Added: 4 years ago
From: chamberofrecords
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  • One may create a language,but until people learn to listen,we still won't make much progress.

  • Wow, so musical Beautiful

  • That was music to my ears.

  • One thing that confuses me is when Tolkein reads " yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron! Yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier" he seems to pronounce it "yéni ar únótë ve rámar aldaron! Yéni ar ve lintë yulmar avánier." Can anybody unwravel this mystery for me?

  • sounds abit like finnish :D

  • @PlastKladd that's the point my friend. Tolkien was a professor of English literature and anglo-saxon studies, and was a linguist to the core.so it was only natural he based his own languages of those he knew, using old Norse as a base for the elven tongues, and partialy on the Hebrew language for dwaven, while the words of men "westron" are based of middle English.

  • @TheMoreTheMerrier21 Yes, mum, ok, mum, I'll be a real good girl and I won't play the role of Lara Croft... Thanks =)

  • I learn Quenya, but when I listening to this genius, I think I have many progress to do before a good prononciation... But one thing is easy, because Tolkien (God) uses Finnish to create his language... I know Finnish... Does anybody know where is Tolkien tomb ?

  • @Nemesisprincess His grave is in the Wolvercote Cemetery in Oxford/England. He shares his grave with his late wife Edith (née Bratt). I assume you want to go and pay your respects to him and not dig up any bones and play "tomb raider" with his corpse, right?! :P

  • Amazing language. He reads it very comfortably and fast as if he uses the language daily for communication.

  • @TheodenN You see that as a plus? In this case, I'd say he adds absolutely no emotion into it.

  • Absolutely ingenious.

  • awesome. what a genius.

  • The way he says it, it sounds a lot like Finnish.

  • @Finarphin He was very familiar with the Finnish language, and probably decided that this type of language would suit the elves. He believed that language shapes the culture, so the different languages he created fit each culture he designed. The speech of the people of Rohan is similar to Norwegian and has a harsher tone and feel that fit its people. While the languages of the elves fit their elegant and natural cultures.

  • @mynock2 Absolutely right. And it's brilliant he was able create these languages in way that so successfully captured that atmosphere. As an aside I've been reading Tolkien since I was 8 (25 now) and this is the first time I think I've -heard- Quenya (outside of the movies)... and man it -does- sound like Finnish

  • It's so wonderful to here this recording of Tolkien actually reciting Namarie, because I've been having trouble pronouncing my elvish while I read this. :D

  • How he actually "sings" those magnificently beautiful words... :')

    Tolkien always brings me to tears... I don´t why... or maybe it´s because of the beauty and the sadness and all those emotions that come up in his works. Which other author has/had the ability to unite so many feelings in his works like Tolkien? His creation was his life and you surely can feel that! Thank you for sharing this with us! :)

  • Tolkien based Elven heavily on Finnish. Follow this link to hear Finnish (gospel reading in Finnish):

  • @mwall444 you can hear aspects of a few baltic linguistics coming through the languages he created...he definitely had an ear and tongue for some of the greatest languages spoken by man.

  • Is this Quenya or Sindarin?

  • @MegaloSaro This is Quenya.

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  • *------------------------* Aiya!!

  • Other authors just write stories. Tolkien created a whole world. I doubt there will ever be another one like him...

    Nai maruvas séresse!

  • 0:38 "Tupac, I'ma kill you." Lmao.

  • he was ´the oldest and greates elv on mittleeath

  • I'm Finnish and this sounds like Finnish spoken flawedly by a foreigner.

  • @Seddoron I'm Finnish too, and while Quenya does sound at points like Finnish, there are clear differences too. And of course Quenya is prettier. :)

  • @Feanorielle I've heard that the Quenya language was based on the Finnish language and that Tolkien had a lot of inspiration from Finland. He studied the old language of Finnish so that he could read the Kalevala in its original Finnish. I can image that he was inspired with all the beautiful forests and lakes that you have. Finland is a beautiful country!

  • @marvelousmaris Before encountering Finnish via Kalevala, Tolkien had based his Elven Latin on Gothic languages, if my memory serves me. But learning Finnish made him change his mind and he started all over again. So Finnish is undoubtly a major source, if not the biggest. But there are other sources as well, such as Latin and Greek. Finnish and Quenya are by no means twins, and Quenya is a really brilliant invention that goes beyond just copying from an existing language.

