英語(yǔ)世界文摘:Literary Mysteries: Did Tolkien Really Create Entire Languages for His Books?

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Literary Mysteries: Did Tolkien Really Create Entire Languages for His Books?

文學(xué)之謎：所有語(yǔ)言都是托爾金造的？

ByTracy Mumford

文/特雷西·芒福德

Tancave!

That’s Quenya for “yes.”

Tancave!

這在昆雅語(yǔ)中意為“是的”。

Quenya is just one of the dozens oflanguages Tolkien dreamed up for the inhabitants of Middle Earth. Technically, it’s part of the Elvish language family, which has over 15 different languages and dialects within it.

昆雅語(yǔ)只是托爾金為中土世界居民虛構(gòu)的眾多語(yǔ)言之一。嚴(yán)格說(shuō)來(lái)，它屬于精靈語(yǔ)系，該語(yǔ)系有超過(guò)15種不同的語(yǔ)言和方言。

And that’s only the beginning. Tolkien created his first constructed language when he was just a teenager. He was a master of actual languages as well. He knew 35 different tongues, both ancient and modern – everything from Old Norse to Lithuanian. He taught himself Finnish for fun.

這只是開始。托爾金十幾歲時(shí)就自創(chuàng)了第一種虛構(gòu)的語(yǔ)言。他也精通很多現(xiàn)實(shí)中的語(yǔ)言。他知曉35種不同語(yǔ)言，包括古代的和現(xiàn)代的——從古斯堪的那維亞語(yǔ)到立陶宛語(yǔ)。為了消遣，他還自學(xué)了芬蘭語(yǔ)。

For Tolkien, the languages came first. Middle Earth and the “Lord of the Rings” epics were created around his constructed languages. Basically, he invented words and needed speakers.

對(duì)托爾金而言，語(yǔ)言最重要。中土世界和“指環(huán)王”史詩(shī)系列皆圍繞他虛構(gòu)的語(yǔ)言創(chuàng)造而來(lái)。從根本上講，他創(chuàng)造了話語(yǔ)和所需的說(shuō)話者。

He created the 15 different Elvish dialects, along with languages for the Ents, the Orcs, the Dwarves, the men and the Hobbits and more. He thought of everything: The Dwarves even had a separate sign language, because the forges they worked were too loud.

他創(chuàng)造了15種不同的精靈方言，還為樹人、半獸人、矮人、人類和霍比特人等生物創(chuàng)造了各種語(yǔ)言。他把一切都想到了：矮人甚至還有一種單獨(dú)的手勢(shì)語(yǔ)，因?yàn)樗麄児ぷ鞯腻懺飙h(huán)境噪音太大。

If Tolkien had gotten his way, the books wouldn’t have even been in English at all. “I should have preferred to write in Elvish,” Tolkien said.

如果由著托爾金自己，他甚至根本都不會(huì)用英文來(lái)寫這些書?！拔腋胗镁`語(yǔ)來(lái)寫?！蓖袪柦鹫f(shuō)。

Of all the languages Tolkien created, two have enough words and grammar to be considered functional. They’re not “complete,” in the sense that they lack niche words, like “flambe” or “hydronucleic acid,” but people do speak and write in them. These languages are both Elvish in origin: Quenya and Sindarin.

在托爾金創(chuàng)造的所有語(yǔ)言中，有兩種語(yǔ)言擁有足量的詞匯和語(yǔ)法，被認(rèn)為具有功能性。它們并不“完備”，因?yàn)槿鄙傧駀lambe或hydro nucleic acid這樣的術(shù)語(yǔ)，但是人們說(shuō)話和書寫的確都用它們。昆雅語(yǔ)和辛達(dá)林語(yǔ)都起源于精靈語(yǔ)。

When he died, Tolkien left behind a large number of unpublished works, many of which are still being studied. New words are still being uncovered. Tolkien was meticulous with his languages. His original manuscripts, which are at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., contain extensive notes in the margins about his word use.

托爾金去世后，留下大量尚未出版的著作，其中許多仍在研究之中。人們還在不斷發(fā)現(xiàn)新的詞語(yǔ)。托爾金對(duì)自己創(chuàng)造的語(yǔ)言精益求精。他的原稿收藏在位于美國(guó)威斯康辛州密爾沃基市的馬凱特大學(xué)，稿中空白處標(biāo)注了大量有關(guān)其詞語(yǔ)使用的注釋。

Curious folk who want to converse in Elvish themselves are in good company. The Internet abounds with language worksheets and pronunciation videos to kick start your studies.

想用精靈語(yǔ)交流的好奇者們可以成為好朋友?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)上有很多語(yǔ)言活頁(yè)練習(xí)和發(fā)音視頻可供展開研究。

Quel marth!(Good luck!)

Quel marth!（祝你好運(yùn)?。?

（譯者單位：上海交通大學(xué)）