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'''Rohirric''' is a name for the language of the [[Rohirrim]] of [[Rohan]].
'''Rohirric''' is a name for the language of the [[Rohirrim]] of [[Rohan]].
==History==
==History==
Rohirric is derived from the language of the [[Éothéod]], who were among the [[Northmen]] and Rohirric was related to other Northmen languages, such as those of [[Rhovanion]], [[Esgaroth]], and [[Dale]].  
Rohirric is derived from the language of the [[Éothéod]], who were among the [[Northmen]] and Rohirric was related to other Northmen languages, such as those of [[Rhovanion (Realm)|Rhovanion]], [[Esgaroth]], and [[Dale]].  


The [[Hobbits]] before their [[Wandering Days]] in the [[Vales of Anduin]] had contact with that people and their languages had many in common. For example the Rohirrim had retained the legend of the being known as ''[[kûd-dûkan]]'' (translated as ''hol-bytla''), a term which became ''[[kuduk]]'' by the Hobbits, the name they had for themselves.
The [[Hobbits]] before their [[Wandering Days]] in the [[Vales of Anduin]] had contact with that people and their languages had many in common. For example the Rohirrim had retained the legend of the being known as ''[[kûd-dûkan]]'' (translated as ''hol-bytla''), a term which became ''[[kuduk]]'' by the Hobbits, the name they had for themselves.

Revision as of 14:32, 27 February 2010

This article describes a concept which is mentioned in J.R.R. Tolkien's works, but was never given a definite name.

Rohirric is a name for the language of the Rohirrim of Rohan.

History

Rohirric is derived from the language of the Éothéod, who were among the Northmen and Rohirric was related to other Northmen languages, such as those of Rhovanion, Esgaroth, and Dale.

The Hobbits before their Wandering Days in the Vales of Anduin had contact with that people and their languages had many in common. For example the Rohirrim had retained the legend of the being known as kûd-dûkan (translated as hol-bytla), a term which became kuduk by the Hobbits, the name they had for themselves.

Many archaic Hobbit names bear similarities to Rohirric, since the ancestors of The Shire hobbits lived on the upper reaches of the Anduin, close to the ancestors of the Rohirrim, and there was apparently a good deal of linguistic cross-fertilisation.

Despite its relation to Westron, Rohirric was not intelligible to its speakers. Legolas was unable to understand the songs, however he noted that the language is like the land itself: rich and rolling in part, and else hard and stern as the mountains.

Name

Tolkien did not give a specific name for the language of the Rohirrim.

The name "Rohirric" seems to be an invention of Robert Foster in The Complete Guide to Middle-earth. Perhaps it was modelled on "Rohirrim" and the ending -ic of "Adûnaic". However the double r has no place here, since it derives from singular Rohir and the plural ending rim.

Tolkien himself used the adjective Rohanese in The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor but it is not clear if he refers to the language, or is simply used as an adjective to describe the words.

In one instance, Christopher Tolkien refers to the language of Rohan as "Rohan",[1]. Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion call it "Rohanese".[2] It is the only occurrence of "Rohanese"; the rest of the Hammond and Scull-edition uses the word "Rohan".

Lisa Star mentions that Rohirian is found in Peoples of Middle-earth p. 55, which is untrue, and also in a manuscript labeled Mq15:10. It has been suggested that the manuscript actually says Rohirin (the ending -rin being an element seen in Sindarin) but it is just a theory.

Structure

Elements

Rohirric names often have the element lô-/loh-, which means "horse". Lôgrad means "Rohan" or "Horse-mark"; Lohtûr means "Horse-people".

The latter shows the element tûr also seen in the name Tûrac "People-king".

Translation

As Westron is rendered in the novels with English, Rohirric is always translated through Old English. This is because Tolkien tried to reproduce for English readers its archaic flavour in relationship to the Common Speech.

However the relationships between the two pairs of languages is not identical: Old English is the direct ancestor of modern English, but Rohirric was not the direct ancestor of Westron, since the latter derives from Adûnaic.

Inspiration

Main article: Old English

Tolkien rendered Rohirric as Old English, but also included Scandinavian names, such as Westfold. Even words and phrases that were printed in Modern English showed a strong Anglo-Saxon influence. Old English was supposed to render an archaic form of Westron, which was supposedly rendered by Modern English. This solution occurred to Tolkien in 1942, when he was searching for an explanation of the Eddaic name of the dwarves already published in The Hobbit.

Some words show the plural ending "-as", as were Old English nouns of the strong-masculine declension.

The Rohirrim used the Germanic patronymic "-ing". They called themselves the Eorlingas, and Beorn's people were the Beornings, Scyld's people were the Scyldingas in Norse and Anglo-Saxon mythology.

Théoden was referred to as "Théoden King", rather than "King Théoden", just as Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon kings had the word "konungr"/"cyning" ("king") added after their names, e.g. Hervarðar konungr, rather than before.

Old English names that render Rohirric words include:

  • Éothéod: from "eoh" ("war-horse") and "þeod" ("folk", "people", "nation")
  • Gríma: possibly from "grima" ("mask", "helmet", "ghost")
  • Eorl: from "eorl" ("nobleman")
  • Théodred: from "þeod" ("folk", "people", "nation") and "ræd" ("counsel")

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings", published in A Tolkien Compass (edited by Jared Lobdell)
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull (eds.), "Nomenclature of the Lord of the Rings", published in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, pages 750-781