January 3 is thus Tolkien Day, according to the Tolkien Society.

He was a genuine scholar of Old English, which he professed in Oxford.
"Glossopoeia" (his term for making up languages) was apparently a
life-long hobby, not just a by-product of writing his very popular books.

I have read very little Tolkien, and only watched the movies when they
came on TV. I found the endless battle scenes impressive but boring.

Anyway, here's a specimen that Crystal gives, said to be in some variety
of Elvish:

Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen
(Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind)

Yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron!
(long years numberless as the wings of trees!)

Ross Clark <benlizro@ihug.co.nz> wrote:
> January 3 is thus Tolkien Day, according to the Tolkien Society.
>
> He was a genuine scholar of Old English, which he professed in Oxford.
> "Glossopoeia" (his term for making up languages) was apparently a
> life-long hobby, not just a by-product of writing his very popular books.

Reading the 12 volumes of ‘The History of Middle Earth’, one can see how he
spent significantly more time and ink and concern exploring the
plausibility of a given suffix than the origin and basic biology of entire
races.

>
> I have read very little Tolkien, and only watched the movies when they
> came on TV. I found the endless battle scenes impressive but boring.
>
> Anyway, here's a specimen that Crystal gives, said to be in some variety
> of Elvish:
>
> Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen
> (Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind)
>
> Yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron!
> (long years numberless as the wings of trees!)

The ë and acutes and to an extent the voiceless intervocalic stop identify
it as a (variety of) Quenya, the one that resembles finnish. Sharper
readers may know which. I think Vanyarin had th for ss, so it would be
Noldorin, but maybe it’s the other way around.