Contains a few mistakes. But a decent intro to Tolkien's true love: his "silly faerie languages". More can be found on elvish.org.

It was very interesting, and I really want to reread when I'm rereading LOTR

I now exclusively long form review on The StoryGraph. Feel free to find and follow me there for my most in depth reviews, and support a black woman ethically owned alternative!

It was very interesting to read a little about how J.R.R. Tolkien made the languages of middle earth, and how to say things in Elvish, Dwarvish, and the races of men. I just wish it were longer and included more words. Good for linguists geeks (or LOTR geeks).

A Tolkien nerd's treasure :) Full of alphabet's, dictionaries, histories, and the translation of all poems, songs, and phrases from the Hobbit and LOTR Trilogy.

At one time an interesting book but now very much out of date and inaccurate based on Tolkiens work on languages - caveat emptor for those buying this book - it is not uptodate - perhaps a revision????

Regarding the rune and letters, regarding pronunciation and the guide to the languages, this was a great book. I know most of this information can be found elsewhere, but it is handy to have all together.

Regarding the history of the languages and other info given, I did not care for it as much. I am fairly familiar with the Tolkien world, but the author spouts off places and names that are uncommon unless you have read all History of Middle Earth books with no back info given. I am okay with referencing these things, but before moving on to the next obscure thing, fill me in on exactly who that was, or where on Middle-Earth I can find that location.

2.5 stars [Metalanguage]
Published in 1974 and possibly updated in 1980, this book--while it attempted comprehensiveness--is quite out-of-date. Even my cursory knowledge of Quenya and Sindarin spotted numerous questionable definitions. For a better, and up-to-date, didactic on the Elvish [constructed] languages, I recommend Ardalambion's Quenya course online.

This was really an excellent book! I highly recommend it! For people who want to know about Tolkien's languages, doncha know. Took my time about reading it, apparently…

What purpose is a book of languages that didn't actually exist? Well, it's not really about that. I mean, it is..but reading between the lines you see the genius of Tolkien. A man that invent numerous languages in complete form should be studied, and this book is a study independent of his Fiction. As Tolkien was a linguist by profession this book is what one would assume with any language text. And that is the genius of it.

A nice starter for Tolkien's languages, though if seriously interested, please reference Christopher Tolkien's extensive work from his father's notes, The Parma Eldalamberon or The Book of Tongues. Last I checked there were 25 volumes ranging from Sindarin and Quenyan to Noldarin and Numenorean as well as the Dwarvish tongue. Ideal for philological enthusiasts and anyone intent on learning the actual grammar of Tolkien's invented languages. This is a decent starter.

I found it very informative, especially on the subject of Westron- if you're a Hobbit lover this is a definite must-read. However, I hear that the elvish is extremely spotty and outdated. It's a really good read if you're interested in Westron and the like, but I'm not going to recommend it for the Quenyan and Sindarin.