  • @Feanorielle most languages today are just mash ups of archaic spoken word and in the case of English, Shakespeare set in motion some dramatic changes to the spoken word of his era that have carried through to today...china is a great example how more than a dozen dialects can exist but be quite different to each other in a regional area.

  • @wolfie83 Interesting, China has over 1 billion people to, I'd expect some different dialects.

  • @Andrew33416 When China had not only different spoken word but different written language there were no where near that many people...once China was unified most languages were lost to the ages.

  • @Seddoron

    tolkien mixed welsh with finnish

  • Pois é

  • Professor Tolkien = Illuvatar

  • @veritas0290 It's spelt "Ilúvatar"... if it's too hard to remember, go with "Eru" :p

  • @SteinbrecherBack Aw, a snob! How sweet. It was really kind of you to point out this miniscule detail - really, you needn't have gone to the trouble JUST for my sake. :)

  • if you dont know the language he might as well be speaking in tongues, a phenomenom where the individual creates their own spiritual language that they themselves internally translate or audably....

  • How the heck can anyone dislike this? Wonderful!

  • @yoginipeacelove Orcs.. most likely.

  • any one can learn a language it takes pure genius to create one.

  • @facelessXreflection and even two, at least. Quenya and Sindarin.

  • @facelessXreflection and he created four...

  • @facelessXreflection You haven't heard of the Conlang community then.

  • listening to tolkien speak quenya feeds the soul..

  • 5 Nazgul his the dislike button.

  • sorry for the dumb question but, is quenya a real existing language?

  • @dreamer1875

    Clearly, whatever language has such an elaborate grammar, a large set of roots and an almost full vocabulary qualifies as real and existing. Also, Tolkien spent decades creating it, and invented a whole world where it is spoken, not to mention Quenya has its own history and numerous excerpts are available to us through his books.

  • tolkien's a genius!

  • Ai! Laurie lantar lassi súrinen inyalemíne rámar aldaron inyali ettulielle turme márien anduniesse la míruvórion Varda telúmen falmar kírien laurealassion ómar mailinon. Elentári Vardan Oiolossëan Tintallen máli ortelúmenen arkandavá-le qantamalle túlier e falmalillon morne sindanórie no mírinoite kallasilya Valimar.
  • Mae pennen!

    To those of you who disliked this video: Nai Valaraukar tye-mátar!

  • per carità l'ha inventata lui e la recita proprio bene ma nons embra proprio per niente la lingua leggera e mistica degli elfi a cui ci hanno abituato le altre interpretazioni, quella del film anzitutto

  • Очень сильно похоже на финский

  • 5 people are dwarfs

  • @TSH4ever Stupid Elf! xD. I'm Dwarf! :D

  • @TSH4ever can't you see they are actually trolls?

  • It's incredible how well it flows when Tolkien speaks Quenya. It's almost casual. Beautiful. :D

  • @FlamingSpidermonkeys of course, he is the father of this language

  • Such a beautiful language. The words in Quenya are so delicate and tender.

  • Tolkien is TRUE master of fantasy! (:

  • @GreyScaleButterfly very interesting... pity that Gateway To Sindarin hasn't been translated to Polish yet. Reading specialist texts in a foreign language version is harder a bit :/

  • A man with Tolkien's talents is a rare gem of what humanity can do.

  • Sounds like a mix between Italian and Celtic language.. Cool

  • @Workhard1994

    Quenya is mostly based on Finnish, but with a little bit of Gaelic and Latin, and few other languages as well.

  • sorry, the mistake is in the second and third verses

  • I have an observation (only).

    I listened to this but i could hear that the first words in the first and the second verse are actually different, you have the last version of the poem in the descrption but the words were changed. those words are part of the first version of it.

    sorry for bothering and about my english (I'm still learning)

    and tnx for the audio :D

    Ai! Laurie lantar lassi súrinen

    INYALEMÍN ' únótimë ve rámar aldaron!

    INYALI ve lintë yuldar avánier

    mi oromardi lisse-miruvóreva

    ....

  • @GreyScaleButterfly the whole text of Namarie is at The Fellowship of the Ring book :) it's not strange, English hasn't as clear phones as quenya, Finnish or Polish, so you just must keep trying :) (let's listen to the Finnish-language music, you may find there more examples :)

  • Gos bless Tolkien. A exceptional writter, good teacher and talented man must be in the grace of God.Happy birthday mr Tolkien, for all the good moments i spent reading your fantastic and excellent stories.

