by Dr. U » February 6th, 2010, 5:59 pm
Lewis has a sly little quote in the preface to That Hideous Strength:
Those who would like to learn further about Numinor and the True West must (alas!) await the publication of much that still exists only in the MSS of my friend, Professor J.R.R. Tolkien.
As two extremely linguistically gifted men, as well as being close friends who spent hours talking together and reading their MS drafts to each other, it's not hard to imagine them playfully inserting the same imaginary language into their novels' "backstory". Lewis' style was more to supply enough details to make a setting believable, and let the reader's imagination fill in the rest that's off-stage. Tolkien, much more obsessive about details, but also professionally interested in the origins and evolution of languages, sometimes spent years working on grammars and even the evolution of dialects within imaginary languages. Quenya and Old Solar sure seem like they might once have linked via discussions of CSL & JRRT, probably over a pint (or two or three), and Lewis later had some fun slipping this idea into his novel.
Considering all the trouble the Beatles went to, inserting odd little things into lyrics, album photos and even recordings only heard when the LP was played backwards, to set the stage for their spoof that Paul McCartney had died but it was being kept a secret, or the spectacular academic spoof, pulled off over decades, of the "Piltdown Man", which ultimately even included a supposed caveman cricket bat (made from a genuine mammoth tusk), I wonder as an American if all of these reflect a subtle level of humor that the British just are better at. (The US is more famous for comedy like the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges or Mel Brooks or Steve Martin - also funny, but definitely not so subtle that you could miss it.)
Of course, now "Professor Tolkien's MSS" are all published, and thanks to Peter Jackson, even in movie form!