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No, they have Westron names and English names.

What you’ve got to understand is that everything Tolkien wrote was him pretending to merely translate ancient documents. He was writing as if the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were actually been written by Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam (or Bilba, Maura, and Ban) and he was just some random contemporary academic translating it all into English for us. 

There are many languages in his books, but generally speaking, everything written in English in the books is a translation of the language “Westron.” Therefore any names that come from Westron, he translated. Names coming from other languages, like Sindarin, he left as they were. Why? IDK. Maybe because the stories are from a hobbit perspective and hobbits speak Westron, so he wanted the Westron parts to sound familiar and the other languages/names to remain foreign? 

“But Mirkwoodest!” you cry, “The word ‘hobbit’ isn’t an English word! And the names Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck” all sounds super weird and not like English at all!”

Psych! They are in English! (Or Old English, German, or Norse.) Once again you underestimate what a nerd Tolkien was. Let me break it down: 

In Westron, hobbits are actually called “kuduk,” which means “hole-dweller,” so for an English translation, Tolkien called them “hobbits” which is a modernization of the Old English word “holbytla” which comes from “Hol” (hole) and “Bytla”(builder). 

“Maura” is a Westron name which means “Wise.” Weirdly enough, “Frodo” is an actual Proto-Germanic name that actual people used to have and it means the same thing. 

“Banazîr” is Westron for “half-wise, or simple.” In Proto Germanic, the prefix “Sam” means half, and wise is obviously a word we still use. 

“Razanur” means “Traveler” or “Stranger” which is also the meaning of the word “Peregrin(e)” This one is a twofer because  “Razar” means “a small red apple” and in English so does “Pippin.”

“Kalimac” apparently is a meaningless name in Westron, but the shortened form “Kali” means “happy,” so Jirt decided his nickname would be “Merry” and chose the really obscure ancient Celtic name “Meriodoc” to match. 

Jirt chose to leave “Bilba” almost exactly the same in English, but he changed the ending to an “O” because in Westron names ending in “a” are masculine. 

I’m not going to go on and talk about the last names but those all have special meanings too (except Tûk, which is too iconic to change more than the spelling of, apparently). 

The Rohirrim were also Westron speakers first and foremost, so their names are also “translations” into Old English and Proto-Germanic words, i.e. “Eowyn”  is a combination of “Eoh” (horse) and “Wynn” (joy/bliss). 

“Rohirrim/Rohan” are Sindarin words, but in the books, they call themselves the “Éothéod” which is an Old English/Norse combo that means “horse people.” Tolkien tells us in the “Peoples of Middle Earth” that the actual Westron for “Éothéod” is Lohtûr, which means that Eowyn and Eomer’s names, which come from the same root word, must also start with the letter L. 

The names of all the elves, dwarves, Dunedain, and men from Gondor are not English translations, since they come from root words other than Westron. 

The takeaway from this is that when a guy whose first real job was researching the history and etymology of words of Germanic origin beginning with the letter “W” writes a book, you can expect this kind of tomfoolery.

Notes: Sorry I said “Razal” instead of “Razar” in my original post I’m a fraud. 

Further Reading: 

So I just told them to add the $20 something onto my bill, and I thought she was going to break down crying right there.

Another time, my dad gave 50 bucks to a guy who said he needed to buy medicine for his kids. I told my dad he was probably going to spend the money on alcohol or something, but my dad said that “whether he was lying or not says something about HIS character, but hearing someone in need and choosing not to help when I have the means to says something about mine”.

They walk paths not walked in an age. Their footsteps remain in the mud, will linger for another age, for someone else to find. They have traveled far, expect to go farther. It has swallowed up her lungs, taken an eye. She breathes blight, thinks she might not breathe for much longer. He follows behind her, as he has always done. He protects her back, her now blinded left. It has come faster than they expected. Other Wardens had offered sympathies, suggestions, no solutions. They seek their own. They investigate every rumor, ever small whisper. She’s begun to think it hopeless, although she doesn’t say so.

