You know you're a Latin junkie when...

Araneus

Umbraticus Lector

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Norvegia
I was taking the train home from work right now. I have a monthly ticket on an app on my phone, and there is a completely random word and picture on the thicket that changes every few hours, that the staff can recognise and thus know that the ticket is real and up to date. The word now was "Revehi" ("fox den"), which immediately took to be latin... Quite appropriate though, considering I was going home.
 
 

Dantius

Homo Sapiens

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
in orbe lacteo
Are you going to go through the whole book?
No. Just the first few sections, and then I think we jump to book 6 to read about customs of the Gauls.
 

Araneus

Umbraticus Lector

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Location:
Norvegia
then I think we jump to book 6 to read about customs of the Gauls.
Make sure no one misses this gem then (book 6, ch. 27):
Sunt item, quae appellantur alces. Harum est consimilis capris figura et varietas pellium, sed magnitudine paulo antecedunt mutilaeque sunt cornibus et crura sine nodis articulisque habent neque quietis causa procumbunt neque, si quo adflictae casu conciderunt, erigere sese aut sublevare possunt. His sunt arbores pro cubilibus: ad eas se applicant atque ita paulum modo reclinatae quietem capiunt. Quarum ex vestigiis cum est animadversum a venatoribus, quo se recipere consuerint, omnes eo loco aut ab radicibus subruunt aut accidunt arbores, tantum ut summa species earum stantium relinquatur. Huc cum se consuetudine reclinaverunt, infirmas arbores pondere adfligunt atque una ipsae concidunt.
Very nice for the grammar as well.
 

Araneus

Umbraticus Lector

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Norvegia
I guess he knew someone who had a friend whose mother once thought she saw a moose, but it was after dark, so she couldn't be sure.
 
E

Etaoin Shrdlu

Guest

I received a copy of the book by Prof. Stroh yesterday. It's very interesting, however I can see a couple of issues with putting together an English translation. One is that the book is written for a German audience, so some passages would need to be rephrased, rewritten, or eliminated. Another is that the author doesn't include sources for several statements. For example, on p. 24 he mentions that the Etruscan language was still spoken in Tuscany in the second century AD. On the same page, he tells us that Romans were annoyed when Cicero gave a speech in Greek in the Senate of Messina. No references are given to back up either of these claims, and many others. In the English speaking world, one would expect sources to be provided for such statements, even in a book written for the general public.
Ironically, one of the major problems in getting an English publisher interested in this is going to be the sheer wealth of documentation provided. Notes and appendices add over 100 pages to something that's already over 300 pages long.

I'm also wondering how the translations into other languages deal with the amount of specifically German examples. I'm guessing they've been kept in the Czech version, because the kind of Czechs who are interested in Latin either know German or feel they should, the way educated English people generally have at least enough French to understand basic phrases. Perhaps Godmy can shed further light on this.
 

Callaina

Feles Curiosissima

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Location:
Canada
Not Latin, but you know you're a Greek junkie when you're looking up words in a German-English dictionary and automatically look for "g" BEFORE "d". ;)
 

Araneus

Umbraticus Lector

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Norvegia
Not Latin, but you know you're a Greek junkie when you're looking up words in a German-English dictionary and automatically look for "g" BEFORE "d". ;)
I guess the German double s is going to mess with your head a bit as well?
 

Callaina

Feles Curiosissima

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Location:
Canada
I guess the German double s is going to mess with your head a bit as well?
Nah, I'm used to that. I studied German fairly intensively about ten years ago, but have forgotten a lot of it, so I'm trying to get it back.
 

Araneus

Umbraticus Lector

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Location:
Norvegia
Ein echt gutes Vorhaben!
 

Callaina

Feles Curiosissima

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Location:
Canada
So denke ich auch!
 

Callaina

Feles Curiosissima

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  • Patrona

Location:
Canada
The text we're reading (a philosophical text which keeps talking about das Vereinte) reminds me of this poem.

Es sang vor langen Jahren
Wohl auch die Nachtigall,
Das war wohl süßer Schall,
Da wir zusammen waren.

Ich sing und kann nicht weinen,
Und spinne so allein
Den Faden klar und rein,
So lang der Mond wird scheinen.

Da wir zusammen waren,
Da sang die Nachtigall,
Nun mahnet mich ihr Schall,
Daß du von mir gefahren.

So oft der Mond mag scheinen,
Gedenk ich dein allein,
Mein Herz ist klar und rein,
Gott wolle uns vereinen.

Seit du von mir gefahren,
Singt stets die Nachtigall,
Ich denk bei ihrem Schall,
Wie wir zusammen waren.

Gott wolle uns vereinen,
Hier spinn ich so allein,
Der Mond scheint klar und rein,
Ich sing und möchte weinen!
 

Araneus

Umbraticus Lector

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Location:
Norvegia
Das gefällt mir sehr! Melancholisch und hübsch.
 

Iohannes Aurum

Technicus Auxiliarius

  • Technicus Auxiliarius

Location:
Torontum, Ontario, Canada
Not Latin, but you know you're a Greek junkie when you're looking up words in a German-English dictionary and automatically look for "g" BEFORE "d". ;)
The Russian junkie would make the same mistake as well.
 
 

Dantius

Homo Sapiens

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
in orbe lacteo
... you say "vale!" to someone who doesn't even know Latin. (luckily they didn't seem to hear me)
 
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