View source for A Secret Vice

{{good article}}
{{Short description|1931 talk by J. R. R. Tolkien}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Use British English|date=October 2023}}

{{Infobox book
| name              = A Secret Vice
| image             = Secret vice.jpg
| author            = [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
| editors           = [[Dimitra Fimi]]<br /> Andrew Higgins
| country           = United Kingdom
| language          = English
| subjects          = [[Conlanging]], [[Linguistics]], [[Philology]]
| publisher         = [[HarperCollins]]
| published         = 7 April 2016
| media_type        = [[Hardback]]
| pages             = 300
| isbn              = 978-0-00-813139-5
| caption           = 2016 critical edition cover
}}

"'''A Secret Vice'''", also known as "'''A Hobby for The Home'''", is a lecture first presented by English philologist and author [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] in 1931. The lecture concerns Tolkien's relations with and view on [[constructed languages]], in particular on [[artistic languages]]. In the talk, Tolkien discusses the human desire to make languages, and his criteria to create a good language – these include [[phonoaesthetics]] (the beauty of sounds) and the presence of a [[mythology]] to accompany the language. Tolkien's presentation was the first instance of him openly exhibiting his hobby of conlanging, and includes examples of several of his languages.

The talk was first published in essay form in 1983, in [[The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays|an anthology]] of Tolkien's previously unpublished works edited by his son, [[Christopher Tolkien|Christopher]]. In 2016, an extended edition was published, with material missing from earlier versions, new manuscript material, and a collection of essays concerning Tolkien and constructed languages. This version was edited by [[Dimitra Fimi]] and Andrew Higgins, receiving largely positive reviews from both [[Tolkien scholarship]] and [[Tolkien fandom|the fandom]].

== Background ==

{{See also|Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien}}

Tolkien began his interest in [[conlanging]], the art of inventing languages, when he was a teenager; he had previously used Animalic, a language created by his cousins. Tolkien helped to create ''Nevbosh'' with a cousin, a [[code]] based on English with concepts from French and Latin included. Tolkien's following solo work, ''Naffarin'', was largely drawn from Spanish and Latin. During adolescence, he learnt the [[international auxiliary language]] of [[Esperanto]], keeping a notebook in the language aged 17.<ref name="Smith 2000">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Arden R. |author-link=Arden R. Smith |date=2000 |title=Tolkien and Esperanto |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45296768 |journal=VII: Journal of the Marion E. Wade Center |volume=17 |pages=1, 17 |jstor=45296768}}</ref>

== Contents ==

Tolkien begins the lecture by clarifying its topic as concerning artistic languages, as compared to international auxiliary languages; he briefly discusses his admiration for Esperanto, and the need for a unifying international language. He then attempts to categorise these languages by their level of complexity. The lower stages of this hierarchy comprise [[Language game|language games]]; Tolkien writes that this type of language is not art in the same way as more developed ones, and that they are crude in their simple use for secrecy or fun. 

To illustrate this, the example of Animalic, a language built solely from [[animal names]], is given. Tolkien argues that the invention of this is an example of the linguistic ability of humans, and that a more developed form of this ability manifests itself in several forms: in [[polyglotism]], [[poetry]], and in [[conlanging]]. To show the next stage in his hierarchy, he uses ''Nevbosh'', which showed examples of [[sound change]] and [[Alternation (linguistics)|alternation]], as well as a fledgling appreciation of [[phonaesthetics]]. He discusses his joy of language invention, its lack of recognition as an [[art form]], and subsequent lack of publicity by practitioners.

For the next level of development, Tolkien deems a distinction between practicality of [[communication]] and pleasure in sound-making as necessary. Examining his own language, ''Naffarin'', a language partly inspired by ''Nevbosh'', Tolkien notes that it has more developed [[phonetics]], moving away from its [[A posteriori language|source languages]], and shows his style of conlanging. He states that [[Fictional language|a successful artistic language]] requires a [[Worldbuilding|constructed mythology]] among other stipulations, and lists attractions to conlanging: [[philological]] experimentation, and [[Grammar|grammatical]] experimentation with the creation of [[Engineered language|engineered languages]]. To end, Tolkien gives several examples of [[Tolkien's poems|his poetry]] in [[Quenya]] and [[Noldorin]], concluding the lecture by likening artistic languages to a form of poetry, and conlangers to poets.

