Rohanese

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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.

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.

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.

Name

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

The name "Rohirric" seems to be an invention of Robert Foster in his 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.

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.