J. R. R. Tolkien and the art of translating English into English

J. R. R. Tolkien and the art of
translating English into English
R O S S S M I T H
Translation techniques favoured by Tolkien in rendering
Beowulf and other medieval poetry into modern English
J. R. R. TOLKIEN was a prolific translator,
not by blood-lines but by art and etymology. In
although most of his translation work was not
the English tradition of legend and myth that
actually published during his lifetime, as
Tolkien worked so hard to regenerate, he saw
occurred with the greater part of his fiction. He
Beowulf as being at one end of the tradition
never did any serious translation from modern
and himself at the other. This intimate sense of
foreign languages into English, but rather
identification means that Beowulf permeates
devoted himself to the task of turning Old Eng-
Tolkien’s fiction profoundly and inevitably,
lish and Middle English poetry into something
while Tolkien’s knowledge of the poem in turn
that could be readily understood by speakers of
permeates Beowulfian scholarship on the
the modern idiom. His largest and best-known
deepest of levels. His most celebrated paper,
published translation is of the anonymous 14th
‘Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics’ (1936),
Century poem Sir Gawain and the Green
profoundly affected critical perception of the
Knight, which was published posthumously
poem. Seamus Heaney called it ‘epoch-mak-
with two other translations from Middle Eng-
ing’, while Tom Shippey reckons it could well
lish in the volume Sir Gawain and the Green
be the most cited paper of all time in the
Knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo (Allen & Unwin
humanities. Certainly, it is virtually impossible
1975). The translation of Middle English texts
to read a learned account of Beowulf, its
constitutes the bulk of his output in this field,
themes, purpose and significance, without
both in the above volume and in the fragments
finding a reference to Tolkien’s 1936 essay.
that appear in his lectures and essays. How-
Tolkien’s translations of the two great poems
ever, his heart really lay in the older, pre-Nor-
mentioned above have suffered contrasting
man form of the language, and particularly in
the greatest piece of literature to come down to
us from the Old English period, the epic poem
ROSS SMITH is head of the
Beowulf.
translation department at
A paper by Professor Tom Shippey titled
PricewaterhouseCoopers in
‘Tolkien and the Beowulf-Poet’ commences
Madrid, Spain, and has over
20 years’ experience in the
with the rhetorical question: ‘Did Tolkien ever
language services sector. He
wonder whether he might possibly be the
holds a degree in English from
Beowulf-poet reincarnated?’ (Shippey 2007:1).
Edinburgh University, is a
The logical answer, as Shippey points out, is
government-appointed
no: for a start, Tolkien was a Christian and did
‘intérprete jurado’ (‘translator
not believe in reincarnation. But the underly-
under oath’) in Spain and is a member of the UK
ing message is clear in that one way or
Chartered Institute of Linguists. He has published
another, Tolkien felt he had a special rapport
extensively on a range of language-related subjects,
with his ancient predecessor. Rather than as an
including computerised resources for translators,
Anglo-Saxon avatar, Tolkien saw the Beowulf-
Global English and linguistic aspects of the work of
J. R. R. Tolkien. Email: ross.smith@es.pwc.com
poet as his philological ancestor, linked to him
doi:10.1017/S0266078409990216
English Today 99, Vol. 25, No. 3 (September 2009). Printed in the United Kingdom © 2009 Cambridge University Press
3

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fates. His work on Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight has spent much time in the limelight
despite being a lesser object of Tolkien’s devo-
tion. His scholarly edition of the poem with E.
V. Gordon was published in 1925 and became
a standard academic text, while his verse trans-
lation in modern English was read on BBC
radio in 1953 and subsequently published in
the above-mentioned volume. Nonetheless,
while he did deliver an extensive lecture (later
edited and included in the 1983 collection of
essays titled The Monsters and the Critics and
Other Essays) concerning certain themes in Sir
Gawain, he never provided a detailed descrip-
Tolkien in
tion of the methods and techniques he had
British army
applied when translating the poem from Mid-
uniform, 1916
dle English.
