Christopher Gilson sent along this announcement:

PARMA ELDALAMBERON 14

Early Qenya Fragments,
Early Qenya Grammar and
The Valmaric Script

By J. R. R. TOLKIEN

A new issue of _Parma Eldalamberon_ was published a couple of months ago and the response was tremendous. Many members of the Mythopoeic Society purchased copies and we thank you! Without the interest and support of Tolkien scholars and enthusiasts it would not be possible for us to continue the publication of Tolkien's writings about his invented languages and scripts.

Following the publication of this new issue some of you wrote to ask about the back issues of _Parma_ that are not currently in print. Of these _Parma Eldalamberon_ no. 14, originally published in 2003, has not yet had a second printing, and has been unavailable the longest. So we decided to move forward with a reprint of this issue. Copies should be available for shipping by early next month and can be purchased now via PayPal at the webpage link given above.

_Parma_ no. 14 contains writings from the 1920s, perhaps the most interesting for the history of the invention of Elvish being the "Early Qenya Grammar." This is Tolkien's first grammatical description of this language that is complete in the sense of laying out in full the forms and inflections of the Article, Nouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, Numbers, Pronouns, and Verbs. While his conceptions would undergo revision in later years, many of the basic grammatical features of Quenya are already present, along with some details of Tolkien's thoughts on the language that could only be inferred from later writings.

Other "Early Qenya Fragments" are included, such as a chart of the names of "The Creatures of Earth"; or Tolkien's early conception of the names of the Days of the Week (used by the Elves) and the Days of the Fortnight (used by the Valar). Together with the "Early Qenya Grammar" these texts provide a window into some of the unique features of Tolkien's developing linguistic and mythological creation.

_Parma_ no. 14 also contains "The Valmaric Script." This is an edition of the documentation for one of the types of script Tolkien invented in the 1920s, in a period of experimentation before the conception of the more familiar Feanorian script emerged in the next decade. "The Valmaric Script" includes all of the charts and examples of the versions and modes of this invented alphabet (except for those included in the incomplete English-Qenya dictionary, which was published in _Parma Eldalamberon_ issue no. 15). A remarkable example is Tolkien's rendering of the beginning of the poem "Beowulf" in a mode of Valmaric for writing Old English. Editorial transcriptions of the samples and explanations of Tolkien's phonetic symbols and conventions are included.

The reprint of _Parma Eldalamberon_ issue no. 14 is currently at the printer. The expected publication date is February 8, 2010.

Advanced Orders can be made now at the cost of $30.00 per copy including postage and handling world-wide.

Electronic payment by PayPal can be made at the following link:

http://www.eldalamberon.com/parma14.html

Or your can send a check or money-order (U.S. funds only) to:

Christopher Gilson
1240 Dale Avenue, No. 40
Mountain View, CA 94040
U.S.A.

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