Why do you need these Latin phrases? Well, like Latin teachers always say, Latin lives on in plenty of English words and phrases. But mostly, it's worth learning a bit of Latin because omnia dicta fortiori, si dicta Latina: everything sounds more impressive when said in Latin. Ad hoc: Literally meaning "for this," it's generally used to mean improvised. Ad infinitum (not to be confused with et cetera): "To infinity, without end." Caveat emptor: "Let the buyer beware." Citius altius fortius: "Faster, higher, stronger" - the motto of the modern Olympics. Columbarium: A collective tomb in ancient Rome that was also used as a house for pigeons and doves. Corpus christi: "The body of Christ." Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos: "Whoever owns the land it is theirs up to the sky and down to the depths." The state of Kansas used this law in the 1970s to argue that airlines could not serve liquor when flying over Kansas, a dry state. "Kansas," Attorney General Vern Miller said, "goes all the way up and all the way down." (If that's true, Kansas can lay claim to, and prohibit drinking in, about 82,282 square miles of western China.) Deus ex machina: "A god from the machine," usually referring to an awkward and contrived resolution to conflict. The phrase got its start from the plays of Euripides, in which a god was lowered down onto the stage via a mechanical crane to sort out intractable conflicts and confused plots. Et ignotas animum dimittit in artes: "And he sent forth his spirit among the unknown arts." A beautiful quote from Ovid. Id est: "That is," often abbreviated "i.e." In medias res: "In the middle of things." Stories like Paradise Lost or The Odyssey or Sweet Valley High #17 begin in the middle. Ipso facto: "By the very fact," i.e., "absolutely, regardless of circumstances." Lupus est homo homini: "Man is wolf to man." No one knew this better than the Romans. Magnum opus: Great work. Nolo contendere: When you want to enter a plea of No contest" in as fancy a way as possible. Opus Dei: "The work of God" or "An outsized villain in a bestselling novel." Quod erat demonstrandum: "That which was to be demonstrated." Abbreviated QED, often the end of a mathematical proof. Sic semper tyrannis: "Thus always to tyrants," the motto of Virginia and the Sic transit gloria: "Glory fades," popularized by Max Fischer, founder, Rushmore Double-Team Dodgeball Society. Sub poena: "Under penalty," as in "Do this or you're in trouble." Tabula rasa: A "blank slate" - John Locke's description of the human mind without knowledge. Veni, vidi, vici: "I came, I saw, I conquered," and the most oft-mispronounced Latin phrase in the world. It should be pronounced, WAY-nee, WEE-dee, WEE-kee. |
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From mental_floss' book Scatterbrained, published in Neatorama with permission. Don't forget to visit mental_floss' extremely entertaining website and blog! |
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Comments (91)
"In media res" should be "In medias res."
"Tabular rasa" should be "tabula rasa."
You wouldn't call a Venn diagram a "Wayne diagram", would you?
And h's comment (#3) regarding pronunciation: In classical Latin pronunciation, "v" was pronounced like "w" in English, "e" was pronounced like long "a" and "i" was pronounced like long "e." The name "Venn" (of diagram fame) is not Latin in origin; therefore it is not pronounced like "Wayne." However, one must keep in mind that Latin pronunciation was subject to all manner of local variants in Italy and abroad during (and long after) the days of the Roman Empire. Latin was spoken (sort of) by scholars as far afield as Wales, Scandinavia and Poland during the Middle Ages, and pronunciation (and even spelling) was adapted to suit the habits of the speaker. Consequently, we often hear "veni, vidi, vici" pronounced in "Church Latin," which uses colloquial Italianisms and sounds to English speakers like "veiny, vidi, vichi." It's still Latin, but not the way Caesar would have said it. (The effect is like hearing Shakepeare performed with a Texas drawl, I guess. No offense meant to Texans, of course.)
Ipso Facto and In media res are used a lot.
"Lupus est homo homini" was not said by the romans :Þ
"De gustibus non disputandum"
"It's not possible to give judgements about personal taste"
"Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum"
"make a mistake is human, but it's fiendish to persist"
Perhaps the lousiest reason to learn anything. "It will impress people".
The only reason to throw around a lot of Latin, a dead language, is to appear smart, more educated, than people not knowing Latin. Well, you aren't because that is just like me talking swedish with english-only-speakers in the room. It's being "not nice" or even "rude".
Using fancy language for the sake of fancy language is idiotic. Using fancy language to express ideas that actually require that language - is not.
Cheers
Ne plus ultra - no more beyond
Non compos mentis - not of sound mind.
