The enigmatic loss of Proto-Hobbitic
18 October 2021 | Mythlore, Volume 40, № 1, 179
This paper investigates two questions. First, why did Tolkien assign the Hobbits “a Mannish language of the upper Anduin, akin to that of the Rohirrim” (LRC §F.1.18) as the first language of which we have some knowledge? Second, why does Tolkien deny the Hobbits a distinct linguistic identity and turn them into linguistic chameleons?
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