What follows is a short introduction to a discovered language which, for lack of a more accurate name, I will refer to as "Bombadillo", after Tom Bombadil. Though usage of the language is widespread, it is also diffuse. Tom is the only speaker of the language whose name we know.
Though much (or all) within these pages is based purely upon guesswork, Bombadillo remains a linguistic curiosity well worth studying. As is famously recorded in the Red Book of Westmarch,
Tom sang most of the time, but it was chiefly nonsense, or else perhaps a strange language unknown to the hobbits, an ancient language whose words were mainly those of wonder and delight.
The ubiquitous subject of Bombadillo is all things wondrous and delightful. Though the "the good life" is as widespread and varied as the people that live it, there is very little of Bombadillo that has been passed down to us by these happy people. In part, this is because our knowledge of the language has been received entirely through oral tradition; there is no extant written work, and no known alphabet. For this reason we will borrow from the latin alphabet for the transcription of the poetry in this work. A pronunciation guide is provided in Appendix A.
While many words that once existed in Bombadillo have no doubt been lost, another reason for Bombadillo's limited vocabulary is the malleability of the words we do have. In many cases, the exact meaning of a given word may depend heavily on context. For example, the word brend may mean either "bark" or "skin", and is often used to denote "sheath", "outer layer", "coating", or any number of related things. Translation of Bombadillo poetry is its own art form. Furthermore, there is reason to belive that Bombadillo poetry is itself an invitation to participate in the act of composition along with the poet.
Despite its limitations, "wonder and delight" exudes from any poem composed in Bombadillo, even those composed by amateurs, so suited is the medium for its subject. Consider the following passage,
sindinor bilben, dindo lildillo
o brendilpilben
ar follawildillo o rumilpilben
groderry dinellodilta
Roughly translated it reads:
My little folk, wrap yourselves
in leafy garments
and dig in dewy earth
so you may grasp the fading sunshine
Of particular focus within Bombadillo poetry are the habits of nature, the comforts of home, and other peaceful pursuits. Bombadillo shuns the harness of scientific accuracy; it knows nothing of the works of men's hands: of numbers, tools, or reason; and it abhors perversion, evil, and darkness.
Many selections of Bombadillo poetry are included in this book, along with translations into English, where relevant. The ambitious reader is invited to skim through Appendix B of this book before continuing, which gives a short primer on Bombadillo's grammar. Appendix C includes a reference of known vocabulary, along with any relevant notes for particular words. Finally, Appendix D includes a number of Bombadillo poems.
bellodillo, lildillo o bombadilben dil
nevenderry farlenbilta o rumilben
come here, wrap yourself in these songs,
so that you may see a new soul in the world
One of the strangest things about Bombadillo is how primitive and essential a tongue it is. Though not in current use among civilized people, it is not dead. Bombadillo does not only compel its poets to meditate on the delights of Creation, the inverse also seems to be true. That is, in many cases throughout Middle-Earth, nature itself frames its utterances in Bombadillo.
For example, Kingbirds have earned the nickname "Tyrannus" because of their aggressive approach to aerial combat. Kingbirds will sometimes protect their chicks by attacking a larger predator like a hawk, landing on its back, and pecking at its head — all in mid-flight. But the song of the Kingbird, which can be roughly transcribed as "o-breer", reveals another side of their nature. With some minor adjustments, this can be rendered in Bombadillo as "o breeler", which means simply "at home", or "in the nest". Behind the desperate military precision of the Kingbird's attack is a joy and possessiveness of those taking refuge in its nest.
Likewise, Bombadillo can be heard in the ululation of Coyotes. When they howl "run-ar-ar-or" at the moon, they are literally praying for "very much produce" — perhaps they are looking forward to an abundant harvest; coyotes often forage for fruits and vegetables as well as predate. This could explain the Coyote's use in some cultures as a symbol of abundance, optimism, and carelessness.
Bombadillo's appearance in nature is not limited only to animate things; its onomatopoeia can be heard when the wind blows through the trees ("a preendalden pinilben"), and in the burbling of water downhill ("riplandadiltalta"), in the buzzing of bees at harvest ("runo wumilben"), and in the sound of a spring thunderstorm ("wumbombadindo riplindello").
Nothing at all is known about the people who originally spoke Bombadillo (if there were any), but there are many places we may look for hints of its origins. The first, and most obvious place, is Tom Bombadil himself.
To begin with, we must clarify that Tom Bombadil did not invent the language, and it seems he rarely used it except for its stated purpose — to express wonder and delight. But given that Tom's name is shared with the central verb in Bombadillo poetry ("Bombadillo" literally means "sing, everyone"), we can assume that he and it are somehow related.
