Quenya is J.R.R. Tolkien’s high-elven language in Middle-earth.
Tolkien based much of Quenya’s sound and structure on Finnish, while also drawing on his broad study of historical languages. In his mythology, Quenya developed from the speech of the Elves who travelled to Valinor and became associated with the high Elves and their ancient culture.
Quenya appears in names, poems, ceremonial expressions, and inscriptions across Tolkien’s legendarium. “Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo,” commonly translated as “A star shines on the hour of our meeting,” is one of its best-known phrases from The Lord of the Rings.
Sindarin is the main source of Elvish dialogue in much of the narrative and is a separate language, not another name for Quenya. Tolkien constructed both languages in considerable detail, but Quenya’s literary role and historical status within Middle-earth distinguish it as the high-elven tongue.