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22202480 No.22202480 [Reply] [Original]

Why was Tolkien an enthusiast of the Mercian dialect, going as far as incorporating it into his writings when West-Saxon is the dominant source of manuscripts and writings from the time?

>> No.22202492

>>22202480
Because he spent most of his life in Mercia.

>> No.22202525

>>22202492
I guess that makes sense.

>> No.22202573
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22202573

Aesthetics, basically. Tolkien loved languages so much that he got extremely autistic on how languages sounded, and preferred some to others.

>> No.22202586

>>22202573
But Mercian is influenced by Old Norse while West-Saxon is as closest to "purest" form of old Anglo-Saxon as you could get before new West-Saxon was changed by the Normans. It seems it would be a better aesthetic if you're getting that autistic about it.

>> No.22202608

tolkien was a gigachud
we need to go back to norman french

>> No.22202705

>>22202608
Care to give us a demonstration

>> No.22202718

>>22202480
I believe he considered them his ancestors.

>> No.22202724

>>22202718
>>22202586
Oh and he thought there was some sort of an racial connection with what languages you find aesthetic.

>> No.22202763

>>22202724
>Oh and he thought there was some sort of an racial connection with what languages you find aesthetic
Could you elaborate

>> No.22202800

>>22202763
He talks about it in his speech titled "English and Welsh". The book Tolkien and Wales by Carl Phelpstead talks about it in Chapter 2. See this review of the book for a bit of a summary, skip to the 4th paragraph:
https://www.mythsoc.org/reviews/tolkien-wales.htm

>> No.22202837

>>22202800
Sara is a beautiful name

>> No.22202855

>>22202800
>>22202837
It is an intriguing theory, but would it not make more sense if environmental and developmental factors played more a role than genetics.

>> No.22204175

>>22202855
>Gōde heofonum
>Santo Cielo
Which sounds cooler to you, and what is your race.

>> No.22204659

>>22202480
>>22202586
>when West-Saxon is the dominant source of manuscripts and writings from the time?
Surviving manuscripts of Englisc are in West-Saxon because it was the dialect of rulers, legal officials, and the Church. In fact, the surviving pieces are transcribed from the dialects to the north, as in these writings are copies of original texts. Furthermore, there was the need for standardization during the Viking Age so text had to be rewritten in WS and any non-WS text were lost or destroyed in conflict.

Tolkien was wise to prefer Mercian despite this because Mercia was more widely spoken among the common man. He preferred to speak like the populace rather than the upper classes.

>> No.22204663

>>22202480
thank god for the Normans who civilized us

>> No.22204691

>>22204663
they took all the soul from us and nearly turned us into another cookie cutter romantic