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Reviews
A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages by Dimitra Fimi, Andrew Higgins, J.R.R. Tolkien
lfsalden's review against another edition
Whoa.
Yes. I have finally caught the tip of the tip of the tail...
Yes. I have finally caught the tip of the tip of the tail...
fallingletters's review against another edition
4.0
Review originally published 26 May 2017 at Falling Letters.
The title A Secret Vice refers to a talk that J.R.R. Tolkien originally gave in 1931. He discussed the joys of inventing language and the significant role language has to play in mythology creation.
I had previously read parts of Tolkien’s essay back 2013, when I fulfilled a years long dream of writing about Tolkien for my undergrad degree. The paper I wrote was titled “Retaining Meaning: Translating Tolkien’s Middle-Earth”, and it dealt very much with Tolkien’s passion for language creation. I was pleased to learn A Secret Vice” was being released in similar to fashion to “On Fairy-Stories”, which was released in an independent volume titled [b: Tolkien On Fairy Stories|1362112|Tolkien on Fairy-stories|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1326706200s/1362112.jpg|1351902]. This book would have been handy to have around during my undergrad!
The talk itself spans 31 pages. A brief “Essay on Phonetic Symbolism” is also included in the book. (The editors theorize that Tolkien may have written the essay to expand on ideas not integral to “A Secret Vice” [63].) A 54 page introduction serves well in providing context for the actual essay. Not just padding, the introduction explores the social and cultural context in which Tolkien was writing as well characteristics of his invented languages. A 15 page coda after the essay and manuscripts titled “The Reception and Legacy of Tolkien’s Invented Languages” continues the style of the introduction in exploring Tolkien’s impact. Finally, manuscripts are also included. Sometimes these can reveal a lot about a writer’s development of thought, but I skipped them in this volume.
Originally a talk given to a literary society (xxxi), “A Secret Vice” has a relatively casual and at times self-deprecating tone. Having read so much of Tolkien’s fiction, I find it something of a novelty to read in his own ‘voice’. Fans of Tolkien or those interested in constructed languages will appreciate the sentiments expressed and ideas explored in A Secret Vice.
The title A Secret Vice refers to a talk that J.R.R. Tolkien originally gave in 1931. He discussed the joys of inventing language and the significant role language has to play in mythology creation.
I had previously read parts of Tolkien’s essay back 2013, when I fulfilled a years long dream of writing about Tolkien for my undergrad degree. The paper I wrote was titled “Retaining Meaning: Translating Tolkien’s Middle-Earth”, and it dealt very much with Tolkien’s passion for language creation. I was pleased to learn A Secret Vice” was being released in similar to fashion to “On Fairy-Stories”, which was released in an independent volume titled [b: Tolkien On Fairy Stories|1362112|Tolkien on Fairy-stories|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1326706200s/1362112.jpg|1351902]. This book would have been handy to have around during my undergrad!
The talk itself spans 31 pages. A brief “Essay on Phonetic Symbolism” is also included in the book. (The editors theorize that Tolkien may have written the essay to expand on ideas not integral to “A Secret Vice” [63].) A 54 page introduction serves well in providing context for the actual essay. Not just padding, the introduction explores the social and cultural context in which Tolkien was writing as well characteristics of his invented languages. A 15 page coda after the essay and manuscripts titled “The Reception and Legacy of Tolkien’s Invented Languages” continues the style of the introduction in exploring Tolkien’s impact. Finally, manuscripts are also included. Sometimes these can reveal a lot about a writer’s development of thought, but I skipped them in this volume.
Originally a talk given to a literary society (xxxi), “A Secret Vice” has a relatively casual and at times self-deprecating tone. Having read so much of Tolkien’s fiction, I find it something of a novelty to read in his own ‘voice’. Fans of Tolkien or those interested in constructed languages will appreciate the sentiments expressed and ideas explored in A Secret Vice.
simazhi's review against another edition
5.0
I was browsing the shelves of a bookshop when my eye was caught by a book that was about to placed between thematically similar volumes. Its beautifully coloured cover seemed to call my attention just like the One Ring did — coincidentally, the cover is designed like the One Ring. Fortunately, I didn't spot any Gollums near, intent on taking back this precious gem.
