[Argument] Fantastic Languages and Why Study Them

 It is now time for the second Action Project of the year, and the first for my Humanities Class, A Nation’s Argument. In this first unit, we have been taking a deep dive into the structure and purpose of an argument. We have talked about premises, the series of statements that support the conclusion, also known as the thesis of the argument. We have also been talking about the very early days of this country, the argumentative paper that was the Declaration of Independence. We have studied it, identified its different parts, and determined how it was argued. For this project, we have been tasked with creating an argumentative paper that we should be able to study something. Our school has a class option called Independent Study. If a student wants to learn about something that the school doesn’t offer, they can pitch an independent study and study it anyway. Our argumentative essay is to prove that our theoretical Independent Study is worthy of study. Here is mine!

"Tolkien", proyectolkien, 2009

    The fictional world of The Lord of the Rings is one that has had an immeasurable impact on the real world. Not only was Tolkien a brilliant writer, but he was also a talented linguist. The extensive language work he has done to make the world of The Lord of the Rings is impressive without a doubt, and that’s what I aim to focus on. Language is the only way we are able to communicate effectively and without it, our society would never have existed. I believe it is important to learn how languages form as well as how you would create one.

    Until very recently, we as a society believed everyone learned the same, and that by standardizing school, we would develop groups of kids that are all at the same level. In the last decade, we have done more research and actually listened to the kids we are supposed to be teaching and have reached a new point of understanding. Every single person learns differently and school has to accommodate that to be able to effectively reach their purpose. The purpose of school and learning is to develop kids for the adult world, not by forcing kids into boxes in which they don’t fit in, but by allowing kids to grow and change in the way that works best for them. It is a student’s right to be able to learn in such a way that allows them to actually learn, just as it was the Thirteen Colonies' right to be able to govern themselves in the late 1700s. I am declaring that the system that is supposed to work to help me is not, just as they did.

    When I take on this independent study, my guiding question will be, “How can Tolkien’s Elvish teach us about real-life languages?”

These would be my objectives in this Independent Study:

1. Research Tolkien and how he created these languages. Learn about phonetics, letters, and overall linguistics.

2. Attempt to become fluent in Elvish, as much as possible considering time and the incomplete status of the language.

3. Research real-life languages and draw connections between what I’ve learned about Elvish and those.

Here is a list of what I would need for this course:

1. The Lord of the Rings books
2. The Lord of the Rings movies
3. The Hobbit books
4. The Hobbit Movies
5. A Linguist
6. Spanish Teacher
7. Tolkien Biography

This is a diagram of my argument:

P1: I learn best when I understand the inner workings of what I am learning

P2: I have struggled with learning a language because I have been unable to understand how it works.

P3: There is value in studying fiction, and language as much as any other portion

P4: Learning is easier when I am interested in what I am learning.

P5: I am very interested in Tolkien and Elvish

C: As a student who would benefit from it, I ought and am to study Tolkien Elvish.

    School is a place for learning and henceforth I will be independent enough to be able to learn in such a way that allows me to actually gain knowledge. I am and ought to be able to study Tolkien Elvish as it teaches me about fiction and writing, it will help me with learning actual real-world languages, and it is a topic I am genuinely interested in.