I agree to an extent but I also don’t. I don’t think language has simplified as much as it has changed. Yes, going back in time the English language was far more verbose. Literally. In Shakespeare’s time, they literally used more words than we do today.

Is that because generations today are “dumbing down” language, or because we’re getting more efficient with our strange hodgepodge of a language? Or a combination of both, it obviously doesn’t have to be a binary.

Also, one must consider that visual storytelling became far more sophisticated, and moved away from “telling” and focused on “showing”. A few hundred years ago people used to say “I’m going to hear a play” now they say they’re going to watch a play. Theatre used to be more about the written prose or verse, and the language was the focal point. In a post-checkov world, that just isn’t the case. And even more so with film. Film is far more about the emotions conveyed when NOT speaking than otherwise. Unless you’re specifically going for writers who focus on dialogue like a Sorkin.

Language and how we communicate is evolving. And I’m more akin to take the stance that it’s not good or bad, it’s just different. I certainly do agree that the state of education is not in a good spot in modern America, but I don’t think that’s the driving force behind why language has changed. That’s got more to do with societal influences, people of different ethnicities moving into the country and influencing the culture, technological advancements etc.

Will it mean some art forms will fade? Yes, it does, and that’s a bummer. But it’s a fact of life. People decried the death of the radio drama when film began to grow, but things change and some things become obsolete. Such is life.

That said, I still never found Tolkien’s dialogue particularly gripping. I prefer characters to have more nuance, play with more subtext, and be more naturalistic. Doesn’t mean my preferences are right, they’re just what I prefer.

Oh I don’t disagree that location and culture figure into it. Tolkien was a linguist who was fascinated by ancient languages, so it’s not super surprising his dialogue is very old fashioned.

However, that 20 year difference is a big gap in terms of entertainment and modern story telling sensibilities. Tolkien grew up with silent films, by the time he’s in his 50s, Hollywood is just starting to develop the visual storytelling we’re familiar with today and move away from more theatrical and presentational performances and become more realistic.

Compare that to the media Herbert grew up with, and you’ll see a stark difference in how the west adopted storytelling sensibilities. The influence of Checkov and how western audiences gravitated towards realism really gets cemented by the middle half of the 20th century.

The same jump in storytelling styles happened in writing as well. By the 60s we’re seeing stories that also really start to focus on realism in regards to dialogue. Especially in sci-fi. Fantasy tended to be more stylized. And maybe that’s in part because Tolkien set the bar, and because fantasy tended to be about creating modern myths, whereas sci-fi tended to be about exploring ideas that humanity was dealing with in that moment (or obsessing about).

So long story short: I agree that there are many factors that influence writing style. But also a 20 year gap in the time those writers were active saw a massive amount of change in how people wrote stories. Media was taking large leaps forward. And while I do think Dune is more modern in its Prose, it does still feel somewhat dated, but not nearly so much as Tolkien.

You have to take into account when it was written. These books are getting close to 100 years old. A focus on more realistic dialogue wasn’t nearly as present then as it is now. Heck, even in theatre, that movement was just beginning to take hold when Tolkien was writing, so it’s not surprising to see it hadn’t transitioned over to highly stylized fantasy.

But I’m in a similar position, I respect JRRT massively for how he pioneered modern fantasy, but I find the films much more enjoyable. The prose in the books just doesn’t grip me, because I prefer more character focused stories.

Step 1: put the cat in the box