Silvan Elvish
Silvan Elvish was a name for the tongue spoken by the Silvan Elves.
History
Silvan Elvish descended from Nandorin/Danian (from their leader Lenwë/Dân), which was the language of the Nandor, those Teleri Elves who broke from the Great Journey east of the Misty Mountains. As such, Nandorin was a branch of the Common Telerin.
A branch of the Nandor eventually completed the Journey, settling in Ossiriand and became known as the Laiquendi; those spoke West-Danian (also called Ossiriandrin or Ossiriandish, and Laiquenderin). Those who remained in the East spoke East-Danian.
After the First Age, the surviving Elves of Beleriand carried their speech back into the east. In the Third Age the Nandor became known as Silvan Elves, with their language being known as Silvan Elvish, heard both in Lothlórien and the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood. Sindarin-speakers settled in both the main Silvan realms, and in Lórien, at least, Sindarin quickly overtook Silvan Elvish in common use. The history of the tongue in Mirkwood is more difficult to determine - some sources suggest that it, too, was quickly overtaken by Sindarin, but other sources dispute this. Sindarin had become the dominant Elvish tongue of the Westlands, with Nandorin little-spoken; it was represented mainly in old place-names and Silvan dialects developed under its influence.
By the end of the Third Age, the only remnants of Silvan were a few names, like Caras Galadhon, Amroth or Legolas which sound like Sindarin, but actually betray the influences of Silvan words.
Other names
Attributes
Other versions of the legendarium
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 29/05/2026.
