# Wood elves and the common speech



## reem (Jan 30, 2003)

when the party gets captured by the wood elves and bilbo spies on them he understands what the elves are saying. this means they must have used the common speech. don't elves usually speakin elvish together? or was this another point that Tolkien overlooked when writting the Hobbit?
reem


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## Heathertoes (Jan 30, 2003)

I'd say he conveniently ignores the issue. He only intended it as a children's story, after all.


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## Mirabella (Jan 31, 2003)

But Bilbo could speak and understand Elvish. We know that because of his book, Translations from the Elvish, and that he taught Frodo to speak some Elvish. Of course, this is not revealed until TLOTR, but it has been suggested that Bilbo had some contact with Elves before the events that take place in The Hobbit. I think he already knew enough Elvish to understand the Wood-elves.


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## Confusticated (Jan 31, 2003)

Bilbo was also wearing the Ring the whole time, so maybe it translated the speech of the elves.


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## Heathertoes (Jan 31, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Mirabella _
> *But Bilbo could speak and understand Elvish. We know that because of his book, Translations from the Elvish, and that he taught Frodo to speak some Elvish. Of course, this is not revealed until TLOTR, but it has been suggested that Bilbo had some contact with Elves before the events that take place in The Hobbit. I think he already knew enough Elvish to understand the Wood-elves. *


I suppose it depends what we mean by 'Elvish'. Bilbo might have been able to speak a bit of Quenya, but was that the language of the Woodland Realm?


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## BlackCaptain (Jan 31, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Nóm _
> *Bilbo was also wearing the Ring the whole time, so maybe it translated the speech of the elves. *



I dont know why, but i kind of like that idea...


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## reem (Feb 2, 2003)

hmm...now that you've brought it up, i think it was most probably the Ring. i don't think that Bilbo learned Elvish in the Shire. if he did have any contact with Elves there they would have used the common speech and not their own language.
i think he picked up Elvish while he was on his adventure in the Hobbit...and later some more in LOTR.
reem


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