Conversely, Tolkien’s translations of
Beowulf, while known to exist, remain con-
and commercial commitments he had already
cealed from view. During his lifetime Tolkien
undertaken. In the case of such a technically
composed a prose translation of the entire
and artistically complex project as a translation
poem and a verse translation of part of it, but
of Beowulf , in verse or even in prose, involving
these have not yet been edited and published.
a work with which he felt so closely identified,
We therefore have to make do with a few frag-
it is easy to imagine how difficult it was for
ments. However, unlike in the case of Sir
Tolkien to be able to decide that he had finally
Gawain, Tolkien did write a fairly detailed
got it right, that he could not better the trans-
description of the criteria he thought should be
lation he had achieved, and that his manu-
applied when translating Beowulf and other
script could go to the publishers. Therefore,
Old English verse in an essay titled ‘On Trans-
the Beowulf translations formed part of the
lating Beowulf’, which was initially published
mass of unfinished projects inherited by
in 1940 as an introduction to a new edition of
Christopher Tolkien upon his father’s death,
J. R. Clark Hall’s prose translation and later
though there is hope that the translations will
included in the above-mentioned collection
eventually be published in one form or
The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays.
another.
In typically idiosyncratic fashion, Tolkien com-
mences his essay by making a few cursory
Guidelines for translating Old
remarks about the translation by Clark Hall
English
before launching himself into an enthusiastic,
detailed and completely personal account of
While Tolkien was reluctant to publish any-
exactly how Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon
thing more than fragments of his Beowulf
alliterative poetry should be translated. In
translation, he was quite willing to explain the
view of his obvious enthusiasm for the subject,
approach that in his opinion should be taken
one can only wonder why Tolkien never pub-
towards such a monolithic task. Publishing the
lished his own versions of Beowulf. The answer
actual translation would have exposed Tolkien
is probably for the same reason he did not pub-
to public aesthetic judgement; explaining his
lish The Silmarillion and the multitude of other
criteria did not. Paradoxically, therefore, while
myths, tales and poems that never saw the
we have no ‘Beowulf Translation’ by Tolkien,
light of day during his lifetime, namely his
we do have ‘On Translating Beowulf’.
near-chronic perfectionism combined with an
In ‘On Translating Beowulf’ Tolkien is some-
understandable fear of public scrutiny. Tolkien
what disdainful of Clark Hall’s prose transla-
was loath to accept that a work was ever actu-
tion which he is meant to be presenting. He
ally finished. He missed his deadline for The
informs us that prose translations are useful as
Lord of the Rings by several years and would
a study-guide for students who are struggling
probably have gone on re-reading and honing
with the intricacies of the original Anglo-Saxon
the text indefinitely were it not for the moral
text, but have little else to recommend them.
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Prose translations of Old English verse are
It is plain that the translator dealing with these
unavoidably dull and flat; a far better option is
compounded words must hesitate between
a translation which attempts to maintain the
simply naming the thing denoted (so ‘harp’ for
rhyme and metre of the original, whatever the
gomen-wudu ‘play-wood’ ) and resolving the
syntactic and semantic sacrifices this may
combination into a phrase. The former method
retains the compactness of the original but loses
involve. Tolkien (1997:74) repeats this opin-
its colour; the latter retains the colour, but even
ion early on in his essay ‘Sir Gawain and the
if it does not falsify or exaggerate it, it loosens
Green Knight’ when he states the aims of
and weakens the texture.
(Tolkien 1997:58)
his translation (before falling silent on the
subject): ‘to preserve the original metre and
The most appropriate manner of dealing with
alliteration, without which translation is of lit-
inventive word-play of this kind is a habitual
tle value except as a crib; and to preserve, to
dilemma for translators of poetry and imagina-
exhibit in an intelligible modern idiom, the
tive literature; how far can one distance one-
nobility and the courtesy of this poem, by a
self from the original text while continuing to
poet to whom “courtesy” meant so much’. His
represent it with some degree of fidelity?