The doors are overgrown with vine and weed, rusted shut. It has stood through time and tear, and now, they break the seal. Shoulders against the door, the two of them pushing with all their might. Feet slipping in the mud, hands pressed against the moss. Barely, it opens. Leaves brush across stone, and they track footprints. She is focused on the throne. He drifts. The walls are lined with something malevolent, but he suspects it was not always so. The statues are filled with it as well, veins that now run red. His hand lingers near them, travels over the static of it. He knows better than to touch lyrium.

She climbs the steps, slowly, carefully. The spear in her hand, shield in the other. Mushrooms grow beside skeletons, flowers bloom in what was once a crown. Through the fallen ceiling, sunlight streams. Dust turns in the air, and the silence seems deafening. Zevran’s footsteps, behind her. Climbing the steps to stand beside her. There is something here they do not understand. He reaches out, and the crown crumbles to dust in his hand. They disturb a grave. They expect to wake a god. They conjure demons, instead.

Stepping back, and he’s pulling the daggers free. Deep gasps from the walls, from the moss beneath their feet. Creatures claw their way free, things made of twisting lyrium, bones of the long dead. The temple has been breached. They fulfill their oath to their god. They protect it, even now. They do not rest. Noya turns the spear in her hand, moves to meet them. Raising her shield, and she waits for the time to strike. He guards her back.

She fights the same way she always has. She never undervalues her target. Light steps, she practically dances forward. A leap, the thrust of her spear. It meets a poorly made hand, and the things they now face conjure weapons of their own. Not of this earth, made of light and magic. They glow briefly blue, until the red infects them too. Raising her shield, dashing away the strike, and she narrowly misses her own. Zevran turns the daggers in his hands and he breaks into a run, catches the sword that strikes for Noya’s left.

They carry no recognition of the state of them. Upon their skulls, the vallaslin of who they once were. More spirit than earthly things, they rattle in their rancor, their half-life. They seem to ignore him, focus on her. She carries the same weight of death, the same blighted poison. They recognize the one very like them, but not of them. Mahariel. They surround her, seek to claim her. From behind the throne, one walks. In its hand, a bow. Drawing back the string, and the arrow simply is. Letting it go, and they both don’t see it.

A grunt, as it lands heavy in her shoulder. Whirling, and its drawing back the bow once again. Raising her shield, and she catches this one, as Zevran tears the other apart. It’s taking too long to fight them. The others are approaching. The doors behind the throne open. More of them, more bows in their hands. “Run,” she says. He doesn’t need to be told twice. Noya pushes him forward, raises her shield as she steps behind him. She catches arrows. Not all with her shield.

Maybe you’re having a stressful day. Maybe you just need a deep breath. Maybe you just didn’t realize how stressed you are. It’s okay! You deserve love and warmth in your life.

Are you comforted by words? 

Here’s an Emergency Compliment

Here are some kind words you can personalize with your name 

Here are 15 more emergency compliments 

Here is a Self Esteem Boosting Confidence Machine 

take a moment - video 

believe in yourself - video 

Inspiration from Jacksepticeye - PMA 

encouragement from Mr. Rogers - video 

you are ENOUGH - video 

Do you need to hear some pleasant ambient sounds?

How about rain sounds you can customize? 

You can listen to a cafe here  

or how about a crackling fireplace?  

ASMR? Stimming? 

Soap cutting ASMR - video 

more soap ASMR - video 

a 4 hour ASMR video to help with sleep 

ASMR face and scalp massage - video

ASMR slime - video 

the most satisfying video in the world 

more satisfying videos 

Lora Zombie speed painting - video 

Agnes Cecile speed painting - video  

the fastest workers in the world - video 

how candy canes are made - video 

Mr. Rogers shows how crayons are made - video 

How about a game or activity distraction?

Play 2048 here 

A whole website of free games!  

play chess against a computer 

Here are some coloring pages you can do online!  

Play Flow online here 

here’s a game where you stretch a giraffe’s little neck to give kisses 

Learn about the history of life on earth with PBS Eons 

Do you need something soothing?

Control the pattern of rain here! (flashing colors warning)

try doing nothing for two minutes 

Vent to a stranger online for FREE!  

weavesilk, where you can create a soothing pattern 

have you ever been to the nicest place on the internet? 

watch Bob Ross bring joy to painting - playlist 

How about a laugh?

