmakanian ("Mahûd") Mr. - Múranien N. - Nandorin (Green&Silvan Elvish) Na. - Narnerin (Proto-Black Haradron) Ni. - Ninnelen ("marshman") No. - Northman Nol. - Noldorin Nur. - Núrnian NS. - Númenórean Sindarin Od. - Odhraia OE. - Old Entish Ol. - Languages of the Old Ones Om. - Ômin Or. - Orcish Os. - Ossiriandeb P. - Pel Pe. - Pêdia PL. - Plainstongue PQ. - Primitive Quendian Pu. - Pultic R. - Rohanese Ra. - Ranaka Rh. - Rhovanian Rhu. - Rhûnic Q. - Quenya S. - Sindarin Sa. -Sâre Se. - Sederi Sg. - Sagathig Sh. - Shartha Si. - Silvan Sn. - Sháyan So. - Soelâsi Bû (Old Wômawian) Syr. - Syrkan Sz. - Szreldorn T. - Taliska ("Bëorian") Ta. - Tantûraki Tal. - Talatherin ("Plains-Easterling") Tel. - Telerin Th. - Thokot Tk. - Tûktanin Ts. - Ts'dan Tu. - Tumag Tyr. - Tyran Tz. - Tazinain Ub. - Umbarean dialect Ui. - Uinenórean U. - Ûrdarian Ul. - Ulgathig Um. - Umitic Ur. - Ûrdarian Us. - Ûsakani V. - Valarin Va. - Varadia ("Variag") Vn. - Vanyarin Vg. - Vogmurian Vm. - Vulman Vo. - Vothrig W. - Westron Wd. - Woodman Wm. - Wômarin Wo. - Wose Zi. - Zimrathânaic

Notes

The names/terms for a language can be confusing. Often there are two equivalent names: the first is the endonym (internal name), the other is the exonym (external name, which in the case of this wiki is in English). See: Wikipedia(En) article on endonym and exonym. So, for example: Blarm and Hillman (language) mean the same thing.

See also

• Haradrim Languages
• Languages of the Men of the East
• Languages of the Old Ones

References

• MERP: Lords of Middle-earth II: The Mannish Races
• MERP: Northwestern Middle-earth Campaign Atlas
• MERP: Northwestern Middle-earth Gazetteer

Editorial Note: This entry contains speculative or fan-based material — such as fanon, fanfiction, or theory constructs — that may not be directly supported by canonical texts. Interpretations offered here are part of the NNCA’s speculative corpus and should not be mistaken for primary Tolkien sources.