stance in this respect therefore seems clear. As
According to Tolkien, the translator has to take
has been mentioned many a time, Tolkien was
the kennings on a case-by-case basis, weighing
a man of strong opinions and if he felt some-
up in each instance the aesthetic trade-off
thing to be right, he would defend his idea no
between using a single modern word and
matter how directly it flew in the face of major-
inventing an equivalent compound term. He
ity opinion. Some scholars regard the transla-
has no easy answer to the translator’s
tion of poetry in verse as a hopeless enterprise
dilemma, but he tries to express in metaphori-
due to the sheer difficulty it involves. Tolkien
cal terms what will be lost and gained in each
took the opposite view. For him, prose transla-
case: compactness may be retained, colour may
tions constituted the easy alternative, with true
be kept or lost, texture may be loosened or
expressiveness, art and intellectual effort being
weakened. Precisely what he means by this is
reserved for translations in verse, like those he
worth examining further.
himself produced.
By retaining the compactness, Tolkien means
As is inevitable in the light of his interest in
keeping the translated term similar in size, or
phonology and sound-symbolism, the matter
number of syllables, to the original term,
of sound figures prominently in Tolkien’s
which ensures that the poem’s metre will not
translation guidelines in ‘On Translating
be excessively distorted. However, he warns us
Beowulf’. Sound is, of course, an essential com-
that this could lead to a rather dull choice,
ponent of poetry in any century and in any lan-
causing the loss of colour, i.e. phonetic attrac-
guage. In this respect, Tolkien warns
tiveness. Alternatively, the translator can
prospective translators that they should be
invent a new, imaginative compound term
careful in the treatment of apparent synonyms
which retains the colour because it is aestheti-
in the Anglo-Saxon poem because although the
cally pleasing, but again there is a down-side
words in question may be semantically close,
because such a choice may distort (loosen or
in phonetic terms they can differ widely and
weaken in Tolkien’s words) the overall texture
each phoneme chosen by the poet evidently
of the poem. By texture, Tolkien seems to be
produces a different impact on the reader, or
referring to the metrical, syllabic and linear
listener. For instance, using the single word
structure of the poem, though he could also be
‘shield’ to translate bord, lind, rand and scyld is
referring to the imagery used by the poet in the
hardly appropriate from a poetic viewpoint. To
original work, in the event that the translator
take an example from modern English, the
decides to invent a term or compound which
nouns wood and timber may often be inter-
works well in metrical and phonological terms,
changeable, but in phonetic terms they are
but which departs from the original metaphor.
markedly different and provoke quite distinct
Here are some examples of how this diffi-
aesthetic responses. Tolkien comes back to this
culty has been tackled by translators over the
subject in his discussion of the best way of ren-
years. In A Companion to Beowulf, Ruth John-
dering the so-called kennings (noun com-
son Staver offers samples by numerous trans-
pounds) which are typical of Old English
lators of lines 237–40, which contain the
poetry, using metaphors such as colour and tex-
compound term lagustraete, literally ‘sea-
ture to try to get his message across:
street’. The choices made by translators are as
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Ben Slade (2002) opts for sea-street and
Michael Alexander (1973) goes for sea-ways
(Staver 2005:20–21). These ten translations
reflect ten different options: it is a tribute to
the breadth of English vocabulary that all the
above writers succeeded in finding an original
solution. As for colour and texture, we can see
that most translators sought to strike a bal-
ance between semantic fidelity and poetic
charm, influenced in most cases by the addi-
tional need to respect the restrictions of the
alliterative verse form. Such a middle course,
where allowed by the original syntax, seems
to be the best solution and reflects Tolkien’s
own admonition about translating, not ‘rewrit-
ing’, the poem.
Tolkien also provides a warning on the sub-
ject of what he calls etymological fallacy, a prob-
lem more commonly referred to as ‘false
friends’ among modern language learners and
translators. Etymological descent, he tells us, is
a most untrustworthy guide to a fit choice of
words, offering as examples the words wann,
mod, burg, and ealdor, which we are told,
respectively, do not mean ‘wan’, ‘mood’, ‘bor-
ough’ and ‘alderman’, but rather mean ‘dark’,
‘spirit or pride’, ‘stronghold’, and ‘prince’. This
advice can logically be extended to the transla-
tion of any language, suggesting once again
that serious translation should only be under-
taken by someone with a profound understand-
ing of the source language and the associated
First page of the sole surviving manuscript of
capacity to detect and avoid pitfalls of this kind.
