# Speaking Elvish for Pentecost **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235 "2012-05-17T18:14:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/1 "2012-05-17T18:14:10Z")
Old thread: [Translation into Sindarin, Quenya or Westron - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=423233) After a hiatus of a couple of years, my Episcopal church is once again having parishioners “speak in tongues” for the Pentecost reading, Acts 2:1-21. I’ll be reading just a small portion, Acts 2:12-14: 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? _Ar neltë illi quantë elmendo, ar úmer tancë, quétina minë i exenna: Mana tëasin_ 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. _Exi quenter yaiwessë: Neri sinë nar quantë vinya limpëo._ 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: _Mal Péter, ortala as i minquë, ortanë ómarya ar quentë tienna: A neri Yúrëo,ar ilyë i marir Yerúsalemessë, na sin istaina len, ar lasta quettanyannar:_ Don’t know yet what other non-English languages will be heard, but in years past it’s included Spanish, German, Russian, French and Czech. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/2 "2012-05-17T18:38:25Z")
Cool. I once did a Pentecostal reading in Arabic,\* but I’ve never heard one with any Middle-Earth languages. \*Yes, I’m a lifelong atheist but a ten-year Episcopalian church choir veteran. Episcopalians tend to be cool that way. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/3 "2012-05-17T18:39:54Z")
Just say: _Ash nazg durbatulak, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!_ Ask the sound man for an echo-effect, you can borrow my fog machine. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/4 "2012-05-17T18:42:34Z")
Ashmont Dumbledore? WHO GOT SALAMI! WHO GOT SALAMI! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/5 "2012-05-17T18:43:42Z")
Q: How do you say “nerd” in Elvish? A: Quenya or Sindarin? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/6 "2012-05-17T19:24:40Z")
If you were a _real_ nerd, you’d use the secret tongue of the Dwarves. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/7 "2012-05-17T19:40:09Z")
How about Pig Latin? Andway eythay ereway allway amazedway, andway ereway inway oubtday, ayingsay oneway otay anotherway, Atwhay eanethmay isthay? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/8 "2012-05-17T20:06:46Z")
You are my kind of nerd, **Elendil’s Heir**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/9 "2012-05-17T20:13:29Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > \*Yes, I’m a lifelong atheist but a ten-year Episcopalian church choir veteran. Episcopalians tend to be cool that way. “Atheist, schmatheist…Kimstu is the only one who can keep in pitch. You think we’re gonna say ‘no, thank you’?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/10 "2012-05-17T20:19:11Z")
At one of the Episcopal churches I’ve been a member of, the organist was Jewish. I’ve never heard of this reading in different languages for Pentecost custom. But I’m not a cradle Episcopal - grew up Southern Baptist. Left all of that but the old hymns behind. Discovered that the Episcopalians were the fun Christians in college. Now I’m a doubter, but still a member of an Episcopal church - one that includes many gay members and couples. We also have a divorced female priest and have wine parties for Easter. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/11 "2012-05-17T21:03:07Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > I’ve never heard of this reading in different languages for Pentecost custom. But I’m not a cradle Episcopal - grew up Southern Baptist. Nor have I, and I have some background in the Episcopal church. Actually I don’t remember anyone ever speaking in tongues at our church. Had some exposure to it at Pentecostal churches, and it seemed to be something that was supposed to come to you rather than being planned— someone would start it “spontaneously” and others would join in with their own babble. And yes, if you’ve never been exposed to it and are wondering, it is completely bizarre to be in the midst of—and while I’m aware of the phenomenon of glossolalia, the “speaking in tongues” I personally witnessed always struck me as rather forced. (But then, most of the time so did prayer.) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/12 "2012-05-17T21:11:44Z")
I’ll be reading in Korean come Pentecost! I don’t really speak it anymore, other than a few phrases. But han-gul is phonetic, and I have a Korean New Testament. So I can go to the correct verses, write it out phonetically in Roman script, and hope no Koreans are there to hear my terrible accent. Our congregation does the readings simultaneously, not concurrently, to give an idea of the confusion the first hearers of the Word heard when the Holy Spirit “lit up” the disciples. well he’s back, the dean of our cathedral, Father Lipscomb grew up Southern Baptist. Talk about a change! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/13 "2012-05-17T21:37:27Z")
Awesome! You could consider substituting Onda for Peter, since Onda means stone in Quenya. Let’s hear how it’s received, after the event! ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/14 "2012-05-17T21:37:38Z")
My church–which is United Methodist–has been known to have people pray the Lord’s prayer in multiple languages–I know at least one year we had German, Swahili (or another African language) and French. All but the French were spoken by native speakers. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/15 "2012-05-17T21:59:41Z")
Very cool. Ever thought of doing it in Tsolyani? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/16 "2012-05-18T01:30:11Z")
I read again the ole thread linked to in the OP of this one. Did anyone ever find it in Klingon? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/17 "2012-05-18T01:34:51Z")
Waitaminnit, what’s all this nonsense about using actual **languages?! That** ain’t [glossolalia!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossolalia) Not even if it’s Elvish or Klingon! ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/18 "2012-05-18T02:17:45Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Waitaminnit, what’s all this nonsense about using actual **languages?! That** ain’t [glossolalia!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossolalia) Not even if it’s Elvish or Klingon! But, but, we can’t risk anything that might resemble glossolalia–someone might think we were Pentecostalists. I’m not joking–although I’m not sure how many people would be likely to mistake an average United Methodist church for a group of Pentecostalists, glossolalia or no glossolalia. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/19 "2012-05-18T03:03:01Z")
While when Episcopalians speak in tongues they ask for tea in Received Pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235/20 "2012-05-18T03:20:06Z")
The best Klinzhai translation I get is: 2:12 | chaH were Hoch amazed, je were perplexed, ja’ta’ wa’ Daq another, “ nuq ta’taH vam mean?” 2:13 | Others, mocking, ja’ta’, “ chaH ‘oH tebta’ tlhej chu’ HIq.” 2:14 | ‘ach Peter, standing Dung tlhej the eleven, qengta’ Dung Daj ghogh, je jatlhta’ pa’ Daq chaH, “ SoH loDpu’ vo’ Judea, je Hoch SoH ‘Iv 2:14 yIn Daq Jerusalem, chaw’ vam taH Sovta’ Daq SoH, je 'Ij Daq wIj mu’mey. Obviously, there are still some words missing from the vocabulary database. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-elvish-for-pentecost/622235.md?page=2)