[Kalythianna]

Is it Westron? Or something else... or is it one of those things Tolkien never told us.

Anything would be helpful, thanks for your time.

[BittenBuggy]

I'm almost positive that it was Westron..but watch me embarass myself

[miriel361]

I'm sure Tolkien would have said Westron and then gone on to invent a plentitude of new words that were unique to the White City. They probably had a lot of words that were derived from Quenya (just watch me stick my face in the mud with you bitten buggy)

[Haleth]

Westron was indeed the main language of Gondor.

According to at least one source I've seen, it was mainly derived from the speech of the folk of Hador, the third house of the Edain in the First Age.

I'm going to have to go and look that up. I think it was at Ardamblion.

[NancyBrooke]

Not sure you could say Gondor had an "official" language like, say, the U.S. does, but from our friend at Ardalambion it seems likely that all Gondorians spoke Westron.

Now, his (I think 'his') essay on Sindarin (http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/sindarin.htm#Heading2) adds that Sindarin was widely used in Numenor, and eventually the Faithful survivors of Numenor used Sindarin and devised place names etc. in Sindarin. He quotes the Unfinished Tales:

"All men of high lineage and all those who were taught to read and write used Sindarin, even as a daily tongue among themselves ... Sindarin is stated to have been 'the normal spoken language of Elendil's people.'"

But wait -- there's more:

"Tolkien notes that at the end of the Third Age there were more Men who spoke Sindarin or knew Quenya than there were Elves who did either (Letters:425). When Frodo and Sam met Faramir's men in Ithilien, they heard them speak first in the Common Tongue (Westron), but then they changed to 'another language of their own. To his amazement, as he listened Frodo became aware that it was the Elven-tongue that they spoke, or one but little different; and he looked at them with wonder, for he knew then that they must be Dúnedain of the South, men of the line of the Lords of Westernesse' (LotR2/IV ch. 4). In Gondor, 'Sindarin was an acquired polite language and used by those of more pure N[úmenórean] descent' (Letters:425). The talkative herb-master of the Houses of Healing referred to Sindarin as the "noble tongue" (LotR3/V ch. 8: 'Your lordship asked for kingsfoil, as the rustics name it, or athelas in the noble tongue, or to those who know somewhat of the Valinorean [= Quenya]...')."

So, it seems likely that while Westron was the everday language, as it were, the more noble families had at least knowledge of Sindarin if they didn't use it in everyday life.

I like Sindarin, I like to pepper my stories with it, I think it adds a note of authenticity. My theory is that at the very least it would have survived in Gondor idiomatically, in phrases, names, curses, expressions. Take it or leave it.

Is this for a story? I'll look forward to reading it and seeing what you decide to do.

[Kalythianna]

Thank you all for your input, it's greatly appreciated.

NancyBrooke
Yes, it's for a fic I've been working on for a little over a month now. She's the daughter of Ivriniel (Imrahil and Finduilas' older sister). Since Tolkien says nothing whatsoever (as far as i'm aware) about Ivriniel, I've made up a little history for her. My story is all about her daughter, Ellawyn. I'm splitting the story up into parts, just cus I'm aweful at finishing things, and if it's a smaller goal, it'll get done faster.

Anyways, thanks for all the info, I'll see how to best incorperate it into my story.

[GypsieRose]

[Panneth]

Tolkien even goes to far as to point out that the vowel sound "u" is pronounced differently in Gondor. It's more like a a "y" apparently . This is from the Appendices, by the way.