Beowulf (courtesy of the British Library)
The last area covered by Tolkien in the
guidelines he sets out in ‘On Translating
follows, with the year of publication in brack-
Beowulf’ concerns the appropriate style for
ets. We can start with an outstanding example
rendering the poem in a modern idiom.
of retained compactness at the cost of colour in
Tolkien takes the view that Beowulf was writ-
the simple use of the word ocean by David
ten in the eighth century: there is much con-
Wright (1957) in his plain English translation.
troversy among experts over its date of
J. M. Kemble (1835) was rather more imagi-
composition, but there is consensus with
native in his first full Beowulf translation,
regard to the fact that the poem describes
choosing lake paths, perhaps because he took
quasi-historical events that occurred a long
lagus to mean ‘lake’ rather than ‘sea’. William
time earlier. The Beowulf poet, therefore, used
Morris (1895) changed this to lake-street in his
a number of words which when he wrote the
translation, while John Earle (1982) offers an
poem were already old-fashioned or which
extreme instance of ‘colour’ over ‘compact-
were retained for strictly poetic use, thereby
ness’ in his choice of watery high-way. Seamus
providing his work with the requisite air of
Heaney (2000) decided on sea-lanes partly to
antiquity and solemnity. In Tolkien’s view, to
alliterate with steep-hulled in the second half
be faithful to the spirit of the original, transla-
of the line, while R. M. Liuzza (2002) pre-
tors into modern English should follow a simi-
ferred sea-road. Francis Grummere (1909)
lar procedure:
and Frederick Rebsamen (1991) use ocean
If you wish to translate, not re-write, Beowulf,
ways and wave-swells, respectively, to alliter-
your language must be literary and traditional:
ate with weapons and water. For their part,
not because it is now a long while since the
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poem was made, or because it speaks of things
that have since become ancient; but because
the diction of Beowulf was poetical, archaic,
artificial (if you will) in the day that the poem
was made. Many words used by the ancient
English poets had, even in the eighth century,
already passed out of colloquial use for
anything from a lifetime to hundreds of years.
(Tolkien 1997:54)
Tolkien warns, however, that the opposite
fault should equally be avoided:
Words should not be used merely because they
are ‘old’ or obsolete. The words chosen,
however remote they may be from colloquial
speech or ephemeral suggestions, must be
words that remain in literary use, especially in
Fragment of Tolkien’s Beowulf translation
the use of verse, among educated people.
showing metrical patterns and syllable
(Tolkien 1997:55)
stresses, from ‘On Translating Beowulf’.
The notion of what constitutes an ‘educated
person’ has changed since Tolkien wrote these
lines and his advice may now seem outdated,
or even politically incorrect. Certainly this is
Time passed away. On the tide floated
one area in which the Irish poet Seamus
under bank their boat. In her bows mounted
Heaney, in his celebrated version of Beowulf,
brave men blithely. Breakers turning
chose not to follow Tolkien’s advice and he
spurned the shingle. Splendid armour
clearly eschews language of this kind. The
they bore aboard, in her bosom piling
terms Heaney uses to flavour his translation
well-forged weapons, then away thrust her
are not those that ‘remain in literary use’ but
to voyage gladly valiant timbered.
rather are words of ancient Celtic or Anglo-
(Tolkien 1997:63)
Saxon stock that subsist in British dialects,
such as bawn (fortress), tholed (suffered), reek
Consistent with his own advice, Tolkien uses
(smoke), and bothy (hut), and which will be
words like blithely, splendid, bore, bosom and
known by at least part of his readership. Those
valiant, all of which can be regarded as edu-
unable to recognise these terms are provided
cated or poetic and which help to give an anti-
with a brief explanation in his introduction.