Commonly said when a friend is being a 'laffe drinker'.
Kansas is opposite the Indian Ocean. Not one piece of land in the United States is directly across the world from China.
So much for digging that hole...
In classical Latin, there is no consonant V. There is a vowel U which is written exactly like the modern day V.
When-E, Weedy, Weekee *is* the correct pronunciation. (unless you're in a medieval church, of course).
Whew! Four years of Latin in high school finally paid off! :-)
A Guinness is good for you
Die dulci freure! (Have a nice day!)
Latin was a language that was "alive" for a VERY long time. The Latin of Cicero was not exactly the same Latin spoken in the Rennaisance. Spelling, grammar, and yes, pronounciation changed over time (linguists can tell this by studying verse written in varied periods -- they can deduce pronounciation by fiuring what should rhyme with what, etc.).
Depending on whom you learn your Latin from, you will pronouce the V as is pronounced in English today or you will pronounce it like a W. If you are being taught Classical (early) Latin, your instructor will use the "W" pronounciation, if you are taught late Latin or Ecclesiastical (Church) Latin, you'll get the "V" sound. Neither is incorrect, unless the context is specified and you get it wrong. For what it is worth, Caesar would have used something more akin to the "W" pronounciation, though.
Straight talk from Sid.
Or if you prefer, "Non disputandum de gustibus est." :)
I've always heard the impress-people quote as "Quidquid Latine dictum sit, altum viditur": everything in Latin sounds profound.
Illegitemi non carborundum
(Don't let the bastards grind you down)
How can we leave this one out?
http://www.google.com/search?q=illegitimi+non+carborundum
"Culus bebedorum dominus non habet"
It does not.
Well, at least not in Classical Latin (whence most of these quotes derive) and thus way-nee is indeed an accurate phonetic representation of veni; however, transmitting the ictus in text is almost impossible. I would do a little recording and submit it, but i drank far too much gin last night.
ave atqve vale
I am half-Italian, and it makes more sense to pronounce it with the Italian "c."
VEN-i, VI-di, VI-chi.
"The ass of a drunk does not have an owner"?
I'm only 2nd year Latin, so it's probably very rough.
"casus belli" = lit. "case of war" or the list of threats and complaints that are used to justify warfare.
"res ipsa loquiter" = lit. "the thing itself speaks" or it speaks for itself. Often used to illustrate, in legal terms, that a wrong has been committed by virtue of the fact that damage has been done.
How is it that the famous statement of that French philosopher failed to make the list? "Cogito ergo sum." -- often parodied in such ways as "Bibo ergo sum," or my version, "Cogito ergo oblivio""?
Y'all are aware of Henry Beard's Latin For All Occasions (with such statements as "I have a catapult and I'm not afraid to use it"), right?
Perhaps the coolest though is: "Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas" Which is kind of meaningless "The sower Arepo holds the working wheel."
What's so cool about this one is that the palindrome also forms a word square:
SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS
It is the same in each direction.
The basics: we have evidence not only from pronunciation in the Romance languages, but internal evidence from variations in Latin spelling and comparative evidence from borrowings into and from other languages. Consideration of this evidence has indicated that the consonantal U (which is what the v really is) was pronounced more like modern English W. This is generally accepted by people who have more than a modicum of concern for evidence and accuracy.
But don't believe me, because I'm a nutcase on the internet and can say anything I want without anyone interfering with my jabbering. So I will provide bibliography: Vox Latina by W. Sidney Allen. It's not long, and probably still available from the Cambridge University Press.
The "ecclesial" pronunciations are far more common and have the momentum of tradition, even though one could argue that the classical pronunciations are more "correct." As long as you're using one system or the other, and not mixing the two, I don't think it it can really be considered incorrect.
Here's an example from a 1897 text:
http://books.google.com/books?id=_rAAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=latin&as_brr=1#PPP3,M1
see page 3: "v like W"
And, for what it's all worth, I personally prefer the Late Latin / Ecclesiastical pronounciation better. And, I like that they use the letter "J". And I like punctuation as well! And lower case letters! All these things developed over time.
Straight talk from Sid.
Dangerous Book for Boys, which happened to be reviewed in Neatorama courtesy of Harper Collins: published 2007 in the US (earlier in the UK).
Mental_floss' Scatterbrained: published 2006, from the Scatterbrained section of mental_floss magazines published in previous years.
Latin: about 9th century BC.
..so for all those people that say dumb stuff when drunk, the wine speaks the truth!
