h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

thx joe!

Cat-Eyes:

Basic latin grammar is Subject, predicate, verb...

Now that I've said that, I'm off to try and write a Latin entry for The Guide, since it is lacking one...

Here's some words:
(Hic verba est

Pila (feminine) - Ball
Equus (masculine) - Horse (like equestrian)
calamus (masculine) - Pen (or closest roman equivalent)
pagina (feminine, i think) - Page

And the declension of the highly irregular verb 'to be'

sum - I am
es - You(s) are
est - he/she/it is
sumus - We are
estis - You(pl) are
sunt - They are

and some adjectives for you to make the horse/ball/pen/page

rubrus, rubra, rubrum (M/F/N) - red
laetus, laeta, laetum - happy
stultus, stulta, stultum - stupid
bellus, bella, bellum - pretty

so, you could, quite correctly, put equus, stultus, and est together and get

equus stultus est
The horse is stupid.

/me runs off to write an insanely large entry...

Insight:
>>LOQUERIS
Si vis me flere, Dolendum est
Telephe vel Peleu male si ipsi
dormitabo aut Mandata
on satis est pulchra
Ridentibus adrident, ita
RIDEBO

I think it's from the Ars Poetica, by Horace. Haven't got a translation right here and my latin is to rusty for me to have a go at it. I'm sure you can find some translation of it on the web, eg. the Perseus Project at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu - otherwise give me a shout and I'll see if I can dig something up


ThinkSoft, had a look at the intro to your entry. Are you sure you want it to be *that* comprehensive?
There are a few latin entries already in the guide that might be useful to you.
Handy latin phrases: A218882 (I know it has been mentioned in the backlog, but just for completeness...)
Latin Pronounciation: A657272
there's an entry on Julius Caesar as well, that might come in handy: A531767

and then there's the pig latin: A738830


cheers,
~Bistro

Well, I did have latin in school for - let me think - six years, but I don't remember much.

What little I do remember is from reading the Asterix comics. Such as

errare humanum est - To be wrong is human
alea iacta est - the dice is cast

Methos

Asterix has actually been published in latin, as well. Well, some of the albums are, anyway. I think I've got Asterix and the Goths lying about somewhere...



Romanus eunt domus!

...anyone?

es fotunus vidi illem! Monty Python optimus est! Est necesse regedire et spectare ille fabulam.

____
You are lucky I saw that! Monty Python is great! It is necessary to go back and to look at that poem.

It's good to be back!

>>LOQUERIS
Si vis me flere, Dolendum est
Telephe vel Peleu male si ipsi
dormitabo aut Mandata
on satis est pulchra
Ridentibus adrident, ita
RIDEBO

Volo petere mei liber de Latina et English. Hui!
___________
>>You Were Speaking
if you wanted me to mourn, that is sad.
Telephus perhaps, Peleus if itself
I will sleep or command
in enough is beauty
Ridicule to me, they laugh, yes
I WILL LAUGH

I want to find my book of latin and English (didn't bother to look up dictionary). Wow!

-----
I'm sorry if that's not entirely intelligible. Sounds like someone's making fun of a general/warrior perhaps? I think a lot of the (poem's?) beauty was lost in translation. Also, I couldn't find adrident, so I used rident (they laugh). I couldn't figure out the grammar of that phrase. The first word is probably being given, but I couldn't find to whom.

I hope it isn't too bad! This is 3.5 years of Latin and a dictionary at work!

Oh yes, I think I'Ve got Asterix in the Orient in Latin somewhere. It was the first book in Latin I actually kind of read. Not like the texts we read in school. Most of our class copied the translation of two boys in our class who actually did it.

And did we have the famous quote: Veni, vedi, vici. (I came, saw, won)?

Methos

Thinksoft:
Well, the Ars Poetica is a "manual" for aspiring poets, so I'd guess it's some advice on how to move an audience.

My latin is way to rusty to attempt anything at a translation without my tools, but I guess I could dig something up somewhere. I'm pretty sure I've got a Danish edition with translation lying about somewhere... But then again, what's the fun in that

I do think you should take a second look at your syntactical analysis. The main verb must be loqueris, don't you think? And then "si vis..." and "(qui) dolendum..." as adjective sentences... Telephe and Peleu... Are they vocatives? Subject to which verb?

I'm rambling, sorry.


Methos:
Ah, yes. You can say what you will about Julius Caesar, but he had quite a talent for brevity. Only rivalled by Cato: Carthago delenda est. That sure is catchy.



cheers
~Bistro

Eeep, forgot the translation:

Carthago delenda est - Carthage must be destroyed!


~B

They have translated some of the Harry Potter books into Latin... Harrius Figulus, I believe, although they kept his name as Harrius Potter in case people didn't realise what it was

Why translate it into Latin though?

Yes, those Romasn had a great feeling for drama, hadn't they?

Harry Potter in Latin? It's because there are people actually willing and able to read it. Not me, mind you, but I know a professor at university got one from his co-workers as a birthday present.

Methos

That's a bit sad... I mean, latin is a dead language, isn't it? So, really, what's the point? Just for some to read

...I'm joking...

...you may be joking, but the sad bit is that you're completely right...


Sad in spe, I'm afraid


cheers
~Bistro

I don't think it's sad when a professor for history of science can read Harry Potter in Latin. He should be able to do that.

And if I had the oppurtunity to read something I actually want to read - like Harry Potter - in Latin and not just something I don't, maybe I would remember a bit more Latin now.

Methos

I'd just go "Screw it, Harry Potter in English time!"

Okay, I would probably would have done that, too. I didn't read the Asterix in Latin in school, either.

Methos

ille libre habeo! sum in pagina tertia.

----

I have that book! I'm on page three! (The third page)

____

I'm still learning the language and the school system has (apparently) neglected until now to teach a few different tenses and moods, etc... And as always, vocabulary grows with use..

Thinksoft

Hi people

No-one's posted here for a while... I hope you're still here!

I've come to ask if anyone fancies heading up a new Latin Department. I'm ready to start building it soon. If you haven't seen the new Department pages yet, the Spanish one is a pretty typical example - A2660087. If you read through that, and reckon you can do the same thing for Latin, then let me know please Because at the moment I don't have a Head of Department for Latin... or much interest

Joe C
Editor, Language Thing

Well, ho hum...

I'm certainly no great ressource when it comes to Latin, but if nobody else is interested, I guess I might be able to pull it off.

It's only as a last resort, though, as I guess practically anybody is more qualified for the job than me.

On the other hand, you may ask if there's any real demand for a Latin department, when nobody appears to be talking it Maybe a joint department for classic languages, viz. Latin and ancient Greek...?


just thinking out loud
cheers
~Bistro

Hmm, yes, that makes sense in retrospect. I was just copying the message to all threads without really thinking about it .

I suppose we could keep this thread here, and just have a thread rather than a Department...