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

Multas gratias!
Many thanks!

EMR

Quid hic facitis? Veni ad cordam novam; sola fiens sum.

What are you doing here? Come to the new department; I'm getting lonely.

EMR

*Pops back from near-permanet absense*

Re: Brasso, in clutcho, intacto

Really doubt that's latin. A word like clutch-- is highly unlikely. AFAIK, the Romans practically never used the "ch"-sound, except for words borrowed from Greek - and if it was Greek it'd probably start with a k instead of a c.

Some mock-latin joke, maybe? I'll leave it to some of you native English-speaking types to speculate on what it may be about...


cheers
~Bistro

*pops back out*

"Brasso, in clutcho, intacto"

*groans*
If thats a joke it's a very bad one

I wonder if it's even mock-Latin. Maybe it's supposed to be imitating Spanish or something. When people here in San Diego try to imitate Spanish (which they do rather frequently, seeing as it's San Diego and practically Mexico) they add -o endings on the ends of lots of words to fake it. Or maybe it's fake Italian. Who knows? Anyway, I think it's stupid too. Doesn't even really make much sense.

Quam vos venitis ad Departmentam Latinam?
When are you all coming to the Latin Department?
[That was faking on department. I don't know the Latin word; couldn't find it in my dictionary.]

Perhaps I should add (as it says on my tagline) that it can be found at
A3235628. There's a Teaching Thread and a Speaking Thread, and I'd really like to add a Talking-About-Latin-in-English Thread.

"Draco Dormiens Nunquam titillandus"- Harrius Potter

this is the only way I can join in!I'm forever reading books with fake- latin references, but don't always understand them. this is the only exception- Never tickle a sleeping dragon. but then again, u all knew that, right?

If you're interested in taking more part, vamster, you should come check out the full department - A3235628, as it says in the post above. Did you know that the Latin motto is not exactly grammatical, though? 'Draco dormiens numquam titillandus' in fact translates to something like 'A sleeping dragon is never tickling,' but only with a little mind-stretching.

Like I said, fake latin! I'm new to all this by the way, what does joinin the department involve?

How bou this one? "Omnis Quis Coruscat Est Or" Is it something like "all which ? is gold"? I assume Coruscat means "is lead" or something like that, as this is the Alchemist's guild Motto from the Discworld.

That sounds about right, but since I'm at the library and haven't got my dictionary with me I couldn't really say.

Anyway, about the department. You see how it's connected to the main Language Thing page? You need to go to the Language Thing and post saying that you are interested in learning and speaking Latin. Then Kat (proprietor of the Thing) will add you to the Latin department and you can start learning stuff with me!

I'm just a third-year student, so I'm not brilliant at the language, but I think I know enough to help out beginners.

Library...no dictionary...Somethin tells me u didn't think that one through lol
Anyway, I've posted to the department, like u said, just waitin for response

There may have been many dictionaries at the library, but my trusty Latin-English/English-Latin dictionary complete with grammar charts and lists of pronouns? That might have taken some hunting, and then I would have lost my computer.

Just wait for Kat or someone else to get back to you. It shouldn't take long.

Hi all, masocist here so I thought hey why not learn Latin!

Go to latinum/mypodcast.com
Evan Millner has doen a fanstastic job for the study of Latin.

Hope to see and learn from ya'll........oops ...I mean You all.

We have those cushions too!

I was stumped by the whole ‘poem’ (see below). It just didn't scan properly as a real Latin phrase. I spent hours, it seems!, reading them while resting on the sofa, & wondering what it all meant. It all seemed a bit of a joke/jumbled up words & partial phrases.

Then I realised that the first & last words (the capitalised words "Loqueris" & "Ridebo": at the top & bottom of the cushion) were a phrase in themselves, & I realised what they meant when put together.

I instinctively translated the 2-word phrase - by dredging up memories from Latin lessons at school! - as “Joking Words” (or more literally something like “Let us laugh at these words”).

Google Translate confirms the words' meaning is much the same as my own translation attempt! by translating the 2 words literally as:

Loqueris = Thou Shalt Speak; Ridebo = Should laugh at

My instinctive translation of the 2 words was what confirmed, in my mind, that the rest of the text on the cushion was not in fact a correctly set out Latin phrase i.e. the 'poem' was not meant to scan correctly or indeed make sense!

i.e. it *was* meant as a joke!

Part of the Latin *does* scan, so fragments of the text *are* genuine Latin, but the rest is just scrambled up Latin words!

Now I need a cup of tea & a slice of cake after all that!

HTH!

Tee-hee! Good quip, echomikeromeo!

On a more serious note, the 'techie' bit (!) follows ! :

Re the word 'department': It would have been more likely, in those Latin days, to use the word 'faculty'! The word 'faculty' actually - like most English words! - comes from the Latin word 'facultatem'.

Oh boy, I didn't realise how much of my old school Latin I actually remembered!

~ from Cookaholic ~

We have those cushions too!

I was stumped by the whole ‘poem’ (see below). It just didn't scan properly as a real Latin phrase. I spent hours, it seems!, reading them while resting on the sofa, & wondering what it all meant. It all seemed a bit of a joke/jumbled up words & partial phrases.

Then I realised that the first & last words (the capitalised words "Loqueris" & "Ridebo": at the top & bottom of the cushion) were a phrase in themselves, & I realised what they meant when put together.

I instinctively translated the 2-word phrase - by dredging up memories from Latin lessons at school! - as “Joking Words” (or more literally something like “Let us laugh at these words”).

Google Translate confirms the words' meaning is much the same as my own translation attempt! by translating the 2 words literally as:

Loqueris = Thou Shalt Speak; Ridebo = Should laugh at

My instinctive translation of the 2 words was what confirmed, in my mind, that the rest of the text on the cushion was not in fact a correctly set out Latin phrase i.e. the 'poem' was not meant to scan correctly or indeed make sense!

i.e. it *was* meant as a joke!

Part of the Latin *does* scan, so fragments of the text *are* genuine Latin, but the rest is just scrambled up Latin words!

Now I need a cup of tea & a slice of cake after all that!

HTH!

Tee-hee! Good quip, echomikeromeo!

On a more serious note, the 'techie' bit (!) follows ! :

Re the word 'department': It would have been more likely, in those Latin days, to use the word 'faculty'! The word 'faculty' actually - like most English words! - comes from the Latin word 'facultatem'.

Oh boy, I didn't realise how much of my old school Latin I actually remembered!

~ from Cookaholic ~