As a huge Tolkien fan and as a linguist I highly appreciate the efforts the editors made, in order to show us the creative process of the two essays that are annotated in this book. Most people who read about Tolkien sooner or later stumble upon the phrase "a secret vice", Tolkien's euphemism that refers to his leisurely activity of inventing languages. This phrase is also the title of the first essay in this book. It is a speech first delivered to the Johnson Society on 29 November 1931 and then slightly adjusted for a hypothesized second delivery some twenty years later. In this essay Tolkien reflects on what he has been doing for the last 15 years - playing with language. He places this 'secret vice' in a historical light and ultimately presents some of his own creations to the society. The editors Fimi and Higgins are to be commended for their highly interesting attempts at tracing the origins of certain phrases and terms.
The second essay is an (originally) 8 page essay written on 'Oxford paper' (read the book if you want to know what this is) entitled 'Esssay on Phonetic Symbolism'. It sheds some light on Tolkien's conception of both onomatopoeia, the most iconic kind of ideophones as well as broader phonetic symbolism. Generally speaking, Tolkien is highly sensitive to the different effects different languages can have on people; he is convinced that English has a unique English sound (phonotactics?), so does Welsh, Greek and so on. The sum of the observed features of different languages can be termed the 'phonetic predilection' of that language. And connecting his reflections on this matter to what is known about his secret vices no doubt will give the reader an enlightening experience.
And as a bonus there are some manuscripts typed out, expertly annotated, that have been added to this volume.
It is worth a philological and careful read by those who have an interest in Tolkienian languages, sound symbolism and those who wish to read an interesting book.
As a huge Tolkien fan and as a linguist I highly appreciate the efforts the editors made, in order to show us the creative process of the two essays that are annotated in this book. Most people who read about Tolkien sooner or later stumble upon the phrase "a secret vice", Tolkien's euphemism that refers to his leisurely activity of inventing languages. This phrase is also the title of the first essay in this book. It is a speech first delivered to the Johnson Society on 29 November 1931 and then slightly adjusted for a hypothesized second delivery some twenty years later. In this essay Tolkien reflects on what he has been doing for the last 15 years - playing with language. He places this 'secret vice' in a historical light and ultimately presents some of his own creations to the society. The editors Fimi and Higgins are to be commended for their highly interesting attempts at tracing the origins of certain phrases and terms.
The second essay is an (originally) 8 page essay written on 'Oxford paper' (read the book if you want to know what this is) entitled 'Esssay on Phonetic Symbolism'. It sheds some light on Tolkien's conception of both onomatopoeia, the most iconic kind of ideophones as well as broader phonetic symbolism. Generally speaking, Tolkien is highly sensitive to the different effects different languages can have on people; he is convinced that English has a unique English sound (phonotactics?), so does Welsh, Greek and so on. The sum of the observed features of different languages can be termed the 'phonetic predilection' of that language. And connecting his reflections on this matter to what is known about his secret vices no doubt will give the reader an enlightening experience.
And as a bonus there are some manuscripts typed out, expertly annotated, that have been added to this volume.
It is worth a philological and careful read by those who have an interest in Tolkienian languages, sound symbolism and those who wish to read an interesting book.
neuro_chef's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
I don’t think it’s actually that low, but I understood so little from it that I can’t in good conscience give it anything more (I can’t understand it because of my own ignorance regarding the field of linguistics, not towards the actual book) but even so, it was extremely fun to read and the parts that I did understand were spectacular
sirrobert's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
5 for what Tolkien wrote, 3 for what the authors wrote, which was interesting subject matter but honestly kept losing my attention.