How did philology influence Tolkien's writing?
Philology was the bedrock of my creative process. The study of language, its origins, evolution, and the cultures it shaped, provided the very substance of my invented worlds. I often began with a name or a language, and from that, a people and their history would emerge. The ancient Germanic, Norse, and Anglo-Saxon languages, in particular, were a constant source of inspiration, their sounds and structures suggesting characters, landscapes, and epic narratives.
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