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  • today is Professor's Tolkien's birthday.

    Namarië

  • APPLAUSE

  • wow!.....if this man wouldn't exsist...the world would have lost a soul....i hope someone keeps the tolkie spirit alive!!!!

  • @Roshan3L where do i learn this?? i want to learn dragonian from skyrim and elvish from lotr :)

  • Yes, Tolkien did create this (and other) language. Regardless, he could still make mistakes. He was an incredible linguist, and as such, created his languages according to grammatical rules that even real languages follow. He also made the written language, but he didn't bend it to fit his mistakes.

  • I need to make this my ringtone. 

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  • Tolkien was really skilled in languages - I admire his skill to read in Quenya without English accent and so on.

  • I cried 3 years ago when I first heard this, and I cry now again.

    Hantale Master

  • wouldn't say its completely perfect but i guess it has to do with his english accent.....

  • @stevengladius apparently the man who invented the language is speaking it incorrectly, what a shame you weren't there to teach him

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  • @stevengladius Why don't you put your money where your mouth is and upload a video of you speaking it "perfectly" then? Moron.

  • @PassionatelyPurple never said i could speak it perfectly but just pointed out that its not perfect......

  • @stevengladius But how can it NOT be perfect when he speaks it? It is HIS creation. Therefore, if this recital sounds different to other speakers attempts at the language, then that is simply because THEY are not speaking it perfectly. Not because he is not.

  • @stevengladius dude, if someone invents a whole language then they can pronounce it however they like and it will be perfect.

  • @stevengladius Oh, yes, I'm sure YOU know how to pronounce and speak Quenya perfectly. Enlighten, O wise one.

  • @stevengladius How can it not be perfect when he was the one who wrote it in the first place? You know more about this language than the creator himself?

  • @stevengladius "Wouldn't say it's completely perfect but I guess it has to do with his English accent ..."

    I know that countless others have reminded you of this, but THIS IS HIS OWN LANGUAGE. As such, he is pronouncing it perfectly. Who are you comparing against?

  • Stuff like this really makes one wonder if such a place like Middle-earth once existed, doesn't it?

  • That's incredible.

  • Yeah, I agree, this sounds cool, as if you imagine those words coming straight from an elf. And his works, what can you say, The Hobbit is perfect. The Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece. The Silmarillion is above that. Go Tolkien!

  • What an imaginative man! And earlobes like a Buddha too.

  • It has such a lovely, lilting sound to it, I can't help but listen over and over again.

  • The Real One Master!

  • He gets the up and down pitch he intended Quenyan to have more than anyone else ever has

  • @1ServantofThor1 I certainly hope so since he invented the language :P

  • I get chills up my spine whenever I hear this language spoken.

  • :: This brought tears of joy to my eyes. Thank you so much, chamberofrecords, for uploading this gem. Whoa. That is really something. Nai eleni siluvar antalyannar ~ (•8-D

  • A friend of mine suggested that Klingon was as well developed a language as Elven (his words), and I scoffed at him.

  • @tiriancreed you are right. Quenya was outlawed by King Thingol once he learned of the kinslayong at Alqualonde

  • Tolkien was a passionate artist in his fields of interest and excelled in what he did best. A genius in his own right.

  • sooo.. what is he saying?

  • A genious!

    A master.

  • What a treat to hear this. You will read in various sources that he had old Finnish epic texts in mind in crafting the high elven language. Listen to someone speaking fluent Finnish and you can hear the resonance and especially the rhythm of the prose.

  • @YouFoolWarrenIsDead He was a college professor and did stuff like this for a living. He had a wife and kids, fought in WWI, completed analysis on Beowolf and ancient nordic texts. He was a literature buff. It's not a life everyone would want, but he did what he loved and created beautiful works of art.

  • @TirianCreed Yeah yeah i know. Just messing.

  • What a beautiful, musical language. You don't have to be obsessed with LOTR (I hugely admire it. The Silmarrillion is my favorite piece of literature) to understand it's beauty. In song it is eerie.

  • A great man a genius Lord of the Rings is the most beautiful story

  • @TheHistoryForum No the Hobbit is (:

    In my opinion

  • Such a beautiful language - and he spoke it so well too.

