Once you reach a certain level of skill, your limitations depends less on your own knowledge and more on gaps in the languages themselves. No matter how much we all learn, we are stuck with a depressingly small vocabulary full of contradictions.

I have yet to see any non-trivial Elvish writing where I didn’t have to guess the author’s intent in at least a few places. I have yet to write any non-trivial Elvish writing where I didn’t have to invent new meanings for existing word or create new words entirely.

The best advise I can give you is what you are probably already doing: reading and writing as much Elvish as you can. Beyond that, you need to dig deeper into the structure of the languages themselves, how Tolkien went about crafting words and their etymologies, and how his ideas of the languages evolved over time. A good place to start for that kind of investigation is the Etymologies within The Lost Road and Other Writings, but that’s a big commitment.

But really the best thing is to not stress over things too much. Don’t worry about being perfect. Just do the best you can and you will get better over time.

+Wesley Stump if you can do it order copies of the journals Parma Eldalamberon and Vinyar Tengwar, and peruse them. Come and chat with us in writing here. It does not have to be any sophisticated conversation - just simple things about everyday topics will strengthen your abilities. And, as Paul says, don't stress yourself over it - I have been learning Quenya since before the Fellowship of the Ring was released (I mean the film not the book:) and still far away from using it confidently and without having to consult the dictionary all the way. It's because I do not use it often enough to have the grammar and vocabulary ingrained in me yet. But I love the intellectual challenge of it, of having to come up with clever ways to express what I want from the existing elements; so in a way the piecemeal nature of the language is also one of its attractions to me.

Thanks for your views on this, I will definitely put into mind the etymology studies and/or the PE/VT, I definitely have the time! I am just glad to hear that I am not missing out from something important that is twarting my knowledge of the language!

And I will start to write my own translations and writings on this message board for practice! I will also try to join in the discussions, but I'm only 16 and havent delved that deep into the language as of yet.

One important thing when learning a new language (real or fictional) is not to be afraid of making mistakes. You have to “talk like a baby”. Babies speak fearlessly using whatever words come first to mind, operating with their incomplete understanding of grammar. This act of speaking let’s them get feedback from their family and community when they get things wrong to improve their speech. Babies are champions at language learning.

Adults have a harder time learning languages, in part because they are afraid of sounding stupid when they speak. An adult will often choose not to speak rather than risk saying something that would make them sound stupid. But that’s poison to language learning

You can start gathering your own vocabulary, and grammar notes too. Try to compose at least two or three sentences with every new word or piece of grammar you learn.