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

Salve! Quid agitis hodie?

Nomen mihi est ThinkSoft. Latinam Lingavam ad scola quattuor annum cognoscaverat. Nemo dativum skribat! Ubi volas ut dires aliquem, ute dativum! (Specte me farens errores...)

Id optimus estas personas loquerent latinam! Spero reveni poterit.

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Hello! How are you all?

My name is ThinkSoft. I have learned latin at school for four years. Nobody is using the dative! When you want to talk *to* somone use the dative (I think, other latin people correct me if I'm wrong)! (Watch me make mistakes)

It's wonderful that people are speaking Latin. I hope I will be able to come back.
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Wooo! Latin rocks! I probably got case endings wrong, never did get the hang of that!

We just finished reading the part of Caesars De Bellos Gallicos (English = On the Gallic Wars), so I'm sort of referring to his writing to tye this. They never make us write anything in class, though sometimes I wish they would.

Salve, ThinkSoft! Et quid agis? De dativo malo est, autem. Cum locutus sis ad homes, utandus es vocativo. Hic est similis ad nominativum. Scribo paucas sententias in Latina, sed plurimo translato.



Hello, ThinkSoft! And how are you? You're wrong about the dative, however. When talking to people, you ought to use the vocative. This is the same as the nominative. I write a few sentences in Latin, but mostly translato.

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Bene in declentio tertius, Katkodl!

Good on the third declension, Katkodl!

I'm not going to bother saying this in Latin because the modern terms are gonna get too complicated for my limited vocabulary:

ThinkSoft, this thread is part of the A1145477 Language Thing, which there is a link to on the Latin dept's page. If you want to become a regular member of Latin or any other language, you should post to the 'I want to join the Language Thing!' thread, so that our editors can get a handle on you and know if you want to be involved in any other languages. It would be doing a *big* favour to them, and I'm under orders to say this anyway, so please do post to the join-up thread and make sure the editors know what's going on.

*butts in*

AND Thinksoft you're signed up for some other department I can't remember right now...but you ought to go participate in that as well you know

*hugs EMR for passing on the strict message*
I hadn't realised it was Thinksoft otherwise I would have marched in here myself.

I'll look for the other department I'm in. I think I'm thoroughly regisitered though.

gratias tibi de dativo. Hodie fabulam de Bellos Britanias cognoscavimus. De quod loqui vult? De me mala latina? est mala.

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Thanks about the dative. Today we learned the story of the British wars.
What do you want to talk about? My bad latin? it is bad...


maybe we can invent latin words for modern objects, so we can rally talk with it...

-TS

Will think about Latin words for modern objects...haven't got time to compose proper Latin reply at present.

Dico ad me... dico ad me... Haec gaudiam est...

I'm talking to myself... I'm talking to myself... This is joyous...

*Pops over from the teaching thread*
Had a go at making a sentence and thought I'd share it:
"Civis Dirus Lingua Tutelam amat!"

Not going to translate because if I got it right it should be obvious, if a little corny... but, hey, I *am* a beginner!

What'd I post all that stuff about nouns for... you seem to know it already!

Is there anything specific you want to be taught?

If I read your sentence right, it should say 'linguam tutelam' instead.

House Rules say you have to post translations of everything posted on the speaking threads in the Language Thing. Actually, according to the BBC, we can't post anything in foreign languages at all, but we got special dispensation to post in foreign languages if we provide translations.

Vere, puto ridiculum esse. Sed BBC sunt. Omnia sciunt.

Truly, I think it's ridiculous. But they are the BBC. They know everything.

Play nicely now children. Big Brother IS watching you you know even though I can't write Latin at all.

Ulla dicis, domina.
Anything you say, my lady.

<>

Meh, close enough...

Anyway, that translation (so Auntie won't send the boys round): Mr. Dreadful loves the Language Thing
And for the literal pedants: Citzen Dreadful the Language Object he loves.

<>

Well, I know it *now*... mostly due to the fact that you made it a lot clearer than most text books having gone for a 'See Spot run' style.

Oops... didn't see your post in the Teaching Thread. Thanks anyway.

Beneventissimum es.
You are very welcome.

Above is a word I invented, sticking together the words 'well' and 'come' the way French, Spanish, etc. do. 'Bene' means well, and 'ventum' is the participal form of the verb 'venire', to come. The 'issi' bit stuck in the middle makes the word a superlative. 'Es' is, of course, the 2nd person singular form of 'esse', to be.

I find it's helpful for me to explain everything I do like that. If it's annoying let me know.

Hello!

Just to let you know: I’m not participating actively here, cause I don’t speak (write) Latin, but I’m following the thread, it’s quite interesting!
And: I think it’s pretty helpful when you explain what you’re writing, it’s not annoying at all! It helps to understand how Latin works.

*switches back to lurker-mode*

Salve, !

Gaudeo tu amare doctae meae. Gratias!
I rejoice that you like my teaching. Thanks!

Id est, .
That is, .

Why are smileys case-sensitive?

salve!
ego sum mala in Latinam, tanem intellego quod sribit.

Hello!
I am bad at Latin, however, I understand what is written.

At school we never have to write anything, and all translation is from Latin to English. Makes this a little difficult.

Cum dicem, emphasis est in Latina ad Anglum nimis. Est quod Latina est linga mortua.

When I learn, the emphasis is on Latin to English too. It's because Latin is a dead language.



If I may correct your grammar:

Latinam = Latina - 'in', when used to mean in or at, takes the ablative. However, I think that what you want here is actually the preposition 'de', which means 'concerning'.

scribit = scribens - it's a present participle. Literally, this would then mean 'I understand what is writing,' but it comes cdown to the same thing.

I appreciate an effort to communicate in Latin, though! And since I can't say this in Latin, I will (in English) tell you that if you're interesting in joining this department and practising the language, you ought to register at A1145477 the home base of the Language Thing, of which this department is a part, if you haven't done so already.

Gratias!