== Publication ==

''A Secret Vice'' was first presented as a lecture to the [[Samuel Johnson]] literary society at [[Pembroke College, Oxford]] on 29 November 1931 at 9pm<ref name="Higgins 2016">{{cite journal |last=Higgins |first=Andrew |date=15 May 2016 |title=Tolkien's A Secret Vice and 'the language that is spoken in the Island of Fonway' |url=https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=journaloftolkienresearch |journal=[[Journal of Tolkien Research]] |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=Article 3 |no-pp=y}}</ref> – it was the first time that Tolkien made his views of language creation and phonoaesthetics public.<ref name="Wise 2016">{{cite journal |last=Wise |first=Dennis Wilson |date=2016 |title=Review of A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26321164 |journal=Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts |volume=27 |issue=3 (97) |pages=549–552 |jstor=26321164 |issn=0897-0521}}</ref>{{efn-la|Figi and Higgins claim this presentation as Tolkien's first publication of his interest in constructed languages; this is disputed by Goering on the basis that in 1920, Tolkien had read a form of ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'' to an essay club at [[Exeter College, Oxford]].{{sfn|Goering|2016|p=2}}}} The manuscript for the talk was later revised for a possible second presentation around twenty years later.{{efn-la|Goering also questions the existence of this second presentation due to a lack of evidence.{{sfn|Goering|2016|p=2}}}} Although the original manuscript for the talk gave its name as ''A Hobby For The Home'', the minutes of the Johnson Society record the lecture's name as ''A Secret Vice<ref name="Fisher 2017" />'' – this name was applied to it by Tolkien's son Christopher; Tolkien then used the name.<ref name="Smith 2006">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2006 |title=[[J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |last=Smith |first=Arden R. |author-link=Arden R. Smith |pages=600–601 |chapter=''Secret Vice, A''}}</ref>

The essay was first published in print in the 1983 ''[[The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays|The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays]]'', which was edited by Christopher. This version omitted material from the original speech, such as a description and glossary of Tolkien's language ''Fonwegian'',{{efn|The status of Fonwegian as a creation of Tolkien is disputed; while Higgins argues that it is a creation of Tolkien, scholars such as Goering and Fisher doubt this.{{sfn|Fisher|2017|p=174}} For further information, see [[Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien]].}} an [[A posteriori language|a posteriori]] and a priori mix, using grammatical elements from Latin, and a phonology from English.<ref name="Higgins 2016" /> This was left out of the 1983 edition because it was written in pencil in the original manuscript, and it was therefore not clear that it was intended to be part of the main lecture.<ref name="Goering 2016">{{cite journal |last=Goering |first=Nelson |date=2016 |title=A Secret Vice (2016) by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins |url=https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1057&context=journaloftolkienresearch |journal=[[Journal of Tolkien Research]] |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=Article 7 |no-pp=y}}</ref>

[[HarperCollins]] published a 2016 hardback extended [[critical edition]] titled ''A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages'' edited by [[Dimitra Fimi]] and Andrew Higgins. This included the full text of the lecture,<ref name="Wise 2016" /> as well as several essays, including a previously unpublished "Essay on Phonetic Symbolism"{{efn-la|The previously unpublished essay by Tolkien was much less developed than ''A Secret Vice'', with many points left unsubstantiated.{{sfn|Smith|2017|p=177}} The manuscript was left without a title, so the name "Essay on Phonetic Symbolism" is from the editors of the book; the phrase "Phonetic Symbolism" begins the essay.{{sfn|Goering|2016|p=1}}}} on [[Sound and language in Middle-earth|sound and language]] by Tolkien, and manuscript work related to the lecture. The introduction of the book includes five essays surrounding the lecture and its context, entitled:<ref name="Goering 2016" />

