MADISON, Wis. -- David Salo is an expert in languages that exist only in the imaginary world of hobbits and elves. He has immersed himself in Quenya and Sindarin, languages created by author J.R.R.

Linguistics is one of the degrees most often dragged through the mud for being "useless," but The Lord of the Rings, one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time, might not have been possible, ...