CURNULLASCRIPTIOCONTINUA?

Masondeanm

Member

Location:
CANADA
For those of you who like to write and speak classical Latin, why do you not care to write as they did as well? From my understanding they wrote in all caps and in scriptio continua, but no one seems to want to replicate that—even if they do like to replicate the pronunciation of that era.

MIHIINOPINATUMVIDETUR

(I realized after the fact that I ironically left the question mark in the title)
 

AoM

nulli numeri

  • Civis Illustris

It's difficult (and tedious) to read. Also, small correction: those Us should be Vs.
 

Masondeanm

Member

Location:
CANADA
small correction: those Us should be Vs.
Huh, that brings something to my attention that I never realized. I'm just going to go off of Weelock here, because that has been my main source of education—"U" is considered classical, buuuut, every time they're using caps, they do, in fact, use "V." If the ancient Romans only used caps, then when did the "u"/"U" come along?
 

Araneus

Umbraticus Lector

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Location:
Norvegia
Is your message here that we all should use scriptio continua in caps when writing Latin on the forum? It may be suggested as an option when people ask about tattoos and appropriate fonts for Latin, but I can't see many advantages to it in terms of reading or writing or anything else.
 

Masondeanm

Member

Location:
CANADA
Is your message here that we all should use scriptio continua in caps when writing Latin on the forum? It may be suggested as an option when people ask about tattoos and appropriate fonts for Latin, but I can't see many advantages to it in terms of reading or writing or anything else.
Well I clearly see that no one wants to use it. I was trying to see if there was any justification behind this other than "eh, it's just a lot of work, so I'd rather not." Because it just seems a little dishonest to me to want to learn the language exactly how it was in the "golden age," yet not want to emulate the same way of writing. I'm no expert, but I would guess that educated ancient Romans had no problem reading fluently. If I'm wrong, however, and not writing scriptio continua would have aided even the most educated ancient Romans in their reading, then I supposed I'll admit that it's a strict improvement and I can't really be against that.
 

Araneus

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Location:
Norvegia
I tried to be authentic by having a Greek slave who'd read out this forum to me, but it turned out to be rather expensive
I think you might have misunderstood some of the basic principles of slave-keeping.
 

Araneus

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Location:
Norvegia
But seriously - where is the line to be drawn? Should Latin books be printed in scriptio continua and all caps, or should there not be Latin books at all, but scrolls? I think practicality is a keyword here anyway.
 

Masondeanm

Member

Location:
CANADA
But seriously - where is the line to be drawn? Should Latin books be printed in scriptio continua and all caps, or should there not be Latin books at all, but scrolls? I think practicality is a keyword here anyway.
Well I guess that's another closely related question I have. Considering the language was originally written in scriptio continua, and it obviously worked quite well, is it actually more practical to not use it? It's obviously easier for us to not use it because I'm assuming we all come from a writing system that doesn't. But would a native writer think this an improvement? (And even though I'm assuming you don't know the answer, I'm not asking that rhetorically)
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Huh, that brings something to my attention that I never realized. I'm just going to go off of Weelock here, because that has been my main source of education—"U" is considered classical, buuuut, every time they're using caps, they do, in fact, use "V." If the ancient Romans only used caps, then when did the "u"/"U" come along?
The Romans didn't only use caps. They used caps mostly in stone inscriptions, but for letters and such they had a lower case script (the Roman cursive). The letter that would later give us both U and V looked like V in caps and like u in small letters.
 
E

Etaoin Shrdlu

Guest

It's obviously easier for us to not use it because I'm assuming we all come from a writing system that doesn't. But would a native writer think this an improvement?
Undoubtedly, though I'm sure if it had been suddenly introduced to them you'd get a lot of snorting about lowering standards, and what was wrong with the way everyone had been doing things since time immemorial, eh?

I was hoping for a link to studies that have been done on this subject by someone who knew more about such things when I posted this thread, but nobody's come across that particular book or has anything to say on the subject. Well, I knew it was a long shot. Which reminds me that nobody told me how they pronounced that phrase either, when I asked it in my status. Perhaps I should change my socks.
 
E

Etaoin Shrdlu

Guest

Incidentally, I once sat through a church service in Leipzig for the purpose of hearing a Bach cantata, and it struck me that this was about as authentic as it could get. But I wouldn't recommend that people normally listen to Bach in buildings with questionable acoustics, preceded by a dreary sermon in an accent that sounds, frankly, ludicrous, the more so when it's trying to be solemn.
 

Masondeanm

Member

Location:
CANADA
The Romans didn't only use caps. They used caps mostly in stone inscriptions, but for letters and such they had a lower case script (the Roman cursive). The letter that would later give us both U and V looked like V in caps and like u in small letters.
This is pretty much what I've gathered by looking into it—that there really was no distinction made. Does anyone know why the use of "v" is justified by people who don't wan't to use "j", e.g., Wheelock? (obviously if you're down with using "i" and "j," might as well use both "u" and "v")
 

Laurentius

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Location:
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The Romans didn't only use caps. They used caps mostly in stone inscriptions, but for letters and such they had a lower case script (the Roman cursive). The letter that would later give us both U and V looked like V in caps and like u in small letters.
I wonder if that font has been digitalized and is available for use.
 

Araneus

Umbraticus Lector

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Location:
Norvegia
Well, here's one ancient view on cursive script:

Ut opinor, quaerunt litterae hae sibi liberos: alia aliam scandit. (Plautus)

"It seems to me that these letters are trying to have children; the one is climbing on the other."
 

Laurentius

Civis Illustris

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Location:
Lago Duria
But maybe Calidorus was just bad at calligraphy.
 

Laurentius

Civis Illustris

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Location:
Lago Duria
That's true. Or perhaps he had some naughty inclinations that became reflected in his handwriting.
Or maybe he was cheap, and wrote like that not to waste paper. I guess we'll never know.
 

Araneus

Umbraticus Lector

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Location:
Norvegia
Or maybe he was cheap, and wrote like that not to waste paper. I guess we'll never know.
Whatever his reason might have been, I can relate :D
 
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