  • If you're trying to learn one of the two languages, Quenya or Sindarin, I'd warrant Sindarin to be the better: since it is more used in the tales pertaining to Middle-Earth, there is a broader purview of the language therein.

  • What is best to learn, Quenya or Sindarin?

  • I would learn Quenya. Sindarin generally sounds more poetic, and you see it more in the books, but Quenya is much more complete. (Neither of them are at all complete, Quenya just has MUCH more vocabulary)

  • @Simberloffian Thank you. They are both beautiful languages.

  • @ElfPrincess1901 Quenya is the best to learn. Not that middle earth exists, but if it did, they wouldn't speak Sindarin on an every day basis. Quenyan is the language of the masses. Sindarin to the Elves is like old English to us. It is a more proper form of the language and was spoken by the ancients. It is understood by the Elves, but again, not spoken in the everyday.

  • @amusementparkmayhem However, neither (especially Sindarin) can be spoken fluently. Tolkien never finished the languages. But this was not because of a lack of time or effort, it was because he so loved creating that he kept revising and changing different aspects of the languages. It wouldn't be any fun to complete the language entirely, then there would be nothing left to play with.

  • @amusementparkmayhem Thank you!

  • @amusementparkmayhem I am currently reading the Silmarrillion and wasn't Quenya the language spoken by the Noldor and banned to the Teleri. Wasn't Sindarin the common language?

  • @TirianCreed - Sindarin was the language of the gray elves in Endor, the eastern lands.

    Teleri can be said to be one version of it, or a language of its own (hard to say, there's not much material on Teleri), since Teleri mainly points to the sea elves in Valinor (Valimar? now I confuse these 2) - the immortal lands.

    Quenya was the language of Noldor, mainly - but in Valinor it was also the language of the Vanyar, I think. They were one nation there. In Endor it was a Noldo language, basically

  • @amusementparkmayhem I believe you have that backwards. :) Qenya was the High Elvish and Sindarin was more common - amongst the Elves. The Hobbits and Men spoke a language that was a mixture of their native languages in Middle-Earth and the language of the Numenoreans. Only the more educated among men and Hobbits even knew Sindarin and for a mortal to know any Qenya was "mind-blowing" to the High Elves.

  • this is the man.

  • Epic!!

  • In every word that he speaks, you can hear, that he loved this language. He really lived in Middleearth. If you can say that like that.

  • Quenya should be an official language and be including in Google Translator.

  • @XxchimpanzeexX You can even set google on klingon. ;-)

  • Bow to the master.

  • Incredible how he speaks Quenya without faltering nor hesitating.Then again, this IS his language.Tolkien is undoubtedly a very gifted man.

  • @inostwinsister He is -THE- gifted man. Fantastic.

  • @inostwinsister i wish i could practice both Sindarin and Quenya.. amazing man!!!..... eglerio ( praise right)?

  • @inostwinsister This was the language of his heart. 

  • G R A N D!

  • I think it's great that fans have the opportunity to listen to Tolkien. It's amazing how he just recited the whole of 'Namarie' without taking a breather, it seems to me. Thanks for sharing this!

  • does anybody know any site where I can learn Quenya or Sindarin??

  • Thats so cool!

  • What is most beautiful - Quenya or Sindarin? I think Sindarin is SOOO pretty, but is it harder to learn? I dont think Sindarin sound that finnish, and im from Norway.

  • @camih001 Quenya is based in finnish not Sindarin

  • Sindarin isn't supposed to sound like Finnish, Quenya is. I'm Finnish and I like the familiarity of Quenya. Sindarin is more exotic.

    I guess it's really up to you. Others like different kinds of sounds.

  • In fact it's not Sindarin the one that should sound like Finnish, but Quenya. Sindarin is meants to sound like Welsh instead.

    That's right, Sindarin is as much pretty as Welsh is =)

  • quenya, is like the latin of elvish languange, and sindarin is like common language, much like english is to the world, even dwarves spoke it to be able to trade with them etc, even gave their children sindarin names -> donnie yen i.e english first name chinese last name, liek the dwarves hade thier names in sindarin then their real name in khuzdul : ]

  • Hey! Can anyone explain to me, what is Quenya and what is Sindarin?? Is that, like, two different ways to speak elvish, or two totally different langauges??? pls anyone!?

