Latin is a dead language,
It’s dead as it can be.
It killed the ancient Romans,
And now it’s killing me.
Those are dead who wrote it;
Those are dead who spoke it;
Those will die who learn it;
And, blessed death, they earn it.
–Poem that Robert’s father (who knew Latin) taught him
Crusto volanti noli obstare, y’all!
Is that Ogden Nash?
I want to learn Latin, but of course my school doesn’t offer it.
crusto ergo sum
Hmm. Latin. *sneaks away from thread*
::is intrigued by poem::
::comes to thread::
::reads “y’all::
::runs away::
My Latin teacher this summer taught us that poem and then insisted that Latin wasn’t dead. It was pretty funny.
I don’t know Latin. I will probably wind up learning it as languages fascinate me. I am taking Spanish and my school offers German and Japanese (first year courses, newly added) for those who want to take them. I want to take them but can’t because I’ve already given up my lunch period. *sigh*
My school only offers Spanish, French, and Italian, but I took Latin at summer camp and I now take Latin online.
I wanna take Latin next year, in eighth grade.
My school only offers Spanish. And only for 8th graders. Woe is me.
NO. DO NOT EVER TAKE LATIN UNLESS YOU PLAN TO MURDER YOURSELF SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.
I was fascinated by the very idea of taking latin. I took it for one year. I dropped out and switched to french. DON’T DO LATIN.
I would love to learn Latin, though there isn’t much of a chance of me taking it until collage. The poem is magnificent. The Y’all made me…puzzled.
10-Yup, that would be me.
Salve, discipuli Latinae!
Well, two of your Administrators live in Southern states (Virginia and North Carolina). And English, unlike Latin, lacks a second-person plural pronoun, for which “y’all” is the best-known workaround. But if MBers are going to get all prickly about it, I’ll just avoid using it around y’a–um, you–in the future.
14-Hehe, no, it’s fine. I’m always kind of puzzled, anyway…
Well, I’ve only been studying latin since late November, so so far I know the first and second conjugations with the present, future and imperfect tenses, and the first 2 declensions. And a bunch of words, of course. Not that much, I guess, but so far I really, really, really, really like it. And I’m going to try taking level 1 of the National Latin Exam or whatever it’s called this year. Has anyone else done that?
Trust me Robert, Y’all isn’t anything compared to the accent/strange way of talking that occurs in my little town. It is so near areas of normal speaking it is amazing how strange it really is. And, I don’t know how I could have been born with an accent different than this, as I’ve lived here my whole life, but I have started assuming this accent now…
Red-tailed HAWK
17-People aren’t born with accents at all, they just acquire them from being around people who speak with them.
Latin is fun. I am taking my third year of Latin and I am planning to go all the way to latin five. In addition to studying latin in class I am apart of the Latin club that does the Medusa Exam! Basically we read classical mythology. This year it is a Plague on both your houses! Myths from the house of Atreus (Tantalus, Agamemnon, Helen of Troy, and others) and the House of Cadmus (Oedipus and related stories, Tiresias, and others) Agamemnon is killing me.
Valvete Amici,
::DAW:: (Pompeiia) Did you know Bovis is the name for cow in Latin? (Latin is not dead, it is dormant)
16- NLE, Taking it in the spring. We’ve been taking practice ones. I have scored at 25, I think.
10-YES. DO LATIN. Really, it’s lots of fun. and you don’t have to learn to pronounce things like you do in french.
French?
Don’t talk to me about French.
French is so CONFUSING. *dies*
22-OMG, agreed. I don’t speak it, but I know that’s its spelling is insane. Silent Zs=evil.
I started Latin with my mom awhile ago. We abandoned it after the first lesson or so. Not that we wanted to, but it got hectic and something had to slip.
Amo, amas, amat, amamus, amantis, amant…..eh, whatever, I love MB. I guess it works in English too.
Salve! uh…cannot remember any more
I wasn’t being serious, you know… (about the whole y’all thing.)
My friend learned some Latin in middle school, and everyone is always really jealous of her because whenever she doesn’t know a word in Spanish, she picks one that sounds similar to the Latin word, and it’s almost always right!
22-WHOEVER YOU ARE THAT IS NOT ME!!!
I know that person said so on the Alter Ego thread, but I don’t want them running around the blog making it look like I’m saying something, or like I changed my name!!!
18-Well, I guess so, but it seems that would be an accent in itself, what babies are always born with!
Red-tailed HAWK
27-when you first learn how to talk, that accent is what people usually think of as the one you’re “born” with. You’re not really born with an accent at all.
the first accent you have is the accent of the people around you.
27-Whoops, sorry. I forgot to change my name back.
