Article Title
The Enigmatic Loss of Proto-Hobbitic
Abstract
This paper investigates two questions. First, why did Tolkien assign the Hobbits “a Mannish language of the upper Anduin, akin to that of the Rohirrim” (LotR, Appendix F 1130) as the first language of which we have some knowledge? Second, why does Tolkien deny the Hobbits a distinct linguistic identity and turn them into linguistic chameleons?
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