# "Myth-making and Language Invention"
# "Theorizing Language Invention"
# "The Languages of Middle-earth"
# "'A Secret Vice' and Its Immediate Context"
# "'A Secret Vice' and the Larger Context"

After the introduction, full text, and Tolkien's notes for the lecture,''<ref name="Goering 2016"/>'' including the original [[minutes]] of the Johnson Society meeting,<ref name="Wise 2016" /> the book concludes with a two-part coda. The first part, ''The Reception of Tolkien's Invented Languages'', discusses the history of the study of Tolkien's languages or "Tolkenian Linguistics". The second, ''Imaginary Languages for Fiction: Tolkien's Legacy'', discusses Tolkien's impact and legacy on artistic languages, looking at languages used in popular media since the publication of ''The Lord of The Rings.''<ref name="Smith 2017">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Arden R. |date=2017 |title=A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages by J.R.R. Tolkien (review) |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/20/article/678503 |journal=[[Tolkien Studies]] |volume=14 |issue=14 |pages=169–184 |doi=10.1353/tks.2017.0013 |s2cid=172108043 |issn=1547-3163|url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to Fimi, the critical edition included around 4,500 words of previously unpublished writing by Tolkien.<ref name="Fimi 2016">{{cite web |last=Fimi |first=Dimitra |author-link=Dimitra Fimi |date=29 June 2016 |title=Researching Tolkien's 'Secret Vice' |url=http://dimitrafimi.com/researching-tolkiens-secret-vice/ |access-date=27 February 2018 |website=dimitrafimi.com}}</ref>

== Reception ==

{{further|A mythology for England}}

The Norwegian linguist and Tolkien scholar [[Helge Fauskanger]] wrote: "In 1931, Tolkien wrote an essay about the somewhat peculiar hobby of devising private languages. He called it 'A Secret Vice'. But in Tolkien's case, the 'vice' can hardly be called secret anymore."<ref name="Fauskanger 2008">{{cite web |last=Fauskanger |first=Helge |author-link=Helge Fauskanger |date=2008 |title=Tolkien's Not-So-Secret Vice |url=https://folk.uib.no/hnohf/vice.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025104339/https://folk.uib.no/hnohf/vice.htm |archive-date=25 October 2008 |access-date=16 December 2022 |website=Ardalambion}}</ref> Fauskanger sees as significant Tolkien's statement in "A Secret Vice" that "The making of language and mythology are related functions", and that "Your language construction will ''breed'' a mythology."<ref name="Fauskanger 2008" /> [[John Garth (author)|John Garth]] wrote that ''A Secret Vice'' showed that "language creation, for Tolkien, was an act of gorgeous, individualistic rebellion in an era of barbarous conformity."<ref name="Garth 2006">{{cite journal |last=Garth |first=John |author-link=John Garth (author) |year=2006 |title=Si Qente Feanor & Other Elvish Writings, and: Parma Eldalamberon XV |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/197458/summary |journal=[[Tolkien Studies]] |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=157–160 |doi=10.1353/tks.2006.0019 |s2cid=170727238|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Cheryl Cardoza comments that the essay showed Tolkien's "integral relationship between linguistic invention and mythic core" and that "Tolkien’s creation of these categories [of artistic languages] in “A Secret Vice” shed light on the mistakes made by ... other fiction authors." Cardoza views ''A Secret Vice'' as containing "a recipe for achieving ... depth" and that it was his application of the set of rules Tolkien outlined in the essay that allowed the realism of [[Middle-earth]].<ref>{{cite conference |last=Cardoza |first=Cheryl |date=January 10-11, 2015 |title=A Secret Vice: The Desire to Understand J.R.R. Tolkien's Quenya Or, Out of the Frying-Pan Into the Fire: Creating a Realistic Language as a Basis for Fiction |url=https://signumuniversity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Mythmoot-III-Cardoza-Cheryl-Secret-Vice.pdf |conference=Mythmoot |location=Linthicum, Maryland |pages=8–9}}</ref>