quated feel to the verse. He also takes a
Heaney thus manages to gives his Beowulf an
considerable amount of poetic liberty with the
old-world air which is down-to-earth and
syntax: ‘On the tide floated under bank their
solidly rooted in British tradition. To use a dis-
boat’, for instance, turns normal English word-
tinction that Tolkien himself disliked, we could
order on its head. However, Tolkien does not
say that Heaney’s choices are based on lan-
really succeed in reflecting the rough, tight-
guage, rather than on literature. In this
knit texture of the Anglo-Saxon language. In
respect, it is illuminating to compare Heaney’s
contrast, Heaney does not use a single word
poetic interpretation with Tolkien’s own, in
that falls outside common colloquial speech in
lines 210–16:
Modern English, yet thanks to a careful choice
of solidly English nouns – gangplank, warriors,
Time went by, the boat was on water,
war-gear, wood-weathered ship – he manages to
in close under the cliffs.
give the verse an archaic air while also reflect-
Men climbed eagerly up the gangplank,
ing, to the extent possible, the linguistic feel of
sand churned in surf, warriors loaded
the original. In any event, it should be noted
a cargo of weapons, shining war gear
that each translation reflects the prevailing
in the vessel’s hold, then heaved out,
away with a will in their wood-weathered ship
poetic and aesthetic values of the times in
(Heaney 2001:17)
which it was written and it is inconceivable
that Tolkien, or anyone else, could have cre-
Tolkien’s version, included as a sample in ‘On
ated a translation like Heaney’s back in the
Translating Beowulf’, is as follows:
1950s.
J . R . R . T O L K I E N A N D T H E A R T O F T R A N S L A T I N G E N G L I S H I N T O E N G L I S H
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but stoutly he strode forth, still strong on his
Keeping courtesy in Middle English
shanks,
In his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green
and roughly he reached out among the rows
Knight Tolkien applies the ‘poetical, archaic
that stood there,
and artificial’ style he refers to with regard to
caught up his comely head and quickly upraised
it,
Beowulf. If we recall the passage cited above
and then hastened to his horse, laid hold of the
from his essay about Sir Gawain, where he says
bridle,
that his purpose is to ‘preserve, to exhibit in an
stepped into stirrup-iron, and strode up aloft,
intelligible modern idiom, the nobility and the
his head by the hair in his hand holding;
courtesy of this poem’, it seems clear that any
and he settled himself then in the saddle as
other stylistic choice was out of the question;
firmly
to reflect the chivalric notions of nobility and
as if unharmed by mishap, though in the hall he
courtesy, Tolkien needed to employ a Malo-
might
ryesque register.
wear no head.
(Tolkien 1975:40)
The English poet Simon Armitage, who has
Evidently this is not contemporary English, but
published his own modern-English translation
the language employed in these lines suggests
of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Faber,
that Tolkien’s style is not quite as antiquated
2006), has the following to say about Tolkien’s
as Armitage makes out. The words or phrases
poetic style: ‘I read Tolkien’s translation when
which cannot be regarded as ordinary current
I was in my mid-20s; not surprisingly for some-
usage are: fair (in the sense of attractive),
one who had studied and decoded the original
forth, strode, comely, upraised, hasten, shanks
text, his is a highly faithful rendition. But I
and mishap – a mere eight instances in 13
never really responded to the antique diction
lines, or in 124 words. Moreover, there are
and syntax – it struck me at times as even older
only four cases of non-standard syntax: hardly
than the original’ (interview in The Guardian
worthy of being derided as ‘older than the orig-
newspaper, December 2006). Saying Tolkien’s
inal’. We should note, however, that some
versions seems ‘older than the original’ is obvi-
instances of these syntactic inversions are
ously an exaggeration, but Armitage’s point is
rather extreme, as was the case in the sample
clear: the kind of language Tolkien used is now
of Tolkien’s Beowulf translation cited earlier.
passé. In Tolkien’s defence, as suggested above,
The clause ‘his head by the hair in his hand
it can be alleged that such criticism is not really
holding’ is particularly unnatural, even though
fair because any poet translating Sir Gawain
it mirrors the syntax of the original verse.
and the Green Knight in that period would have
Let us now look at Armitage’s version of the
used broadly similar, pseudo-archaic lan-
same section:
guage. It may also be mentioned in passing
that Armitage’s use of certain very modern
The handsome head tumbles onto the earth
English expressions in his translation of Sir
and the king’s men kick it as it clatters past.