The most obvious guess as to Bombadil's connection with this language is that his ancestors spoke it, and his own knowledge is a cultural relic, a vestige of a long-lost people. In a way this must be true, but the nature of the language and its diffusion throughout Creation seems to require a justification beyond a merely anthropological explanation (not to mention Bomdadil's own mysterious heritage).
As detailed in the previous chapter of this book, instances of Bombadillo are abundant in nature, and yet Bombadil is the only known fluent speaker of the language. Have men, hobbits, dwarves, and even elves neglected to understand nature to such an extent that Bombadillo has been completely lost to civilized tongues?
I would argue that to the contrary, Bombadillo is to be found on every tongue that has tasted grace, even those which have never yet spoken any other language. Just as it can be heard in the boiling of a pot of rice and the grumbling of badgers at home, Bombadillo can be heard in the babbling of new babies of every culture.
Sophistication is not a cure for the influence of this primal language either. Traces of Bombadillo can be found in many languages, though of course the differences between any two languages far outnumber the similarities.
In Quenya as well as Bombdillo, "alt" means "high" or "great"; "mat" means "food"; "penda" means to slope or incline. In Quenya "simpa" is a pipe or flute, while in Bombadillo the same word can refer to any musical instrument.
English has its own debt to pay. Our word "barley" comes from the Old Norse word "barr", which in turn comes from the Bombadillo word "ber", meaning "grain". Similarly, the word "beard" comes from the Proto-Germanic "bard". The same word is used in Bombadillo to denote "moss", or "lichen", though that kind of beard is found on trees rather than men.
Even Khuzdul, the stony language of the dwarves, borrows its word for gold, "limul" from Bombadillo (admittedly in Bombadillo the meaning is closer to "honey" than "gold").
All things considered, there is in my opinion only one compelling explanation for the linguistic ubiquity of Bombadillo: its origins lie not in some common linguistic root, but in the creation songs of the Ainur themselves. Perhaps this is tautology; the same could be said of any language, or any song — however many bridges exist between Bombadillo and the rest of Creation, it is one of many languages, all intertwined by virtue of belonging to the same world.
But one fact remains which suggests that Bombadillo, more than other tongues, deserves a place of privilege in the song of the world. This is the prevailing use of the Jussive mood, which expresses a command given by the speaker not to the hearer, but to the subject of the sentence. Though the purpose of poetry in any form is to illuminate metaphysical truth embedded in a physical world, Bombadillo is unique in seeking to compost those same truths back into the world they were discovered in. There is evidence too, that this idea is not itself mere poetry. But more on that in the next chapter.
It must first be made clear that this effect does not flow in a single direction, nor is it a tool for imposing the poet's will upon his fellow creatures. To do so would be to follow in the steps of Melkor, reducing that which embodies the harmonies of Creation to something crass, even to witchcraft. Rather, Bombadillo is a medium of mutuality, allowing the person of the poet to assert himself while simultaneously humbling him to the timeless habits of Creation.
tomono indardello lorsunbim
nen twindalden rumblonilben rumblaltilben
bellobim, bandasundillo
nun bardalden
er frembundonalden tenalta
lord of the bearded trees, I stand resolute
above the crossroads of strong mountain and tall mountain
I sing, they perform a solemn dance
under the moss
between the deep fire and clouds.
This song does not describe an act of taking, forcing, coercion, or deceit; it is a marrying of two wills in a single purpose in creating a new, third thing. Hence a poem written in Bombadillo should be considered both as an act of friendship with its subject as well as an act of sub-creation, of investing emergent meaning back into this world, using its own resonance as the medium.
Though Bombadillo is rarely spoken in the same places where people record histories in writing, there are stories of the power of its spoken word, many of which are commemorated in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
In the titular poem, Tom is recorded as using his voice to overcome various adversaries, including Old Man Willow, a Badger, and a Barrow-Wight. In each case, simply hearing the Master speak is enough to frustrate their plans:
You let me out again, Old Man Willow!
I am stiff lying here; they're no sort of pillow,
your hard crooked roots. Drink your river-water!
Go back to sleep again like the River-daughter!'
Willow-man let him loose when he heard him speaking;
locked fast his wooden house, muttering and creaking,
whispering inside the tree.
But it seems that this power of language is not limited to Tom's use, though it is less completely — and endearingly - evident in other places.
The Elves' own high culture seems to preserve most completely the power and dignity of this kind of language. The creative power of those early songs of creation seems to be the source of the elves' longevity and dignity, occupied as they are in all places with filling their forest homes with song and feast. Yet the creative power of the Ainur has even in the elves been reduced to the sustaining of a long, melancholy note as they increasingly set their faces to the West.
But folk culture too has as much claim to the echoes of the Ainur as the high elves. Farmer Maggot, well known for his mastery in mushrooms, demonstrates the quiet strength that comes from an understanding of how the world works when he casually dismisses the black rider at his gate. We never hear him sing, but with at least five children we may imagine him presiding over more than one hobbit wedding feast.
