Hobbitish: Difference between revisions

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==Grammatical differences==
==Grammatical differences==


Hobbitish is a regional dialect of the Westron language, spoken in a rustic agricultural region.  As such, it is mutually intelligible with Common Speach, but is not as "refined" as the true form of the language spoken in [[Gondor]], etc., containing very simplifications or archaisms.  The most prominent change in actual grammatical structure is that Hobbitish does not possess a plural second person pronoun to be used when addressing members of a higher social class.  That is, how in French "tu" is used to refer to second person singular "you", and "vous" is used to refer to second person plural "you (people)", but "vous" is also used to formally address superiors.  This is also comparable to an English-speaking monarch referring to himself as "we"; or how "thou" and "thine" used to be used.  As Hobbit society is made up almost entirely of farmers and with barely and "government" to speak of, much less a noble class, this simply fell out of use.   
Hobbitish is a regional dialect of the Westron language, spoken in a rustic agricultural region.  As such, it is mutually intelligible with Common Speach, but is not as "refined" as the true form of the language spoken in [[Gondor]], etc., containing many simplifications or archaisms.  The most prominent change in actual grammatical structure is that Hobbitish does not possess a plural second person pronoun to be used when addressing members of a higher social class.  That is, how in French "tu" is used to refer to second person singular "you", and "vous" is used to refer to second person plural "you (people)", but "vous" is also used to formally address superiors.  This is also comparable to an English-speaking monarch referring to himself as "we"; or how "thou" and "thine" used to be used.  As Hobbit society is made up almost entirely of farmers and with barely and "government" to speak of, much less a noble class, this simply fell out of use.   


The result of this was that when [[Peregrin Took]] was speaking to [[Denethor II]], Steward and ruler of Gondor, while he was at court in [[Minas Tirith]], a nuance that Tolkien's "translation into English" does not quite fully convey is that Pippin is actually addressing Denethor in the very informal and personalized second person, unintentionally using the same pronouns he might use with a close friend or social equal.  This no doubt served as a source of some consternation to Denethor's chamberlains, but the old Steward himself seemed to react to it with some bemusement.
The result of this was that when [[Peregrin Took]] was speaking to [[Denethor II]], Steward and ruler of Gondor, while he was at court in [[Minas Tirith]], a nuance that Tolkien's "translation into English" does not quite fully convey is that Pippin is actually addressing Denethor in the very informal and personalized second person, unintentionally using the same pronouns he might use with a close friend or social equal.  This no doubt served as a source of some consternation to Denethor's chamberlains, but the old Steward himself seemed to react to it with some bemusement.


==Vocabulary differences==
==Vocabulary differences==

Revision as of 22:48, 1 August 2008

Hobbitish is the term given for the sub-dialect of Westron (Common Speach) that was spoken by the Hobbits of the Shire. It was mutually intelligible with other forms of Westron, but was very "uncouth" and overall rusticated, which is as to be expected from the agricultural and unrefined lives led by Hobbits.

Grammatical differences

Hobbitish is a regional dialect of the Westron language, spoken in a rustic agricultural region. As such, it is mutually intelligible with Common Speach, but is not as "refined" as the true form of the language spoken in Gondor, etc., containing many simplifications or archaisms. The most prominent change in actual grammatical structure is that Hobbitish does not possess a plural second person pronoun to be used when addressing members of a higher social class. That is, how in French "tu" is used to refer to second person singular "you", and "vous" is used to refer to second person plural "you (people)", but "vous" is also used to formally address superiors. This is also comparable to an English-speaking monarch referring to himself as "we"; or how "thou" and "thine" used to be used. As Hobbit society is made up almost entirely of farmers and with barely and "government" to speak of, much less a noble class, this simply fell out of use.

The result of this was that when Peregrin Took was speaking to Denethor II, Steward and ruler of Gondor, while he was at court in Minas Tirith, a nuance that Tolkien's "translation into English" does not quite fully convey is that Pippin is actually addressing Denethor in the very informal and personalized second person, unintentionally using the same pronouns he might use with a close friend or social equal. This no doubt served as a source of some consternation to Denethor's chamberlains, but the old Steward himself seemed to react to it with some bemusement.

