The Halethian language was the tongue spoken by the House of Haleth in the First Age.
History[]
With the first raising of the Sun in the West, mankind awoke in Hildórien. However, Morgoth acted in order to corrupt them while they were still in the east of Middle-earth, wherefore some of them chose to move westward seeking the rumored Great Sea, and the Light of Valinor near it.[1] During this migration these Men separated into two hosts: one went northward, and reached the Sea of Rhûn, while the other went southwestward.[2]
Taliska was the language spoken by the first host, while the second host, which included a strange folk called Drúedain,[3] spoke a different language. However, J.R.R. Tolkien never explained if the two languages were completely different, or if they had a common ancestor. After some time, the southern host reached the White Mountains, and some established themselves in Minhiriath and Eriador, becoming the ancestors of the later Hill-men, while others continued to move westward. After the crossing of the Blue Mountains, the Edain started to use Sindarin as their common tongue; however, they did not forget the use of their ancient languages.[4]
Thus from the ancestral language of the Haladin descended Drúadan, the language of the Lossoth of Forochel and some Pre-Númenórean languages like the Dunlendish. It is unclear if the Halethian language spoken by the survivors of the War of the Great Jewels gave some kind of contribution to the formation of Adûnaic, the language of Númenor; however, the pre-Númenórean tongue of the Ethir Anduin and Pelargir merged with Adûnaic into Westron.[5]
Background[]
J.R.R. Tolkien based most Mannish languages on Germanic languages, whereas non-Taliskan languages are usually rendered with elements taken from Celtic languages, if at all.[5] However, the Halethian language is too minimally realized for clear real-world parallels to be drawn to it. Furthermore, the Haladin language seems to share some features with Taliska (such as the plural formation -in), but it is unclear if this is a result of their common ancestry, a linguistic borrowing, or a simple consequence of the unclear conceptual history of Tolkien's Mannish languages.
References[]
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XVII: "Of the Coming of Men into the West"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, Part Two: Late Writings, chapter X: "Of Dwarves and Men"
- ↑ Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part Four, Chapter I: "The Drúedain"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XII: "Of Men"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age, "Of Men"