The imagination and creativity that went into JRR Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is well-known and revered by fans. In fact, the writer and scholar went so far as to create artificial languages, most notably the Elvish languages. Tolkien even came up with different dialects for the languages he constructed.

But those with knowledge of Welsh might find some similarities between the traditional Celtic language and Sindarin, one of the languages spoken by Tolkien’s immortal elves – or “Eledhrim” if you want to use the Sindarin term.

Does Fluent Welsh Equal Fluent Sindarin?

Not quite. The two languages aren’t so similar that a Welshman could converse fluently with one of the Eledhrim, for instance. But according to Dr. Carl Phelpstead of Cardiff University, the Welsh language (known as Cymraeg to its speakers) likely had a heavy influence on Tolkien’s creation of the artificial Sindarin language. Phelpstead has been researching Tolkien’s relationship to Welsh linguistics and literature for years, the BBC reports.

A look at Tolkien’s scholarly works leaves no doubt that he had an intimate knowledge of Welsh. He often read Welsh literature and even taught medieval Welsh in his career as an academic. His knowledge of the Welsh language undoubtedly aided in the creation of the artificial language of Sindarin. However, the two languages are far from identical.

What Similarities Exist Between Welsh and Sindarin?

Though the two are by no means interchangeable, similarities can be heard between the two languages when spoken aloud. Pronunciation, the aural aspect of Sindarin when compared to Welsh, is one area where Phelpstead pinpointed concrete similarities. Tolkien didn’t so much borrow words from the Welsh as he did sounds.

Welsh speakers have reportedly noticed the similarities in the past when viewing the “Lord of the Rings” films. Though that doesn’t mean they are fluent in Sindarin, it’s still pretty exciting to hear elements of your own tongue in an artificial language!

What Other Artificial Languages Did Tolkien Create?

Tolkien created a number of languages in his books.

Another notable elven language is Quenya, which draws inspiration from Finnish. Tolkien undertook the study of Finnish largely because of his desire to read the famed Finnish epic, “Kalevala.” Tolkien himself acknowledged the influence of the Finnish language on Quenya, although – like Sindarin’s relationship to Welsh – the two are far from identical.

Tolkien’s linguistic creativity is an impressive example of the success artificial languages can have. Sindarin has an entire lexicon surrounding it, and die-hard Tolkien fans still add words to the artificial language, looking at existing resources and patterns to come up with logical additions.

Artificial languages like Sindarin might not be as practical as learning Mandarin or Arabic in the modern world, but they can be fun to explore – and they prove that languages aren’t just a matter of grammar, root words and technical rules. There is room for creativity in language (both artificial and natural) well beyond the pages of the dictionary or grammar book.