It seems you make the assumption that “reading Tolkien” means reading the original text in the English vernacular from the mid-20th century. But we still read t

It seems you make the assumption that “reading Tolkien” means reading the original text in the English vernacular from the mid-20th century. But we still read texts from Latin authors who lived 2000 years ago, albeit translated. It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but Virgil and Ovid are quite readable. Even today, a significant part of the readership of the Lord of the Rings already read it translated. Bearing that in mind, it’s not completely unreasonable to assume that a certain number of people will read it in a millenium.