=== Of the 2016 edition ===

[[File:Dimitra Fimi 2020.jpg|thumb|[[Dimitra Fimi]] in 2020]]

''A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages'' received largely positive reviews: Nelson Goering praised the editors in the ''[[Journal of Tolkien Research]]'' for their "excellent job of making clear the dynamic nature of these languages", calling the book "a very significant publication... a largely well-edited and learned presentation of important material by Tolkien."<ref name="Goering 2016" />

In ''[[Tolkien Studies]]'', [[Arden R. Smith]] called the work "a welcome addition to the family of expanded editions of Tolkien's shorter works", praising the editorial essays, but criticised "various infelicities "in the [[Elvish languages|Elvish]] texts and poetry.<ref name="Smith 2017" />

[[Jason Fisher]], in ''[[Mythlore]]'', gave a more critical review, writing that the level at which the book was written excluded readers with less thorough knowledge of Tolkien scholarship: "this book is not intended for readers who are new to the subject." Fisher also criticised the lack of an index, omission of Tolkien's annotations for his poem "Olima Markirya", and lack of information surrounding Fonwegian. He additionally disagreed with the scope of the piece with the relative lack of material relating to Tolkien and Esperanto. Despite this, he termed it "a welcome bounty of new material to reckon with and ... an invaluable start".<ref name="Fisher 2017">{{cite journal |last=Fisher |first=Jason |author-link=Jason Fisher |date=2017 |title=Review of A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26816091 |journal=[[Mythlore]] |volume=35 |issue=2 (130) |pages=171–175 |jstor=26816091 |issn=0146-9339}}</ref>

Garth gave a summary of the book in ''[[New Statesman]]'', writing "It’s a mishmash, with something for the Elvish buff and something for those who enjoy unlikely cultural collisions."<ref name-"Garth 2016">{{cite web |last=Garth |first=John |author-link=John Garth (author) |date=2016-04-15 |title=Teach yourself Dwarvish: behind Tolkien's invented languages |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2016/04/teach-yourself-dwarvish-behind-tolkien-s-invented-languages |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309023600/https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2016/04/teach-yourself-dwarvish-behind-tolkien-s-invented-languages |archive-date=2022-03-09 |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=[[New Statesman]] }}</ref>

Ed Fortune in [[Starburst (magazine)|''Starburst'']] magazine gave a positive review, and commented: "Editors Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins have done much to preserve the sense of the work...  Those fascinated with Quenya and all things Middle Earth will be especially delighted by this work... this is the definitive work on Tolkien’s relationship with words."<ref>{{cite web |last=Fortune |first=Ed |date=2016-07-10 |title=A Secret Vice |url=https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/a-secret-vice-review/ |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=[[Starburst (magazine)|Starburst Magazine]] }}</ref>

Dennis Wilson Wise viewed the book as an improved "go-to text", praising the "rigorous endnotes" and the "solid contributions being made to the field by this volume". Wise also questioned some of the book's claims as "overstatements", as well as the book's limited area of study, which omitted material on Tolkien's relationship with Esperanto.<ref name="Wise 2016" />

== See also ==

* ''[[English and Welsh]],'' another lecture by Tolkien discussing language

== Notes and references ==

=== Notes ===
{{Notelist-la}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==

* [http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/vice.htm Tolkien's Not-So-Secret Vice], further information about Tolkien's relationship with constructed languages
* [https://gwern.net/doc/fiction/science-fiction/1931-tolkien.pdf Full text] of the short version of ''A Secret Vice'', as given in the 1983 collection ''[[The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays]]''

{{J. R. R. Tolkien}}
{{Languages of Middle-earth}}
{{Constructed languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Vice}}
[[Category:Essays by J. R. R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:Constructed languages resources]]
[[Category:1930 speeches]]
[[Category:2016 books]]
[[Category:Books about constructed languages]]