J.R.R. Tolkien presented Quenya as an ancient language of the Elves.
Within Tolkien’s linguistic history, Quenya developed from Primitive Quendian and was associated especially with the High Elves, including the Ñoldor and Vanyar. It functioned as a prestigious, literary, and ceremonial language in much of the later history of Middle-earth. Tolkien sometimes described it with terms such as High-elven or Eldarin.
Sindarin is the other major Elvish language encountered in The Lord of the Rings, but it has a different history and became the everyday Elvish language of many Elves in Middle-earth. The two languages are related, yet they are not interchangeable. Quenya’s sound and structure were influenced by Tolkien’s study of real languages, including Finnish and Latin.
Tolkien developed Quenya over many decades, revising its vocabulary and grammar repeatedly. Because his invented languages changed across drafts, descriptions can vary between texts edited during his lifetime and posthumous publications.