Sindarization

Sindarization was the process in which various Quenya names and words were changed to fit Sindarin rules and style.

Historical context

After the Flight of the Noldor, the Noldor and the Sindar began to find a medium of communication with one another. In learning one another's languages, the Noldor caught quickly onto Sindarin, while the Sindar had extreme difficulty with Noldorin (Quenya). This was the first step towards Sindarinization.

The next step came quickly and absolutely. Elu Thingol learned of the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, and was horrified and angered at the massacre of his kin. He declared that the tongue of the kinslayers would not be spoken in his hearing, and commanded all Sindar not to speak it or answer to it, and to shun those who spoke it. Therefore the Noldor were forced to speak Sindarin, and it became their tongue in daily use. Quenya stayed still in their lorebooks, and was spoken in private among the lords of their kindred.

Some of the resulting forms were inaccurate, not intellgible in Sindarin as they were done before the Noldor had comprehended the language.

Examples
Other versions of the legendarium

In the earliest versions of the mythology (as narrated in The Book of Lost Tales), the process why the Noldoli wore such names is quite different: The Noldoli spoke Old Noldorin in Valinor, a language similar to Qenya, and upon their arrival to Beleriand, their language was much influenced by the vernacular Celtic-like Ilkorin, and evolved to an amalgamated language, Noldorin. These classical character names were originally envisioned as Noldorin by Tolkien.

In the latest phase of writing, the relationship between Quenya and Sindarin changed drastically. Tolkien however retained the "Noldorin" names he was always using, and attributed them to Sindarization.

Referencias

1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 29/05/2026.

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