Thursday, 24 January 2013

Latin


OK. Today, I have read only Latin. The object is neither to communicate in Latin nor to translate from Latin into English but only to read and understand Latin texts like:

"Gaius Iulius Caesar, dux praeclarus Romanorum, in Gallia pugnans multa de Britannia cognovit."

 - meaning:

"Gaius Julius Caesar, famous leader of the Romans, while fighting in Gaul learned much about Britannia."

Word endings are crucial but word order can help. At first, I thought that Caesar was learning much about Britons who were fighting in Gaul.

My purpose is to read the Aeneid but a knowledge of Latin will also help with the background for Anderson:

there is a Latin inscription in Poul and Karen Anderson's The King Of Ys;
the phrases "Delenda est Carthago" and "Es to peregrinator temporis?" are important;
there might be other examples.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Hi, Paul!

Latin was also used during the era of the Polesotechnic League as a common tongue by both humans and non humans. That is, the Polesotechnic League Latin used as an official language. A function later taken over by Anglic after the Empire arose.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Latin was a common tongue in the League, right. But I wonder which language van Rijn was mangling in everyday conversation? English in the process of evolving into Anglic?

Sean M. Brooks said...

Hi, Paul!

It was Anglic Old Nick tortured and mangled in every day life! And Anglic was originally English, yes. I remembered how, in A CIRCUS OF HELLS, the Anglic the ancient, sentient, self aware computer used with Flandry was described as quaint and archaic.

Sean