Quenya is the language J.R.R. Tolkien created for the Elves.
Tolkien developed Quenya as part of the linguistic foundation of his legendarium. He based its sound and structure chiefly on languages he studied, especially Finnish, while also giving it its own historical development within the fictional world. In Tolkien’s histories, Quenya is associated with the High Elves and is related to other Elvish languages such as Sindarin.
Quenya appears in names, poetry, songs, and ceremonial speech throughout Tolkien’s writings. The name of the character Galadriel, for example, derives from Elvish linguistic material, although its precise forms and histories vary across Tolkien’s drafts and published texts.
Quenya is often called “Elvish,” but that broad label can be misleading. Tolkien created several Elvish languages, and Sindarin is another major one. Black Speech belongs to Sauron, Khuzdul to the Dwarves, and Adûnaic to Númenórean Men.