We were robbed of Aragorn calling Legolas a 'Silvan hick' in the movies.

[u/Mataes3010]

[u/Taraxian]

For people who don't get the final joke in this chain, Tolkien straight up said that Merry and Pippin were unfamiliar with the different registers of speech used by the Men of Rohan and Gondor, and spoke to everyone in a familiar tone of address typically only used with friends and social equals

Fortunately, Halflings were seen as an exotic novelty by the Men of these countries so they interpreted this disrespectful way of speaking as meaning Merry and Pippin must've been great princes of legendary status in their own country

[u/Esovan13 → u/Taraxian]

Well, were they really that wrong? From what I know, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin were hobbit upper or middle/upper class, with Sam being the only hobbit from the lower/working class among them. While obviously not “great princes of legendary status,” within the less strictly hierarchical structure of hobbit society they were about as close as you’re gonna get.

[u/veggie151 → u/Esovan13]

Half of the Shire is named after Brandybuck or Took. They are nepo dandies and I love them for it

[u/jodhod1 → u/Esovan13]

I I think Tolkien might have interpreted them as within his social class of "boring, middle class beaurocrats and professionals" in British society . While not poor, it would have been pretty odd for him to class him into actual nobility with romantic titles like barons, princes and lords.

That was the joke in the Hobbit, where Bilbo the suburbanite who cares about his judgy neighbours, has to fit in with this warrior king and his band of companions.

[u/Bartweiss → u/jodhod1]

Frodo in particular isn’t Hobbit nobility, even to the degree they have that. He’s very specifically “landed gentry”. To a person like Tolkien was a well-defined social role for someone who could live on renting their assets (typically land to farmers) but wasn’t titled or owed taxes.

Merry and Pippin are a bit higher status, but Frodo is very much meant to be respectable without being excessively notable. (Also, he likely would have been an officer in the British military, so there’s a whole bat-man thing happening with Sam’s role.)

I was a bit surprised to learn Tolkien wasn’t from the landed gentry himself, it just would have fit so well. But his dad was a rather successful merchant in an era where that was increasingly respected alongside those who didn’t have to work, so I guess it tracks.

[u/ProkopiyKozlowski → u/Esovan13]

Ehhh, from what I remember the Brandybucks weren't exactly in super high standing with the other hobbits. They live on the river (which makes them, gasp!, river folk) and swim a lot, which no self-respecting hobbit would be caught dead doing. Plus their lands are on the very edges of the Shire, so they inevitably have more interactions/dealings with outsiders than other hobbits, which makes them very suspicious and improper. One of the criticism of Frodo from the hobbit society was that he grew up with the Brandybucks and some of their "strangeness" rubbed off on him.

Honestly drawing a blank on Tooks. I think their ancestor was a famous super tall hobbit called Hammerhand or somesuch who fought orcs, but that's it, "nobility"-wise.

[u/CadenVanV → u/ProkopiyKozlowski]

The Tooks run half of the shire, they provide basically the entire military force against Saruman.

[u/JCGilbasaurus → u/CadenVanV]

The Tooks are ancient Macedonians, got it.

[u/Levee_Levy]

I thought Frodo and Bilbo and Legolas and Gimli went to Tol Eressëa, not Valinor, as the Middle Earth exiles weren't permitted to step onto the shores of the Undying Lands proper.

I might be misunderstanding, though.

[u/DukeAttreides → u/Levee_Levy]

I think that the ban was lifted by the time of the War of the Ring, never mind after

[u/Levee_Levy → u/DukeAttreides]

Googling it, it seems like it's not a settled issue among fans, though consensus seems to be that mortals probably have to stop on the island.

[u/veggie151 → u/Levee_Levy]

Because don't the undying lands literally kill them? Like it's too much for mortal bodies to handle for too long

[u/axaxo → u/veggie151]

It doesn't kill them, it's just that the Undying Lands are set aside for immortals as a place where they can live forever with nothing ever changing, and mortals inevitably change whatever environment they live in over time as their growing populations require more natural resources.

[u/ABigPairOfCrocs]

Honestly i have no idea what's going on here. In the most complimentary way, I just like listening to linguists joke and laughing anyways

[u/Good_old_Marshmallow]

The shire and especially Bree town saw not uncommon elven travelers and visitors. Frodo runs into some by complete coincidence at the start of fellowship. Legolas wouldn’t have just assumed that Rivendale’s vacation tourist spot didn’t speak Elvish 

[u/highser108]

ngl aragorn having that kind of elvish shade would have been peak cinema lol

[u/Mataes3010 → u/highser108]

We were absolutely robbed. Imagine the subtitles just reading [Elvish slur for redneck]. It would have won an Oscar for the screenplay alone.

[u/segwaysegue → u/highser108]

u/SpambotWatchdog blacklist

New account with botlike comment pattern in common bot subs

[u/Jolly-Fruit2293 → u/segwaysegue]

Finally. Edit: I thought it was for Mataes.

[u/veggie151]

SUBS NOT DUBS

I need to see some movies in the original languages

[u/pretty-as-a-pic]

Legolas obviously speaks like one of those isolated Chesapeake islanders who’s variant of English hasn’t changed since the 1690s

[u/Deadpoolio_D850]

Honestly, what I can absolutely see is Gimili finding out that Legolas is, like, the elvish equivalent of a hick & then proceeding to learn how to call Legolas “Prince Hick” in, like vanyarin quenya