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This is fun!

Somehow I hadn't quite expected Feanor to adopt a position like Saussure's, but the way he treats the Archivist sounds definitely very characteristic!

I like how you've handled the points of view, with the Archivist narrating to Nolondil and Nolondil's own angle and the other scholar in the background.

Thanks! This is my first piece of fiction so it was a bit of a gamble...The viewpoints just kind of wrote themselves, it wasn't really planned aside from a general idea of the setting.

You're right - given what we know about Feanor's linguistic contributions I don't believe he'd have truly adopted a post-structuralist-ish approach to language. However, I definitely wouldn't put it past a young Feanor adopting such a controversial pose at the very outset in an attempt to blow up the ivory tower. I think he'd have soon changed his mind, however, and his disagreements with the etymologists would have adopted a more nuanced form.

Hah! I suspect young Feanor is just playing the devil's advocate here, but it seems the archivist has fallen for it head over heels! It was very amusing to read, and I love how Nolondil both understands why the old elf is upset, and accepts that maybe this over-confident youngster could help him solve his own puzzle. The grumpy geologist was very relatable, too. Every library needs someone who just wants everyone to shut up! :D

I suspect Feanor was either playing devil's advocate, or will only hold this particular belief for a little while...I think it must have been a real rollercoaster for Tirions loremasters when he started poking his nose into different branches of knowledge.

 

And yes - there was an element of wish-fulfilment in the scholar's responses. Harking back to university days...

This is hilarious! Nolondil is a wise man and not without a sense of humor. I am sure young Feanor could have challenged the patience of a saint.

There were a number of odd symbols hovering above the letters which he just couldn’t make out.

Been there! Done that! Earlier today I sent a friend with better eyesight than mine a citation from The Shibboleth I want to use in a character bio and asked if she could proof and correct some of the diacritical marks for me! Hardly research on an ancient text, but a challenge for my poor old eyes!

Ah, Arabic! I am certain Feanor would love to comment on the efficiency and aesthetics of those squiggles!

Maybe not before Rumil. Or maybe there were others before him who tried to invent forms of writing and they are not discussed in the texts because they were not as widely used. I'll accept a range of interpretations in the service of a good story. In real world history scholars are constantly reassesing such questions. There are a number of different Mesoamerican writing systems which over time scholars have assessed and re-assessed and in many cases they are still studying/arguing about which came first and the degree to which certain logogramatic systems allow for syllabic spelling of words. Those puzzles remain open to further examination.  It's certainly entertaining to apply those concepts to gaps in Tolkien's history, right?