- By the time of the War of the Ring (3018 Third Age) nearly all races used the Westron or Common Speech exclusively, save the Elves. Even folks like the Wild Men of Drúadan who spoke their own language could use the Common Speech as a secondary language.
- There were two types of Elvish language: Quenya which was the high tongue spoken beyond the Sea and used only in ritual in Middle-earth. Sindarin was originally spoken by the Elves who did not go to Valinor. By the time the Exiles had returned to Middle-earth the two tongues were sundered. Yet the Sindarin tongue was adopted by the Exiles. "Noblest of all was the Lady Galadriel of the royal house of Finarfin and sister of Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond" (p. 406, The Return of the King).
- The Common Speech was spoken by Men, in particular of the Three Houses that aided the Elves against Melkor in the First Age. These Men, who had learned the Elven tongues out of reverence, were given Númenor and their speech, Adunaic, was influenced by the Elves. The Sea-kings established colonies in Middle-earth. "There Adunaic was spoken, and mingled with many words of the languages of lesser men it became a Common Speech that spread thence along the coasts among all that had dealings with Westernesse" (p. 407, The Return of the King).
- Hobbits adopted the Common Speech and there is no record of any language native to their kind. It seems they adopted the speech of the Big Folk they lived near. This perhaps explains why some of the language the Rohirrim was recognizable to the hobbits. For example holbytla meaning 'hole-builder' which King Theoden and others of Rohan called Merry.
- At the end of the Third Age the Ents were the most ancient people in Middle-earth. "They were known to the Eldar in the ancient days, and to the Eldar indeed the Ents ascribed not their own language but the desire for speech. The language that they had made was unlike all others: slow, sonorous, agglomerated, repetittive, indeed long-winded..." (p. 409, The Return of the King).
- Orcs also had there own manner of speech but none of it was original. "It is said they had no language of their own, but took what they could of other tongues and perverted it to their own liking; yet they made only brutal jargons, scarcely sufficient even for their own needs, unless it were for curses and abuse" (p. 409, The Return of the King).
- Sauron created the Black Speech and some words were adopted by Orcs.
- During the War of the Ring a new kind Orc appeared in Mirkwood and Mordor. They were bred by Sauron. "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race, strong, agile, fierce and cunning, but harder than stone. Unlike the older race of the Twilight they could endure the Sun, so long as the will of Sauron held sway over them. They spoke little, and the only tongue that they knew was the Black Speech of Barad-dur" (p. 410, The Return of the King).
- Dwarves had their own language. "Yet in secret (a secret in which unlike the Elves, they did not unwillingly unlock, even to their friends) they used their own strange tongue, changed little by the years; for it had become a tongue of lore rather than a cradle-speech, and they tended it and guarded it as a treasure of the past" (p. 410, The Return of the King). They would not even reveal their true Dwarvish names to anyone. "Not even on their tombs do they inscribe them" (p. 411, The Return of the King).
- There was one Dwarvish saying that was well-known and well-translated across Middle-earth: "Baruk Khazad! Khazad aimenu! 'Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!'" (p. 411, The Return of the King).
Middle-earth timeline: End of Third Age-Beginning of Fourth Age
Today's reading comes from: The Return of the King, page 405-416
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