The one person we never hear sing, however, whom we might expect to, is Gandalf. He himself is a member of the Ainur, yet at no point is he known to join in the singing either of the Dwarves, or Hobbits, or Elves, or Men around him. Perhaps this silence is part of the gray covering he wears as he goes about his mission in Middle Earth. Perhaps his music is not the kind that can be heard, but only lived, as Illuvatar demonstrates to the Ainur the impact of their song.
In this paper I hope that I have not provided too many answers. If my readers come away feeling that they understand the magic of language, or song, or poetry, I have failed. I certainly do not feel that I have anything like that understanding.
My goal has been instead to instill in my readers a love for all created things, and where they have been corrupted, hope for their restoration. This is a work that we all are called by the songs resonating in nature itself to participate in, not through great edifices made by our own hands, but through the quiet harmony of word and song.
Bombadillo, as a primarily spoken tongue, has no alphabet. Everything here is transliterated into the latin alphabet, with the following guidelines:
- "u" sounds like "oo"
- "o" sounds like "oh"
- "a" is long, "ah"
- "i" is a short "i" sound
- "e" is a short "e" sound
- "ee" is a long "e" sound
Bombadillo's grammar works on an ending system, for both nouns and verbs. Second and third person are conflated, leaving only a distinction between I and everything else; if the speaker is addressing someone directly, it is inferred by context, or by prepending "o-" to the adressee. Adjectives are appended to the stem of the noun they modify, before the ending. So "grows a long time" would be "bellodildim", "bello-" meaning "grows", "dil" meaning "again", and "dim" being the 2nd person singular Jussive ending.
There are two conjugations, Jussive, and Subjunctive. The prevailing mood of Bombadillo is Jussive. Subjunctive endings are used for any kind of dependent clause. If the subject of a dependent clause also fills a role in the independent clause, its case should match its role in the independent clause. There is no "realis" mood, that is, the indicative. If an indicative sense is desired, Jussive or Subjunctive may be used instead depending on the function of the verb. There is no passive voice in Bombadillo.
Jussive Subjunctive
S. P. S. P.
+------+--------+ +------+--------+
1st Person | -bim | -billo | | -ber | -berry |
2nd/3rd Person | -dim | -dillo | | -der | -derry |
+------+--------+ +------+--------+
Verbs may be converted into nouns by appending "d" to the verb root, followed by the appropriate masculine noun ending (also known as a gerund). Pronouns are also adapted from conjugations; b- and d- are the noun stems for 1st and 2nd/3rd person, respectively. The gender of the pronoun is borrowed from the noun it stands in for. Third person posessive pronouns can also have the sense of "this" or "these".
There are no linking verbs in Bombadillo; verbs that have a sense of "is" or "be" assign the accusative case to their direct object as usual. Conjunctions provide the meaning for linking clauses together. If the meaning is not important, as in the case of "and" or "then", it may be omitted.
Bombadillo has two genders, "divine" (feminine), and "earthy" (masculine), which determine which set of endings should be attached to a given noun. In general, masculine nouns have an earthy, or woody sound, while feminine nouns have a rainy or liquid noise to them. Words having to do with dynamism are often masculine, while words having to do with stability are often feminine, though this is far from a hard and fast rule.
Some examples include that of a boat (masculine, dynamic in location, in an insecure position) on a body of water (feminine, slowly shifting, vast, storms are subsumed in the immensity of its mass and dignity); planting and harvesting (masculine) within the yearly cycle of seasons and growth (feminine); children playing (masculine) in a tree (feminine); dancing (masculine, as it is a short exertion) vs laughing (an expression of deep joy and security).
Nominative nouns are the subject of a sentence, genitives and datives are conflated, broadly putting two nouns into "partnership" with eachother; accusatives are the direct object of a verb, and ablatives are a special case that can indicate means, location, time, etc. Prepositions may take any case, depending on their sense.
Masculine Feminine
S. P. S. P.
+------+--------+ +------+------+
Nominative | -o | -or | | a | al |
Genitive/Dative | -il | -ilben | | er | ello |
Accusative | -ing | -indo | | ilt | ilta |
Ablative | -al | -alden | | alt | alta |
+------+--------+ +------+------+
Adjectives are appended to the stem of the noun they modify, before the ending. So "thick topsoil" would be "rumuno", "rum-" meaning dirt, "un" meaning "soft", and "o" being the singular masculine nominative ending. Adjectives can be used as substantives with no modification, taking feminine endings. Conjunctions are not used to link nouns, only to link clauses. Non-discrete nouns take plural endings, rather than singular. Nouns (and gerunds) can be converted into adjectives by dropping any leading consonants from the stem.