I AM NOT RED-TAILED HAWK, I AM AN ALTER-EGO OF SOMEBODY WHO FORGOT TO CHANGE THEIR NAME.
In case you’re curious, in post 13, I said “Hello, students of Latin!”
14 – We should just bring back thou and all will be peaceful.
I am intrigued by Latin, but I could never get as far as to learn it.
With the exception of Crusto Volanti Noli Obstare, of course.
BTW, the Hogwarts slogan (“Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus”) is gramatically incorrect, is it not?
Somebody said it was…
I’d have to check, but I think it is correct. Literally it means “[A] dragon sleeping [is] never to-be-tickled.” JKR was a classics major, wasn’t she?
“Nunquam” is also spelled “numquam”; I’m not sure which version appears in the Hogwarts motto.
Ah, articles like this warm an old quadrilingual’s heart. I don’t speak latin but i do speak spanish.
However, latin is a language. One thing that I have dedicated myself to is saving dying languages, such as Lushootseed and Nefstlayemutsen, or S’Klallam. It is crucial for us to save dying languages because when a language dies, so does the culture, the customs, and the daily life of those people. One place that is campaigning hard to save our endangered languages is the Living Tongues Institute, who is currently trying to save the Silhetz DeNi language of Oregon.
Oh, yeah, btw, which GAPA lives in North Carolina? because my dad lived in Durham and went to Duke, where my grandfather taught.
(34) I’m in North Carolina, CETP, a bit more than an hour west of Durham.
About French vs. Latin, I speak both. In terms of grammar, French is a whole lot easier since there aren’t different declensions and stuff. Unfortunately, French pronunciation and spelling can be diabolical, while the Latin is fairly standard (with a few oes and aes thrown in there).
I’m in Latin 1. I know the first 3 declensions, present, future, infinitive, and imperative verbs, and some prepositions. It’s not very useful so far because all I can talk about is how much I love islands and how I want to insult your soldiers with injuries and things like that. I know a lot of words but if I was cast into ancient Rome I would sound a bit odd.
Oh declensions. love them. </sarcasm>
i know basically all of them now, according to doc (he said we’d know them by the end of latin II). Or have learned them, which is slightly different.
latin III i think is mostly roman culture and history. i’ll be taking that next year.
38- I HATE DECLENSIONS AND VERB TENSES!
Okay, now I will calm down…
O Latin, how I miss thee.
Ecce! In pictura est puella laeta, nomine Cornelia.
I hope that’s correct.
I’m in Latin II, and know the first three declensions, present tense, perfect and imperfect tense (sort of), imperative, and too many pronouns to list.
What Latin textbooks do people use? I use the Oxford Latin Course.
40-You use Ecce Romani?
Sextus est puer ignavis.
The only latin I know is “moritori te salutanus” I learned it right before my first ever exams. You can guess why.
That’s salutamus, with an m. People usually say “Ave, Caesar! Morituri te salutamus” (Hail, Caesar! We who are about to die salute you) — supposedly what gladiators said before starting their “games.”
I know Eruditio et Religio, the Duke University Motto. By the way, I’m not sure if Rebecca follows basketball, but I have to ask her, Blue Devils, TarHeels (boooo) or NC State?
(45) I find it best to stay out of local politics.
Ave, Koko! Crusturi te salutamus!
(There’s no verb form of “pie” in Latin. I did the best I could.”
Or…
Morituri nolumus mori.
44 – Oops.
47 – Hehehe.
Anyone know where I can learn how to speak Latin?
Just to point out, right after the poem, where it says “Crusto volanti noli obstare, y’all!”, It should say “Crusto volanti nolite obstare, y’all!” because you are speaking to more than one person.
40- There’s no “laeta” in chapter 1
Oh, and Ebeth- It would be Crustus ergo sum, not crusto. I think.
(50, 51)
About nolite: very true! The official Muse Academy motto, in Latin, addresses the reader as an individual. When I quoted it, however, I was talking to MuseBloggers collectively, so I used an English second-person-plural form that officially doesn’t exist. Make sense? (Y’all was also in the vocative, which doesn’t exist in English, either.)
About crustus: That’s the noun. Ebeth was turning it into a verb as a joke, echoing the philosopher Descartes’ famous saying, Cogito ergo sum: I think, therefore I am. The Romans didn’t have a verb for putting a pie in someone else’s face. (They didn’t make pies, poor, benighted souls.)
I kinda want to take latin next year (9th grade). My mom doesn’t want me to waste my valuable French education.
53 – Waste your valuable French education? What do you mean? I’ve taken both, and I assure you that Latin helps with French and French helps with Latin (eg the conjugation of etre is similar to the conjugation of esse).
