The German Origin of the Professor's Name

[Mirkgirl]

I just found this tidying up my old German newsletters... I guess it might be interesting for some. I didn't know what had inspired Gandalf before for example.

http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa011224a.htm

[Periantari Andruil]

very cool find, Mirky :thumbs: thanks for sharing =)

[EDIT]
yeah just responding like that meant i wasn't really thinking... hehe
one thing that was interesting and amusing is this part:

Tolkien (pron. TOL-KEEN) sometimes used the pseudonym "Oxymore," reflecting the contradictory literal translation of his name's Germanic components: toll + kühn = foolish + brave, or "stupidly clever."

was Tolkien "stupidly clever" to have spent 12 years writing one book? i think not lol
such a paradox on what his name means :grin:

I think Tolkien was indeed foolishly brave to undergo such an extensive project with his books... I really respect him for writing what he did :thumbs: entdraught

[Frodo's Love]

Somehow I think "Tollkühn" fits it perfectly. ;)

And I think it was more than clever that Tolkien was "stupidly clever" -- writing such a novel without ever knowing if it would be read by a respectably huge audience. lol

*bows to the professor*

Umm, what I actually wanted to say was: Thank you Mirky, for that interesting link! Dankeschön! :grin:

[Mirkgirl]

bitte schön (:

[Cuiel Rilwen]

*Digging into her german knowledge from way back* Isn't "foolishly brave" a more accurate translation than "stupidly clever"? :mmmm: I dont know 'bout english but in my language those two don't actually mean the same!

[Frodo's Love]

Nochmals danke, Mirky! :grin: ;)

Cuiel, you have a point here. :) While "toll" is a (somehow old-fashioned) word that means both "stupid" and "foolish" in German (it can be used in both contexts), "kühn" means literally "brave". When I think more about it, I'd say the more accurate translation would be "foolishly brave" indeed. :)

...well, and nowadays "toll" means "awesome" in the spoken language. ;) Suits the professor as well.

[Cuiel Rilwen]

"Toll" is translated to "crazy" in my dictionary....tho in a positive way like "funny crazy", or imaginatively crazy...dunno how to explain really! Am I completely off my rocker here?

[Eledhwen]

Well...I have no knowledge of German, so I'll not be guessing. ;) But thanks Mirky!! This is a very cool article - it's amazing how you can always find out something you didn't know about the Prof or ME! notworthy

[Frodo's Love]

"toll" is translated to "crazy" in my dictionary....tho in a positive way like "funny crazy", or imaginatively crazy...dunno how to explain really! Am I completely off my rocker here?

Not completely. ;) You're right, but "toll" is not used often anymore in this context, and it sounds a bit weird this way. It appears more in spoken language, and then it means "(totally) awesome". :)

(...)

*appears minutes later again* ;)

I went to look up the exact translation for "tollkühn" finally; it's "foolhardy". (I've never even heard about that word before. I really should practise more English. :p)

[Cuiel Rilwen]

But that sounds more like the norwegian translation of it, so I'm happy!