Blood gutters brightly against his green gown,
Gawain seems decidedly more out of place in a
yet the man doesn’t shudder or stagger or sink
poem of such venerable stock than Tolkien’s
but trudges towards them on those tree-trunk
archaisms.
legs
A comparison of their versions helps to illus-
and rummages around, reaches at their feet
trate this. The following passage describes the
and cops hold of his head and hoists it high,
action immediately after Gawain has chopped
and strides to his steed, snatches the bridle,
off the Green Knight’s head, in full view of the
steps into the stirrup and swings into the saddle
assembled Knights of the Round Table. Both
still gripping his head by a handful of hair.
poets try to reflect the alliterative verse of the
Then he settles himself in his seat with the ease
original text. Tolkien’s rendering is as follows:
of a man unmarked, never mind being minus
his head!
(Armitage 2006:49)
The fair head to the floor fell from the
Logically, Armitage’s translation has a much
shoulders,
more up-to-date feel to it: all the vocabulary is
and folk fended it with their feet as forth it
normal modern English. Moreover, the word-
went rolling;
the blood burst from the body, bright on the
order is standard English all through, which is
greenness,
a notable achievement in view of the extreme
and yet neither faltered nor fell the fierce man
difficulty involved in trying to maintain rhyme
at all,
and metre while reflecting the sense and
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wording of the original, without ‘wrenching
terror in the trenches made any such experi-
the syntax’. He also creates a wonderfully
menting seem frivolous.
dynamic sequence using the repeated ‘s’ sound
for all the verbs between strides and still grip-
Translation as a literary conceit
ping, giving a real sense of action. However,
such words and phrases as clatter, snatches,
Turning now to Tolkien’s fiction, it is interest-
rummage around and cops hold of are exces-
ing to note that in Appendix F to The Lord of the
sively colloquial and have little justification
Rings he informs us that his entire epic story is
other than to provide the required alliteration.
in fact a translation. English was not the lan-
At times Armitage seems to lose sight of the
guage spoken by the human communities in
fact that he is translating a very ancient work
The Lord of the Rings and used by dwarves,
set in a venerable location (Arthur’s Camelot)
elves, orcs and ents as a lingua-franca: that
and that such a context imposes certain limits
language was Westron, but for the story to be
on the language he can use. The final clause,
comprehensible to the non-Westron speakers
‘never mind being minus his head!’, seems
of our day it had to be translated into English.
particularly out of place in this regard.
He develops this idea by informing readers that
In the interview referred to above, Simon
there were different variations of Westron,
Armitage gave an interesting example of just
ranging from the often rustic form spoken by
how much the approach of a poet to his own
the Hobbits and Bree-men in the north-west to
work can change in fifty years. He mentions
the more elevated speech of the inhabitants of
how deeply impressed he had been by the
Gondor in the south. These had to be reflected
Gawain poet’s description of the capture and
in the narrative by using different regional or
subsequent dismembering of a deer: ‘No por-
social registers from modern English. For their
tion of the animal seems to escape the hunter’s
part, the Saxon-like Rohirrim, a proud people
knife or the poet’s eye, with some of the more
with a highly developed sense of ethics but less
grisly portions being guzzled by the dogs or
sophisticated than the men of Gondor in cul-
tossed into the woods for the crows. But as full
tural matters, had their own language which
and frank as these passages are, I figured that
Tolkien equated to Anglo-Saxon in English cul-
only by seeing the real thing would I get a true
ture. The Rohirrim used Westron as a lingua-
sense of what was actually taking place.’