Veritas omnia vincit!
The truth always prevails!
Mirabile futurum
Ne esto mihi durum
ne esto mihi durum
neesto durum!
Irigine ex pura
ad optimum futurum
ad optimum futurum
iamnunc egressus sum.
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
Ut sint vina proxima morientis ori.
Tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
“Deus sit propitius huic potatori.”
I’m doing third year latin, Oxford latin series (unit 4).
16 – I’ve taken the national latin exam teh past two years – got summa cum laude both times. It’s fun. Just do a lot of the old tests and you’ll be fine. Anyone else doing the NLE? Ebeth?
58 – Is that the Oxford Latin course (the one centered around the life of Horace, called Quintus in the textbook)? Also, I might be taking the level 2 NLE.
58 – oops, I meant cambridge.. all them english places sound the same
but anyway, the first 3 books are like about Quintus and Caecilius and Grumio ((sp) &heart) and Salvius and stuff…and then the 4th you start doing poetry and things like that.
57-I’m taking it, but I’m only 1st year Latin (Ecce Romani).
Bonus points to anyone who can translate & give the significance of the following: “Hoc est enim corpus meum.” I love latin. w00tus!
I don’t know what it means, but I do know it’s the words spoken over the bread during a Catholic Communion.
Latin, an offering at my school, will not be taken by me, despite its being taught by an awesome person, due to the necessity of my taking Spanish. bollocks to not being able to take two languages.
I love my Latin class. Except I’m surrounded by druggie juniors. I’m in Latin 1 and the people are required to take 2 years of a language or more. I’m taking all 4 but there’s people only taking 2.
Latina amo!
61- “This is my body.”
‘Not even Catholic, I just translated!
59-I love Salvius! He is so evil. I’m in Latin IV.
65-Close, but it’s actually “For this is my body.” You left out “for.” Nice job, though!
y did i not know about the Latin thread? *is grumpy*
66- Still only in Latin one, so our favorite character at this point is Sextus.
63- I’m taking french and Latin
60- Wat chapter?
57- I am!!
Fiat Lux!!!!
I think it would be soooo useful to learn Latin, or at least some, if not become fluent in it, because then it would be so much easier to figure out what really complicated English words mean.
There’s also an interesting website that I suspect I shouldn’t link, even though it is mostly harmless (actually, probably wholly harmless, but I won’t make any assumptions) that basically involves you seeing a word and trying to find the synonym out of four words. It’s really useful to know some Latin roots.
Cavite idibus Martii, Caesar!
I like Latin. It’s fun. I took Latin I Honors via Learning Links. Very fun, but time-consuming. Ended up with a B-plus.
71- B+ is good!
Well this is timely. I just turned in my papers to take AP Latin. I’m fairly positive it will kill me. My Latin skills can also be defined as my test-acing-and-then-forgetting skills. I can memorize incredibly long chunks of classic lit! Next year, however, will require actual work… recalling 200+ lines word-for-word is pushing it, even with the Latin text given. Plus we’ll have to write essays about the Aeneid. Right now I’m thinking taking the AP test is out of the question.
heh. What does Hogwarts Motto mean? Something about tickling dragons, I think….
74 – I dunno. What is it? (Not that I know Latin or anything, but somebody else on here could probably translate it)
“Never tickle a sleeping dragon.” (Literally, word-for-word: dragon, sleeping, never, to-be-tickled.)
76 – Lol. That’s a great motto for Hogwarts.
72 – Why thank you. Especially considering I budgeted my time in the worst way possible.
I like Latin.
(That was semi-random.)
13- you’ve mixed up the genders!!! discipuli is masculine and latinae is feminine!! you probably know that male and female don’t mingle.
13/30- ah forgive me!! i believe i have made a mistake. never mind!!!
40- Do you use the ecce! romani textbook?!?! i used that one last year when i was homeschooled!
four comments in a row!! yay!!
nearing the new year, my latin class learned auld lang syne in latin.
pretty cool, huh?
random thought #119475-47519834751
(Yes, I know this is kind of late, because this thread stopped being truly active near the end of January.)
I’m in Latin 3 currently, and my class just finished the Cambridge Latin Course book stories last quarter. We’re still using the book, but now we’re mainly doing NLE review. (Which is actually kind of fun, and I’m bringing in cookies tomorrow.)
Our latest use of the purple book was to read the Pliny/Trajan letters, which were funny (to me). “They’re stealing our aqueducts!”
grata et diciplina bona – grace and good discipline
my school motto – hmmm good discipline??? how is discipline good? *wonders*
Quid accidit tibi, filum Latinae?