Vocabulary differences

The major difference between Hobbitish and more proper forms of Westron are many archaic words that Hobbits retained in their vocabulary from whatever language they spoke in ancient times. Examples would include:

  • Smail - "larged excavated hole used as a home" (i.e. Bag End, Brandy Hall, or Great Smails of the Tooks).
  • Mathom - "old thing which you no longer have a use for but don't want to throw away; a knick-nack; an antique" (i.e. the Mathom-house is a museum)
  • Goblin - the evil race properly termed "Orcs" in Common Speach were referred to as "Goblins" by the Hobbits. This is apparently some local colloquialism of uncertain origin. However, while this originated as a Hobbit "slang term" for Orcs, due to the presence of the Shire on the major trade route of the Great East Road, over the centuries this term was actually picked up by members of other races (much as how smoking Pipe-weed was actually originated by the Hobbits, but the practice spread along trade routes). The term actually gained a high degree of popularity throughout Middle-earth. The term "Goblin" came to more often be used when referring to smaller Orcs, of the type Hobbits were more likely to see (rare roving bands like that led by Golfimbul). Larger soldier-Orcs bred for war were less likely to be referred to as "Goblins", because never really encountered them, thus larger breeds of Orcs would often simply be called "Orcs".
Note: J.R.R. Tolkien's conception of what "Orcs" and "Goblins" were exactly fluctuated over time, and the novel "The Hobbit" was written when these ideas had not solidified in his mind, and as such in that book he uses the two terms rather interchangeably. Later on, he more fully set down that "Orcs" is the proper term for the entire race, with "Goblins" being a colloquial Hobbit-invented term for Orcs

The highest concentration of unique "Hobbitish" words are of course in the surnames of old families, place names, etc.

History

Whatever language the Hobbits originally spoke has been lost to history, much as their specific origins have been lost. The earliest known historical location of the Hobbits is in the upper vales of the river Anduin. It is heavily implied that while there, the ancestors of the Hobbits must have had some contact with the ancestors of the Rohirrim, the Eotheod, who lived in the same area. Eventually, due to the increasing danger from Greenwood transforming into Mirkwood, the Eotheod migrated south to Rohan and the Hobbits migrated West, in their "Wandering Days", ultimately reaching Bree and then the Shire.

The language of the Eotheod thus seems to have influenced the original language of the Hobbits. To what degree is not certain: speculation ranges anywhere from that the Hobbits borrowed a few words from the Eotheod, to that the Hobbits actually adopted the language of the Eotheod and spoke it as their own.

In any case, by the time of the War of the Ring, the Rohirric langauge and Hobbitish possessed many linguistic similarities which were obvious even to a non-linguist like Meriadoc Brandybuck. Simply hearing parts of the language of the Rohirrim, Merry noticed several words which clearly sounded like old words used in the Shire. Merry would in his later years author a book of linguistic study on the relationship, "Old Place Names in the Shire".

Real-world background

Of course, all of this ties into the fact that "Westron" as it appears in the books written by J.R.R. Tolkien functions under the conceit that "Common Speach" is really a separate foreign language which Tolkien "translated" into English. For example, the name "Meriadoc Brandybuck" is "translated" into English from the "genuine Westron" name "Kalimac Brandigamba" (which would make it, actually "genuine Hobbitish")

The most obvious linguistic parallel between the "Hobbitish" dialect and language of the Rohirrim is in the name "Hobbit" itself: according to King Theoden of Rohan, there are a few legends among the Rohirrim about Hobbit-like creatures they they call the "Holbytla" in Rohirric. Rohirric is actually "translated" into Old English in the books just as Westron is into English, because it is an archaic form of Westron. "Holbytla" in Old English means "Hole-builders", an apt name for the Hobbits. However, in "genuine Westron", the word translated into English as "Hobbit", is actually "Kuduk". The corresponding "genuine Rohirric" word from which it evolved is "Kuduk-an".

In Adaptations

In Peter Jackson's live-action movie trilogy adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, considerable attention was paid to the dialects characters speak with and cast members trained extensively with dialogue coaches. Hobbits in the films speak with basically an English Midlands accent, because Tolkien said that the Shire was based largely on his boyhood home in the Midlands. Of the main Hobbit characters:

  • Sam Gamgee speaks with the working-class rustic Midlands accent which was used as the standard for all the other minor Hobbit characters.
  • Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, because they are both book-educated, speak with a slightly more refined and less pronounced accent.
  • The actor who played Pippin, Billy Boyd, is Scottish, and originally he was supposed to speak like the others, but eventually it was decided that it was adversely affecting his comic timing. The production team then invented the justification that the Took-land region of the Shire is described as very hilly, so much so that when Saruman's mercenaries take over the rest of the Shire they are successfully repulsed from Took-land due to its rough terrain, and thus is it loosely analogous to Scotland. Thus, it was decided that Tooks should speak with a Scottish accent as well, and Boyd was allowed to use his normal Scottish accent when portraying Pippin for the entire trilogy of films.
  • Meriadoc Brandybuck is described as being the linguistic "oddball" of the group: he is not from any of the four farthings of the Shire, but a Brandybuck from Buckland, and thus is from a region apart. To reflect this, his accent is noticeably distinct from the other Hobbits seen on-screen, something of an invention between actor Dominic Monaghan and the dialect coaches, to reflect his unique origin.