franca when communicating with other
Accordingly, he travelled to visit a deer farm
communities of men and consequently the type
near his home in Yorkshire in order to watch a
of English they speak in The Lord of the Rings is
modern farmer go through the same process of
tinged with words from their own language
slaughtering and dressing a deer. As well as
(Rohirric), notably names, for which Tolkien
directly witnessing the gruesome work, he
sought suitable equivalents derived from
took advantage to ask the slaughter-man about
Anglo-Saxon. Two of the most important
certain bits and pieces of the butchered animal
names, Éomer (the king’s nephew) and
which are mentioned in the poem and which
Meduseld (the royal house), are in fact lifted
he had found hard to identify, such as knot,
straight from Beowulf, which illustrates the
chine and slot.
philological ebb and flow between ancient and
This enthusiasm for seeking out real, direct
modern which is so characteristic of Tolkien’s
experience as a means of inspiring poetry (or
work.
poetry translation) contrasts radically with the
The device of introducing a fictitious transla-
attitudes prevalent in Tolkien’s day. The idea
tor was not an original idea of Tolkien’s but
of Simon Armitage up to his ankles in gore in a
was common in the knightly romances that
Yorkshire slaughterhouse could hardly be far-
enjoyed enormous popularity in France and
ther removed from our habitual image of Pro-
Spain – and to a lesser extent in Britain –
fessor Tolkien in his library, puffing quietly on
between the 13th and 16th centuries, many of
his pipe, quite content to rely on books, experi-
which commenced with the discovery of a
ence and his own imagination for poetic inspi-
book, manuscript or parchment written in a
ration and with little interest in venturing
foreign language which the narrator had to
anywhere farther than his own back garden.
translate into the vernacular of his time so that
Perhaps the fact that Tolkien, like many writers
the story could be enjoyed by his less linguisti-
of his generation, had received more than
cally gifted fellows (almost certainly men, as
enough first-hand experience of bloodshed and
literate women were expected to read more
J . R . R . T O L K I E N A N D T H E A R T O F T R A N S L A T I N G E N G L I S H I N T O E N G L I S H
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genteel material). These purported foreign
Anyone interested in a more detailed
languages included Latin, Greek, English,
description of Tolkien’s process of translating
French, German, Tuscan and Hungarian. Some
from his invented languages into modern Eng-
famous works employing this device are the
lish should consult the above-mentioned
16th century Amadís de Grecia (falsely trans-
Appendix directly. Here I wish to mention just
lated into Spanish from Greek), El Caballero
one notable instance of Tolkien’s self-transla-
Zifar (false translation from Latin) and Flo-
tion, namely his explanation of how he incor-
rando de Inglaterra (false translation from Eng-
porated into his etymological scheme of things
lish). Some even claimed to be translations of
the word hobbit, his most celebrated neolo-
other translations, the most notable instance
gism. By Tolkien’s own account, the name
being the great 15th century romance Tirant lo
came straight to him from his own imagination
Blanch, known in English as The White Knight,
without any clearly recognisable antecedent.
by Joanot Martorell, who originally wrote the
This meant that an antecedent had to be
story in Valenciano (a language of south-east
invented and the author accordingly explains
Spain akin to Catalan), supposedly on the basis
that hobbit is the modern English equivalent of
of a Portuguese translation of an original man-
the term holbytla in Anglo-Saxon (which we
uscript in English!
should recall equates to Rohirric in the Middle-
Like the medieval authors who created these
earth languages), whose etymology is
characters, the addition of a primary layer of
described by Gilliver in The Ring of Words:
pseudo-authenticity was doubtless one of
Upon encountering the Rohirrim, the hobbits
Tolkien’s objectives when he decided to include
notice that their speech contains many words
a reference to the matter of translation in the
that sound like Shire words but have a more
Appendices to The Lord of the Rings. But did he
archaic form. The prime example is their word
really need to go to all that trouble? It can safely
for the hobbits themselves: holbytla. It is made
be assumed that his readers’ appreciation of The
up of hol ‘hole’ and bytla ‘builder’; it just
Lord of the Rings would not have been dimin-
happens, as far as we know, never to have
ished had the entire Appendix on language
existed in Old English.
