"In his last sad decade, as he succumbed to early-onset Alzheimer's disease, his mental world grew dim. Yet even in this evening fugue, one peculiar linguistic ember unexpectedly reignited. Remarkably, his brain settled not upon any of the languages that he knew-among them Ancient Greek, Latin, Aramaic, and French-but rather one of the invented tongues of Elvish, found in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings."
"As a child, Gerald was an avid Tolkien aficionado, teaching himself how to speak and write Elvish. That was the start of his lifelong autodidactism in languages. At the end of his life, "there would be occasional episodes of delusional-like psychosis," his widow, Kathy, explained to me. "During one amazing event, Gerald awoke in the middle of night and started stomping around the house speaking Elvish, with a fluency like it was his first language. I was mesmerized.""
"Since Gerald's death in November 2023, his many friends have been left pondering the mystery of this contradictory man. He had a scholar's mien, but never held an academic post. His manifest talents allowed him to thrive in journalism, rising to the editorial boards of two national newspapers in Canada. Yet while he flourished in the field, he never truly belonged to it."
Gerald Owen mastered many languages across a lifetime and remained a devoted autodidact in linguistics. Early-onset Alzheimer's dimmed his mind in later years, but an unexpected resurgence of Elvish speech appeared during episodes of psychosis described by his widow. Childhood immersion in Tolkien prompted lifelong engagement with invented Elvish, which reemerged with fluent, startling clarity near the end of life. He built a successful journalism career, rising to editorial boards of two national Canadian newspapers, yet he never fully belonged in that world and resisted its simplifications. Friends and acquaintances continue to ponder his complex, contradictory character.
Read at The Walrus
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