It was often used until recently almost disappeared, in the end of letters. When something was to be reminded...
hasta
P.S. Carpe diem ;)
"se non vero e ben trovato" is not latin. It´s italian, and the correct form is “Se non è vero, è ben trovatoâ€, with the same meaning you said.
http://www.digholes.com/
Go to my original comment - this time read it...
...and San Diego is closer to the East of Africa
pwnd
There is nothing new under the sun
http://map.talleye.com/bighole.php
meaning divide and rule, not conquer, as is wrong translated in many english books.
because to rule something for a long time is much more difficult than to conquer for a short period.
Romans knew it from their empire, americans realise it just now in Irak.
dubito ergo cogito. cogito ergo sum.
dixit.
In media res is correct. The translation is "in the middle of the thing".
"Lupus est homo homini"
"Homo homini lupus est"
"Homini homo est lupus"
"Est lupus homo homini"
"Est homini lupus homo"
et cetera... (which by the way isn't on the list)
all mean the same thing, since the ending of the words matter, not the order in the sentence. Romans used the word order to emphasize different words.
What I find funny about pronunciation is why they didn't have words with particular sounds in them, like w and j.
Or why some native French speakers can't seem to manage the "th" sound.
Anyways, Latin can be used to sound pompous, but it can also be used for fun.
The Romans also had two -I-'s, a consonant pronounced like a -Y-, the first I in Iacio (Yak-Ee-O), or the second I in Iacio. (Which is a verb meaning to throw).
Also: No one knows how Latin was truly pronounced? This is not entirely true. We have a pretty good idea how it was pronounced, sorted out by very clever linguists. However, there's always some jerk who will say "But yes... You don't know for sure do you!" and any good Professor having studied Socrates will admit "Er, Rather, I suppose not." But we are more sure than not on Ciceronian Latin pronounciation.
Hard C's (not Chhhh's of Italian or Ssss's of English) (Caesar becomes Kaiser in German. Not See-ser, and not Cheese-er.
Soft V's
Mushy J's (like Ys.)
and the Vowel sounds are different than english. So, any arguments about "You wouldn't pronounce Benny this way would you!" Have no bearing on this conversation.
A final thought to those who think Latin is useless: illa carmina pulcherrima (this most pretty poem) would be unavailable to me if I didn't speak Latin, save for a soul-less, probably incorrect translation:
Odi et Amo. Quare id faciam, fortasse requiris?
Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.
There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.
Aut inveniam viam aut faciem
Either I will find a way or I will make one.
Exempli Gratia, e.g.
For example
Ibidem, ibid.
At the same place
quo vadis? eo corporis - where are you going? i'm going... ehm.. to the toilet
ubi maior, minor cessat
et mihi? - it sounds like "who cares?"
graecum est; non legitur
Ave Cesare, morituri te salutant!
I seem to recall the ancient Greeks had a letter for the W sound, but then stopped using it.
iacta alea est - the die is cast.
alea feles est - the die is cats.
Did you know there was a Latin Wikipaedia: Vicipaedia.
Ubi dubi flagellatum...When in doubt, whip it out.
However, I also think "Quo usque tandem abutere, Catalina, patientia nostra?" *must* be included.
He had pushed his neighbor lady down the stairs, and he was made to pay damages to her for 20 years. When she finally died, he quipped the above.
.
"per se"
which I had in my HD, but have since lost the meanings and distinctions between the two. Perhaps any sharper scholar will fill in?
"de jure" of law (as is written in the laws)
"de facto" of fact (as exists in reality)
(1) ex cathedra
(2) motu proprio
Aside from the literal differences between them ("from the chair," "on one's own motion"), their modern idiomatic usage (other than theological use in the Roman Catholic Church) is similar, something along the lines of "conceived on one's own authority."
Can anyone reading here explain to me the modern idiomatic differences in the uses of ex cathedra and of motu proprio?
It occurred to me that this English translation is similar to the unofficial motto of the modern age's computer hardware industry, "Smaller, faster, cheaper."
How does one say "smaller, faster, cheaper" in Latin?
But I also wanted to say, that even though we were taught to use the W sound, the V does sound a *lot* better.
My understanding is that "ex Cathedra" means the Pope is speaking from God, and the words are therefore infallible (Popes rarely do this) while "motu Proprio" means he is speaking solely on his own authority.
this is for you guys, learn it and impress ur girls...
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Translate this: "Don't act wise when you know not."
Also why not, "Vincit Omnia Veritas", Truth conquers all? or, "Quo fas et gloria ducunt", Where fame and glory lead?