been omitted. Upon completing Tolkien’s great
(Gilliver 2006:144)
work, one scarcely feels a need for an explana-
To ensure that the information provided is
tion of why it is mostly written in English. How-
complete, Tolkien ends his explanation in the
ever, Tolkien’s idiosyncrasies with regard to
Appendices to The Return of the King by
language and his obsession with the internal
informing readers that with respect to the ‘real’
consistency of his invented world went well
human languages of Middle-earth, hobbit
beyond the reach of ordinary linguistic or aes-
(modern English) is a translation of kuduk
thetic judgements. What he felt upon reading
(Westron) and holbytla (pseudo-Anglo-Saxon)
through his magnum opus and hearing his char-
is a translation of kûd-dûkan (Rohirric). The
acters speak English must have been similar to
etymological source of these Westron and
the feeling most of us get when seeing a dubbed
Rohirric words in some earlier, ancient Middle-
film: it seemed incongruous, and at least some
earth Ursprache, however, is not provided: it
kind of artifice was required to justify this
seems that by this stage even Tolkien’s enthusi-
apparent inconsistency in the massive edifice
asm for linguistic invention had reached its
he had created. In the Appendices, therefore,
limit.
which were added once the story itself had been
It is also interesting to note with respect to
completed rather than being envisaged from
The Hobbit that in its first edition, published in
the start, the author took the opportunity to fur-
1937, Tolkien slipped quietly into the plot in
nish a last-minute explanation: the story was a
the guise of a scribe, concealing his identity in
translation into English from the historical
the runes that border the picture on the dust-
chronicle kept by the Hobbits under the name
jacket. When deciphered, the runes tell us the
of the Red Book of Westmarch, wherein their
name and origin of the story: The Hobbit or
greatest adventures were recorded. The trans-
There and Back Again, being the record of a
lator, as is made clear by the use of the first per-
year’s journey made by Bilbo Baggins; compiled
son, was Tolkien himself. The author could thus
from his memoirs by J. R. R. Tolkien and pub-
rest assured that if it occurred to anyone to ask
lished by George Allen & Unwin (Tolkien/
why Frodo, Aragorn and company spoke
Continued on page 64
English, he would have an answer ready.
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J. R. R. Tolkien and the art of translating English into English continued from page 10
Anderson 2002: Appendix B). The author’s role
Clark Hall, J. R. 1940. Beowulf and the Finnesburg
as a scribe, or interpreter, was present from the
Fragment, rev. edn. London: George Allen and
very beginning in his published fiction.
Unwin.
Gilliver, P. et al. 2006. The Ring of Words: Tolkien
To sum up, therefore, we can see that trans-
and the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford:
lation was an essential theme in Tolkien’s aca-
University Press.
demic and fictitious work, in differing ways.
Heaney, S. 2001. Beowulf: A New Verse
On a primarily linguistic plane, Tolkien drew
Translation. London: W. W. Norton.
on his knowledge as a philologist and his gifts
Johnson Staver, R. 2005. A Companion to Beowulf.
as a poet to translate early English poetic
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
Shippey, T. 2007. Roots and Branches: Selected
works which are partly or wholly unintelligible
Papers on Tolkien. Zurich and Berne: Walking
to the modern lay reader. On the plane of his
Tree Publishers.
own literary creativity, he used translation as a
Tolkien, J. R. R. 1966. The Return of the King, 2nd
conceit to reinforce the authenticity of his
edn. London: Allen & Unwin.
greatest work and maintain his invented
—. 1975. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl
world’s internal coherence, while allowing
and Sir Orfeo. Translated by J. R. R. Tolkien,
himself to take a small but active part as the
ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: Allen &
Unwin.
chronicle’s translator.
—. 1997. The Monsters and the Critics and Other
Essays. London. HarperCollins.
References
—. and Anderson, Douglas (ed.). 2002. The
Armitage, S. 2006. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
Hobbit (annotated edn.). Boston: Houghton
London: Faber.
Mifflin.
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