Vines you can show your grandparents 

History of the entire world, I guess  

History of Japan 

Rhett and Link caption fails 

Thomas Sanders Vines 

The Demented Cartoon Movie (warning for flashing colors) 

The ASDF movie 1-11 

The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon by Richard Gale  (warnings for some bruises and some violence)

Rhett and Link VS Hank Green - SHUT UP AND DANCE 

It’s going to be okay. Today may be the worst day of your life - but tomorrow won’t be. Life is a series of ups and downs, and that means there’s going to be good and bad. Drink some water, let yourself cry if you need to, and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning. 

l

It’s okay. Your desire to write will return. Your desire to do other things you love will come back, too. You’re not weak. You’re just having a hard time right now. Try not to add self-judgment on top of everything else. Depression is hard enough without blaming yourself for it.

We (in the US specifically) live in a productivity-obsessed, emotion-phobic culture which blames individuals for “failing” when they are anything but hyper-productive and relentlessly optimistic. This cultural narrative so pervasive that it’s difficult to see the high standards we set for ourselves for what they really are: Complete and total bullshit.

Despite the rampant cultural garbage that teaches us to interpret emotional ups and downs as an aberration, MANY writers and artists (and people in general!) struggle with depression and other mood “disorders.” It is not uncommon for us, among other things, to go through periods of hyperactivity followed by depressive episodes in which we get very little accomplished. I am not saying you shouldn’t try to alleviate your depression or work to find ways to minimize your suffering in the short or long term. I’m just saying there’s nothing wrong with you, and you aren’t alone.

I’m going to say that again:

If you’re having a hard time writing or enjoying writing right now because you’re depressed, you aren’t alone.

I wish I had some kind of magical answer. I don’t. But I do know that accepting your depression and loving yourself anyway beats the hell out of berating yourself for feeling like this. So, with that in mind, this might be all I have to offer:

The zoo has officially stopped supporting the population because there are too DAMN MANY of them. They reduced the flock from 40 to 6 in 2008. I think they have more now. 

(they seemed to belong to this REALLY LARGE FANCY HOUSE that was settled between two trailer parks)

Nothing odd here, just some normal asks.

1. Where did you hide the body?

2. Favorite rock?

3. Worst dream you ever had?

4. Answer this with a lyric from the first song that comes to your mind

5. Does blood make you uncomfortable?

6. Even numbers or Odd numbers?

7. Something you hate that you love?

8. The first initial of someone you hate?

9. Make up an Acrostic for the word “Exsanguinate”

10. Do you enjoy corndogs?

11. Favorite movie from the year 2005?

12. Least favorite music genre?

13. Have any terrible restaurant experiences?

14. Three things that you would never want to come near you?

15. What is the worst way for you to die? (In your opinion)

16. any unsual habits?

17. One emoji that you probably have never used?

18. Write a three sentence horror story about a gatorade bottle.

19. Do you know what old bay is?

20. Can you dance?

21. What first comes to mind when you see rope?

22. Make an obscure reference

23. What is your favorite color for a balloon?

24. If you were ever to got court, would you most likely be innocent or guilty?

25. Are you hungry?

26. Do you have an unlucky number?

27. What does “JMD” stand for?

28. Random Inside joke?

29. What sends chills up your spine?

30. How many questions are currently in your inbox?

31. Someone (real) who scares you? 

32. Run or Hide?

33. Who is the last person who made you angry?

34. What’s going on in your head?

35. One little thing that makes you smile?

36. Are you a decisive person?

37. Would people describe you as a paranoid person?

38. What store would you be the least likely to be found in?

39. Do you like hats? If so, what’s your favorite type?

40. Bowties or Ties?

41. Who?

42. What?

43. Where?

44. When?

45. Why?

46. How?

47. Do you collect anything?

48. What time is it?

49. Favorite mode of transportation?

50. Would you ever kill someone to save someone else?

51. Make a joke

52. .eserver ni gnihtemos etirW

53. Would your dash be considered SFW?

54. Do you like to cuddle?

55. What makes you angry?

56. How many voices are in your head?

57. Do you consider yourself mentally stable?

58. Are you easily offended?

59. What’s wrong with taking the backstreets?