"English and Welsh" is J. R. R. Tolkien's inaugural O'Donnell Memorial Lecture of 21 October 1955. The lecture sheds light on Tolkien's conceptions of the connections of race, ethnicity, and language.
Tolkien begins with an overview of the terms "British", "Celtic", "Germanic", "Saxon", "English" and "Welsh", explaining the last term's etymology in walha.
The north-west of Europe, in spite of its underlying differences of linguistic heritage – Goidelic, Brittonic, Gallic; its varieties of Germanic; and the powerful intrusion of spoken Latin – is as it were a single philological province, a region so interconnected in race, culture, history, and linguistic fusions that its departmental philologies cannot flourish in isolation.
In the final part of the lecture Tolkien explores the concept of phonaesthetics, citing "cellar door" as a phrase recognised as sounding beautiful in English and adding that, to his own taste, in Welsh "cellar doors are extraordinarily frequent". Tolkien describes the working of phonaesthetics inherent in the moment of association of sound and meaning:
[T]his pleasure is felt most immediately and acutely in the moment of association: that is in the reception (or imagination) of a word-form which is felt to have a certain style, and the attribution to it of a meaning which is not received through it.
Tolkien alludes to his view that such tastes are inherited, "an aspect in linguistic terms of our individual natures. And since these are largely historical products, the predilections must be so too." To refer to such an inherited taste of language, Tolkien introduces the term "native tongue" as opposed to "cradle tongue".
Influenceedit
Tolkien notes in his lecture that "Most English-speaking people … will admit that 'cellar door' is beautiful, especially if dissociated from its sense and from its spelling. More beautiful than, say, 'sky', and far more beautiful than 'beautiful' … Well then, in Welsh, for me cellar doors are extraordinarily frequent." This interest in and appreciation of Welsh influenced his own invented languages, notably the Elvish language Sindarin.[2]
This lecture is considered Tolkien's "last major learned work".[3] There are several important aspects to it. First, it "includes a valuable contribution to the study of the place of Britons in Anglo-Saxon England". Secondly, it offers a warning against racial theories. Third, it presents Tolkien's hypothesis of "inborn" linguistic tastes, which then leads into a discussion of his own views of aesthetics in language. Finally, it provides a (correct) hypothesis on the origins of the word "w(e)alh", which in turn provides an explanation of what happened to Celtic when the Anglo-Saxons invaded.[4]
Referencesedit
^"Truth or Consequences - Hammond and Scull". www.hammondandscull.com. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
^"Why do the Elves in The Hobbit sound Welsh?". BBC Guides. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
^A., Shippey, T. (2001). J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. London: HarperCollins. p. 113. ISBN0261104012. OCLC 48194645.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Drout, Michael D. C. (2007). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Taylor & Francis. pp. 162–163. ISBN9780415969420.
english, welsh, adjective, refers, england, wales, tolkien, inaugural, donnell, memorial, lecture, october, 1955, lecture, sheds, light, tolkien, conceptions, connections, race, ethnicity, language, contents, publication, contents, influence, referencespublica. As an adjective English and Welsh refers to England and Wales English and Welsh is J R R Tolkien s inaugural O Donnell Memorial Lecture of 21 October 1955 The lecture sheds light on Tolkien s conceptions of the connections of race ethnicity and language Contents 1 Publication 2 Contents 3 Influence 4 ReferencesPublication editIt was first published in Angles and Britons in 1963 and was republished in The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays in 1983 1 Contents editTolkien begins with an overview of the terms British Celtic Germanic Saxon English and Welsh explaining the last term s etymology in walha Tolkien also addresses the historical language contact between English and Welsh since the Anglo Saxon invasion of Britain including Welsh loanwords and substrate influence found in English and conversely English loanwords in Welsh Comparing the Germanic i mutation and the Celtic affection Tolkien says The north west of Europe in spite of its underlying differences of linguistic heritage Goidelic Brittonic Gallic its varieties of Germanic and the powerful intrusion of spoken Latin is as it were a single philological province a region so interconnected in race culture history and linguistic fusions that its departmental philologies cannot flourish in isolation In the final part of the lecture Tolkien explores the concept of phonaesthetics citing cellar door as a phrase recognised as sounding beautiful in English and adding that to his own taste in Welsh cellar doors are extraordinarily frequent Tolkien describes the working of phonaesthetics inherent in the moment of association of sound and meaning T his pleasure is felt most immediately and acutely in the moment of association that is in the reception or imagination of a word form which is felt to have a certain style and the attribution to it of a meaning which is not received through it Tolkien alludes to his view that such tastes are inherited an aspect in linguistic terms of our individual natures And since these are largely historical products the predilections must be so too To refer to such an inherited taste of language Tolkien introduces the term native tongue as opposed to cradle tongue Influence editTolkien notes in his lecture that Most English speaking people will admit that cellar door is beautiful especially if dissociated from its sense and from its spelling More beautiful than say sky and far more beautiful than beautiful Well then in Welsh for me cellar doors are extraordinarily frequent This interest in and appreciation of Welsh influenced his own invented languages notably the Elvish language Sindarin 2 This lecture is considered Tolkien s last major learned work 3 There are several important aspects to it First it includes a valuable contribution to the study of the place of Britons in Anglo Saxon England Secondly it offers a warning against racial theories Third it presents Tolkien s hypothesis of inborn linguistic tastes which then leads into a discussion of his own views of aesthetics in language Finally it provides a correct hypothesis on the origins of the word w e alh which in turn provides an explanation of what happened to Celtic when the Anglo Saxons invaded 4 References edit Truth or Consequences Hammond and Scull www hammondandscull com Retrieved 26 May 2018 Why do the Elves in The Hobbit sound Welsh BBC Guides Retrieved 26 May 2018 A Shippey T 2001 J R R Tolkien Author of the Century London HarperCollins p 113 ISBN 0261104012 OCLC 48194645 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Drout Michael D C 2007 J R R Tolkien Encyclopedia Scholarship and Critical Assessment Taylor amp Francis pp 162 163 ISBN 9780415969420 Tolkien J R R English and Welsh in The Monsters and the Critics 1983 ISBN 0 04 809019 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title English and Welsh amp oldid 1190187413, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
