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Book Home  Books Information Lhammas
Lhammas
The Lhammas is the name of a work of fiction of etymological
subject by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in The Lost Road and
Other Writings, volume V of The History of Middle-earth. The Lhammas
represents an old linguistic view of the languages of Middle-earth
which was later dropped, in which all languages belonged to either
the Valarin, Oromëan, Aulëan or Melkian phylums.
The Valarin phylum is the origin of all other phylums,
and led to Valarin (the language of the Valar.)
Oromëan is named after the Vala Oromë, and is used for all
languages of the Elves, because Oromë taught the Elves language.
Most languages of Men also belong to this phylum.
Aulëan is named after the Vala Aulë, father of the Dwarves,
and is the origin of the Khuzdul language. It has had some influences
on the tongues of Men.
Melkian is named after the fallen Vala Melkor or Morgoth, and is the
origin of the Black Speech of the Orcs and other evil beings.
This entire etymology was dropped as Tolkien further revised the linguistic
history of his world, and cannot be applied to the later languages
of Middle-earth. However Tolkien even in later writings held to that
Rumil wrote Lammas, but himself never wrote an 'updated' form that
would be coherent with his later mythology.
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