  • Originally, all elves spoke the same language, but being separated geographically for thousands of years their language diverged. The Quenya is the "high" elven and the Sindarin is the common elven tongue of Middle Earth. To learn more read the Silmarillion. It contains the history of the elves and will root you in Tolkien's mythology. It also has some neat stories that would make great movies in their own right.

  • @LoveDogoArgentino two different languages

  • God have spoken.  O.O

  • i would pay millions of dollars just to hear liv tyler recite this

  • É óbvio que não é Finlandês, conquanto ele - J. R. R. Tolkien - tenha usado tal língua como inspiração; entretanto, ela é próxima, o que corroborei ao escutar muitas vezes a este vídeo, no que tange à pronúncia característica de seu inventor, ao Castelhano, que também fôra mui cogitado para as bases do idioma criado, bem como o próprio J. R. R. Tolkien admitiu em seus tempos...

  • Tolkien did develop at least one of his Elvish language while learning Finnish. He loved the Kalevala. And he did this as a teenager. Was bored with mere Greek and Latin.

  • Aikamoista siansaksaa :)

    In other words, this definitely does sound like Finnish to my finnish ears, like something a little child might spew out when learning to speak. Apparently finnish kids speak elvish. And if you take into consideration that this is a poem recital, and compare this to what Kalevala sounds like when recited, the influence is obvious.

  • Heh. Siat puhuu saksaa? :P

    But yeah, he practically composed Quenya as Finnish with Welsh vocabulary and Latin writing, so while the structures and grammar is that of Finnish, that doesn't help in understanding the Welsh-like words.

  • it's all Finnish to me...(hehe i'm Greek)

  • IMO this doesn't resemble Finnish nearly as much as some might think. The largest resemblance is that the sounds would be easy for a Finn to pronounce. tintalle varda oiolosseo...But the overall tune is non-Finnish. Or that's how I see it.

  • There's is a lot of Finnish in there - long, drawn together sentence runs, yet the rythm is more flowing and less heavy than finnish sometimes can be, perhaps having more of Icelandish (or perhaps certain dialiects of Swedish) quality to the vowel Sound, though less gutteral than islandish. Perhaps this is where the irish/welsh influence shows itself? :)

  • Such beauty in his words. I know the power of words and that is why I love them. The words he speaks are healing to me. I am new to You Tube and shy as well...so do bear with me as I learn.

  • Wonderful!  Reminds me of "Canturbury Tales"...

  • best writer in history of fantasty

  • to : CaiusScriboniusCurio .

    learn to read decriptions

  • Beautiful lenguage !

  • COOL! Can someone write translation? This is awsome! Thanx man!

  • The master.

  • I love JRR Tolkien. Undoubtedly my favourite author and favourite linguist. I do not think it sounds like German; it sounds very much like Finnish. (It was influenced a lot by Finnish, so...it shows.)

  • Mornie utolie, mornie atlantie, si man i yulma nin enquantuva? Namarie^^

  • oh man, this is good, Tolkien is the best

  • sounds like German a lot to me..but anyway I always admired the man's genius in creating his own world and going further by inventing a new language..Middle-Earth rocks!

    LOL

  • @liquidchicken23

    That's right but not just Middle-Earth rocks, Valimar, Numenor, Eressea and Eldamar too :) Tolkien FOREVER nobody could be better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!

  • im german an i wish my motherlanguage would be that beautiful, its not even similar :-(

    anaways... he rocks :-)

  • @liquidchicken23 As a fluent bi-lingual speaker of both English and German, this sounds more like the undulating rhythm of a Scandinavian language, specifically Swedish, combined with the song-like flow of a Gaelic language such as Irish. Furthermore, the so-called guttural sounds are not as pronounced as in German, and again more like Swedish, Presumably, this would make sense as he was a scholar of Anglo-Saxon (Old English to the lay), which has been said to have had a Scandinavian quality.

  • You're certainly right that there is no semblance of German in here.

  • Being a Swede, I have to disagree with you on the point of that it sounds like Swedish. The intonation is to me very much Finnish, especially the first line "Ai! Laurié lantar lassi súrinen!"

    However, it doesn't really sound like Finnish either, but what influences it is, I can't say by listening, but researsh says Gaelic, Welsh and maybe some Norwegian.

  • @aringalad

    Norwegian Hell Yeah !!!

    lucky me !!

  • Tolkien is Master

  • All hail master  Tolkien!