Why I Like Lord of the Rings, Part Three

This is a bit of an obscure reason, but it is a dear reason to me nonetheless. I like LOTR because Tolkien uses few Latin based words, and makes a healthy and happy use of Anglo-Saxon based words.

The English language has two primary sources: Anglo Saxon (Germanic) from the settlers of the post-Roman times. And Latin based, I think mostly from the French of William the Conqueror in 1066 (or “William the B**" as he was more commonly called in his day).

Anglo Saxon tend to be simple, one-syllable words with clear visual images, while Latin based words just get longer and longer, and are often less precise.

A classic example of the difference between Latin based and Anglo Saxon based, is from an Essay by George Orwell, who quotes Ecclesiastes, and then “translates” it into modern Latin based vocabulary.

To quote Orwell:
“I am going to translate a passage of good English into modern English of the worst sort. Here is a well-known verse from Ecclesiastes:
“I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

Here it is in modern English:

“Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.”

This is a parody, but not a very gross one…

End first quote. Orwell goes on to say:

“Now analyze these two sentences a little more closely. The first contains forty-nine words but only sixty syllables, and all its words are those of everyday life. The second contains thirty-eight words of ninety syllables: eighteen of those words are from Latin roots, and one from Greek. The first sentence contains six vivid images, and only one phrase (‘time and chance’) that could be called vague. The second contains not a single fresh, arresting phrase, and in spite of its ninety syllables it gives only a shortened version of the meaning contained in the first. Yet without a doubt it is the second kind of sentence that is gaining ground in modern English.”

End second quote.

So one of the reasons I like Tolkien is because he uses lots of good, clear, precise words such as:

bog fen dell moor heath glade hearth grange gorge glimmer rustle stride glisten strength churn helm toddle babble giggle dawdle wrath linger prattle

These are words that stir my heart and loosen my emotions.

(The Excerpts are from: “Politics and the English Language”, by George Orwell. This essay is probably, outside of the Bible, one of the most influential pieces of literature in my whole life.) This can be found at:

http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/patee.html

or

http://www.calvinvanhoek.com/articles/2007/04/politics-english-language/