Constructed Languages and Mythopoeia in Tolkien and Le Guin: An Analysis of Discourse

Abstract

In fantasy literature, language often functions as a bridge between imagination and cultural memory. When fantasy writers construct languages or coin new words, they not only shape fictional communication but also the philosophical foundations of their narrative worlds. This article examines the constructed languages of J.R.R. Tolkien and Ursula K. Le Guin through a discourse-based approach. This analysis demonstrates that created languages provide substantially more than background detail for fantasy worlds; they provide the basis for those worlds' myths and cultures. Tolkien's linguistic imagination provided Quenya and Sindarin as the media through which the entire history of Middle-earth would be formed. For Le Guin, however, language is a source of cognitive and epistemic power: in the Earthsea cycle, to know the “true” name of a thing is to know, and therefore possess authority over, that thing's fundamental essence. Therefore, by directly comparing the two authors, this article contributes to the developing field of cross-disciplinary research in linguistics and literary studies and illustrates how constructed languages serve as mechanisms for generating mythic meanings.