Quenya is an Elvish language. It was spoken by the Vanyar and Noldor elves in Valinor. When the Noldor returned to Middle-earth in the First Age, they brought Quenya with them. But the native Sindarin became far more common in everyday speech. In the Second Age and especially in the Third Age, Quenya in Middle-earth was used more as a scientific and ritual language. Because of this Tolkien sometimes called Quenya the "Elf-Latin".