A PDF version of the article can be found here. It is well-known that in the late 1950s Tolkien made an attempt to revise the cosmology of his imaginary world in order to make it more realistic and scientifically credible than, as he put it, “the Flat Earth and the
I’m not sure if lay-fans have noticed, but something obvious to Tolkien-language scholars is that the Elven languages aren’t being used exactly the same way in the TV show as they were in the Peter Jackson movies, and the languages themselves are slightly different too. There are a few things
Over the years, I’ve translated dog commands for a few people, so I’ve decided to make it a short article for all you nerdy dog trainers. Before I started translating, I looked up some research on what exactly dogs hear when we speak. Turns out that what they hear best
Lynn, your name is really cool! It has a ton of different sources. It could be another version of Linda. It could be derived from surnames that were based in place names, like Lyn (from Llyn – lake), Lynn (from Linn – pool under a waterfall), and Lynn (from Lean
Roman, your name is really cool! It’s a name based on the Roman ethnicity, and those are really, really difficult to translate. Well, you know me, I love it when it gets interesting! Sometimes when translating an ethnicity, you can go back to what the name of the ethnicity means.
Christine and Christian, your name is really cool! It’s a Latin family name meaning “follower of Christ.” This -iāna/-iānus suffix, which was used for members of a family or of a group having something to do with whatever the suffix is attached to, survives for us as the -ian suffix.
Elizabeth, your name is really cool! It’s an old Hebrew name that has spread all across Europe. It’s likely a play on words, because the root of the second word, SH-B-ʕ, could be read as “oath, bond” or “seven.” The word for “seven – sheva” being very close to the
Erin, your name is really cool! It’s an Irish name meaning “to/for Ireland.” As a personal name it pops up in the 20th century, thus I’ve charted its development as the name of Ireland. “Dative Case” is a fancy linguistic term for nouns being used in a sentence, where the
Michael, your name is so cool! It’s a rhetorical question, “Who is like El Elyon?” When it comes to translating this name, we have a huge problem. This name isn’t translatable. Not directly, anyways. Elven names aren’t made from sentences. They’re made by combining nouns, adjectives, and name suffixes. Worse
Samuel, your name is really cool! It’s the name of a biblical figure and has been borrowed into many languages, wherever Abrahamic religions show up. It has two possible meanings. The first is Shmū’ēl “Name of El Elyon.” The second is based off the passage in the Torah describing why