Bombadillo's vocabulary lacks some precision, as it's a language meant for delight, and seeing good things anew, rather than for understanding, naming, or knowing (as Tom Bombadil, The Master, doubtless does as well). Therefore, most words have multiple different senses attached to them, to be understood by context. If the sense isn't clear from context, the hearer is always invited to join with the poet in creating the song by providing his own interpretation.
Names from other languages should be translated using kennings, or a stand-in proper noun, rather than transliterated directly.
+---------------+---+-----------------------------------------------+
| bard- | M | beard, moss |
| ber- | F | grain, rice, corn |
| breel- | F | home, nest, hole, crack |
| brend- | M | bark, skin, clothing, covering |
| bumb- | M | boat, lilypad |
| din- | F | sunlight |
| fal- | M | flower, shrub |
| farl- | F | angel, essence, soul |
| fin- | F | star, jewel |
| fremb- | M | fire, flame |
| ind- | F | tree |
| limul- | F | honey, gold |
| mat- | M | food |
| mulb- | M | communion, party, gathering |
| pin- | M | pine needle, blade of grass |
| ringd- | F | sky, clear air |
| ripl- | F | dew, rain, running water |
| rum- | M | dirt, ground, humus, world |
| rumbl- | M | hill, mound |
| run- | M | fruit, produce |
| simp- | F | musical instrument |
| sind- | M | fellow, person, animal |
| tend- | F | canopy, cloud |
| tom- | M | master, lord |
| tundr- | M | foot, leg, wing |
| vint- | M | scent, mist, fog, musk |
| wond- | F | ocean, lake, firmament |
| wum- | M | bee, flying insect, resonance, vibration |
+---------------+---+-----------------------------------------------+
+----------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| -alt- | tall, long |
| -el- | azure, sparkling |
| -enb- | new, nascent, fresh |
| -end- | quiet, peaceful |
| -ilp- | leafy, dewy, fresh |
| -im- | shallow, thin |
| -in- | little |
| -inf- | cold, refreshing, brisk |
| -ith- | not, non-, un- |
| -on- | large, great, strong |
| -un- | springy, soft |
| -und- | deep, thick |
| -urn- | warm |
+----------------+-----------------------------------------------+
+---------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| banda- | dance, jump |
| bello- | ascend, awaken, grow, come near |
| bomba- | sing, call, shout, beckon |
| dar- | shine, emit, produce, bear |
| dello- | sink, descend, fade, sleep, grow distant |
| follawil- | dig, burrow, hide |
| gro- | hold, restrain, cherish |
| lil- | wear, wrap oneself in |
| lor- | ride, stand upon |
| neven- | see, dream, smell, taste, touch |
| orba- | let, may (takes dative) |
| otho- | believe |
| penda- | slope, incline |
| preen- | whisper, blow |
| twin- | weave, mix, confuse |
| way- | is, are, be, like, as |
+---------------+-----------------------------------------------+
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| dil-, bil- | again, repeatedly (variant depends on verb's person) |
| rar- | very |
| sim- | barely, lightly, slightly |
| sun- | deeply, thickly |
| til- | together |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
+--------+---------+-----------------------+
| a | abl. | when, where |
| er | abl. | between |
| nen | abl. | above |
| nor | dat. | for the purpose of |
| nun | abl. | under, below |
| o | gen. | in, on, among, with |
| oma | dat. | into |
+--------+---------+-----------------------+
+--------+----------+
| ne | so that |
| ar | and |
+--------+----------+
What follows are samples of Bomdadillo poetry illustrating the peculiar beauty and flexibility of the language. Bombadillo poetry is best read out loud, in the presence of others, at any time of year. Rough translations are provided.
dina limulelundello
twinderry oma maturnil berello
dardildillo o mulbendilben
Translation:
The glow of sparkling-thick honey
Soaking into corn bread,
Shine again in quiet conversation
nevendim vintindo pinilben
nevendim dinilta ringdello
nevendim tundrindo o rumunilben
bandadildillo bilben
Translation:
Taste the scent of grass
Hear the sky's sunlight
Feel your feet on the springy ground
Dance with us a while
Note that this poem runs against the grain of the language, in describing darkness and evil, that is, barrow-wights. This is an abuse of the language, but it's interesting to see its limits.
nun rumblor rumilben
sindaltinor
o vintil brendil
dellobillo
lilbillo bindo o dininfello
dilbillo ar
Translation:
Under hills of dirt
Long little creatures
with a skin of fog
fade
wrap ourselves in cold sunlight
again and again
nevendim o bil
dellodim oma brendil bil
twindim o ringder bil
bellodim o bil
dinal bandadillo o breelendello
dellobillo waydor rumilpor
Translation:
Dream with me
sink into my skin
mingle with my breath
awaken with me
Sunlight, shimmer in our quiet place
We sleep like the dewy earth