TheElvish Linguistic Fellowship (E. L. F.) is a "Special Interest Group" of theMythopoeic Society[1] devoted to the study ofJ. R. R. Tolkien's constructed languages, headed by the computer scientistCarl F. Hostetter. It was founded by Jorge Quiñónez in 1988.
In 1992,Christopher Tolkien appointed the editors of the E.L.F. to order, edit, and then publish his father's writings concerning hisconstructed languages. They have worked from photocopies of the materials sent to them and from notes taken by the group's members in theBodleian andMarquette University Tolkien manuscript archives. This main course of publication is being carried out intermittently in the journalParma Eldalamberon. There are, however, some writings that are largely independent, and/or whose context has been sufficiently established by Christopher Tolkien's own chronological publication efforts inThe History of Middle-earth, and so do not have to be presented in the normal chronological flow of the larger project. Such materials are being published in the journalVinyar Tengwar. Members include Christopher Gilson,Carl F. Hostetter,Arden R. Smith, Bill Welden, and Patrick H. Wynne.
The E. L. F. publishes two journals,[2][3]Vinyar Tengwar, edited by Hostetter, andParma Eldalamberon, edited by Christopher Gilson. There is an online journal,Tengwestië,[4] edited by Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne; and it sponsors theLambengolmor (Quenya: "loremasters"[5]) mailing list.[6]
Parma Eldalamberon (brokenQuenya for 'The Book of Elven-tongues') was founded in 1971 as a fanzine devoted to a variety of inventedliterary languages, initially published under the auspices of theMythopoeic Society, and then taken over by the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship.[7]
In 1995, with the support of Christopher Tolkien and permission of theTolkien Estate,[8]Parma was reinvented as a series of standalone volumes publishing in full material from Tolkien's manuscripts relating to languages and scripts. Much of this material was previously unpublished or published only in heavily edited form. For example, selections from the "Gnomish Lexicon", published in full inParma Eldalamberon #11, were published in the Appendices toThe Book of Lost Tales.[9]
Vinyar Tengwar (broken Quenya for "News Letters") is a refereed journal[10] (ISSN 1054-7606) published by the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship, dedicated to the study of thelanguages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien. The publication is indexed by theModern Language Association.[11]
Vinyar Tengwar first appeared in 1988, at first edited by Jorge Quiñónez and later taken over by Hostetter. It appeared in bimonthly intervals at first, but after July 1994, issues appeared more irregularly, roughly once a year, until #49 appeared in June 2007;[12] there was then a hiatus until March 2013, when issue #50 appeared. As of 2020, no further issues had been published.[13] The journal was dedicated primarily to the editing ofTolkien's linguistic texts, some of which were mentioned in volumes ofThe History of Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien, but not published in that series owing to their specialist nature.[12]
Tengwestië is the E.L.F.'s online journal. Its editors are Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne. Articles have appeared intermittently.[14]
The ELFcon was the annual open conference of the E.L.F., held from 1991 to 1994. Its purpose was to present scholarly papers on any subject relating to Tolkien's invented languages, to discuss the papers amongst the attendees, and to serve as a friendly gathering for a common intellectual pursuit. ELFcons ended in 1994, butTolkienist conventions organized by Bill Welden continued,[15] renamed toOmentielva,[16] fromomentie, Quenya for "meeting".[17][a] Its proceedings are published inArda Philology.[16]
Parma Eldalamberon ... The Book of Elven Tongues ... is a journal of linguistic studies of fantasy literature, especially of the Elvish languages and nomenclature in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Parma Eldalamberon ("The Book of Elven Tongues") is a journal of linguistic studies of fantasy literature, especially of the Elvish languages and nomenclature in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Photocopies of the first five issues are available here. ... Parma Eldalamberon 1 (1971)
