Sindarin Language

Sindarin IS NOT derived from QuenyaLanguage, it is derived from Proto Elvish, as is Quenya. Sindarin is considered the more radical and fresher Elvish language of the two tongues, but is not a bastardized form of Quenya in any way.

When the Elves were one people, they spoke the Proto Elvish tongue, and when the Calaquendi left Middle Earth and their kin the Moriquendi for Valinor, ages of separation meant that the languages on the two continents evolved two different ways. The Sindar (a subgroup of the Moriquendi) developed a highly sophisticated culture of their own, in the extreme west of Middle Earth (Beleriand), while other groups, such as the Avari, remained in the East of Middle Earth, and were gradually forgotten by their kin.

The linguistic situation of Sindarin in Beleriand at the Rising of the Sun was this: Sindarin was divided into three main dialects: the archaic Doriathrin dialect, the Falas dialect (which was the ancestor of the Sindarin of later Ages), and the estranged Northern Sindarin dialect. When the Noldor (a distinct Elvish clan of Valinor) returned to Middle Earth, they adopted the Sindarin language to use as their everyday tongue, and introduced many Quenya words for use in the language. The Sindarin language also became the everyday tongue of the Dúnedain, a greater race of men of the Third Age.

There is an excellent Sindarin summary at Ardalambion (http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/sindarin.htm) and comprehensive Sindarin lessons at http://www.councilofelrond.com/language.php.

-- Fíriel

The Sindarin language is another of the TolkienLanguages, supposedly derived from QuenyaLanguage. It is meant to be the language spoken by the GreyElves? - which are the main race of elves encountered in JrrTolkiens MiddleEarth. -- JustMab

Eldar ("star folk") taught themselves Quenya ("words") when they were one united people in their most distant past. Long before the Sun arose, some elves migrated into Aman (the "Holy Land") of the West, and took Quenya with them. There they lived in the light of the Two Trees, and so were called Caliquendi ("Light Speakers").

Endor ("MiddleEarth") knew only starlight and a twilight of the trees from the West, so the elves there were called Moriquendi ("Grey Speakers"). Under the forests of Middle Earth they became rustic and primitive, so their speech devolved, dropping the accents & nuances of the original, complex speech. After the Sun arose many of these elves remained in the darkest woods, and so remained twilight folk.

The movie will probably get these points wrong, but Galadriel was Caliquendi (specifically Noldor), while Celeborn, Elrond and Legolas, Elrond's household, and the Galadrim were Moriquendi (though Elrond was raised in a Noldor household). The two groups should have different accents.

"Sauron" is a Sindar phrase meaning "Abhored One".

On the soundtrack for LordOfTheRingsPartOne, Enya sang two songs in Sindarin.

Elves are great aren't they? With their pointy ears and all that!

I don't believe there is any reference to pointy ears in the original literature...