What Is a Dead Language Doing in the 21st Century?

e3mil.com ^ | 12/04/2004 | Sue Reilly

[No_Outcome_But_Victory]

From Transparent Languages "31 Languages of the World" CD Latin Grammar help file:

---

Latin NOUNS and ADJECTIVES are declined in one of six cases.

1) NOMINATIVE (nom.), for the subject of the verb.
Servus venit. "THE SLAVE is coming."

2) VOCATIVE (voc.), for direct address.
Tê exspectant, serve. "They await you, O SLAVE."

3) GENITIVE (gen.), to indicate that something is a possession or a part of something else, or to describe a characteristic quality or value.
Servus Cicerônis vigilat. "CICERO'S slave keeps watch."

servus magnae virtûtis "a slave OF GREAT COURAGE"

4) DATIVE (dat.), for the indirect object, or to indicate the party receiving an advantage or disadvantage from an action, or to indicate possession with est or sunt.
Servô litterâs dedit. "He gave the letter TO A SLAVE."
Servus nôbîs iânuam claudit. "The slave shuts the door FOR US."
Est servus mihi. "There is a slave TO ME." = "I have a slave."

5) ACCUSATIVE (acc.), for the direct object of the verb, or the subject of an infinitive verb, or to indicate movement towards/against or extent of time or space.

Servum verberat. "He is whipping THE SLAVE."
Dîcô servum callidum esse. "I say THE SLAVE is clever."
Servus Carthâginem veniet. "The slave will come TO CARTHAGE."

6) ABLATIVE (abl.), for the agent or instrument by which something is done ("by"), or to indicate separation or source ("from"), or for an accompanying object or characteristic or circumstance ("with"), or to express comparison ("than"), or to indicate position in space or time ("in").

Iânua â servô clausa est. "The door was shut BY THE SLAVE."
Servus ex cellâ cucurrit. "The slave ran FROM THE ROOM."
Servus cum virtûte pugnat. "The slave fights WITH COURAGE."
Servus est dominô altior. "The slave is taller THAN (HIS) MASTER."
Servus aestâte labôrat. "The slave works IN THE SUMMER."

7) There is also a rare LOCATIVE (loc.) case used with the names of towns or small islands, and with a very few nouns such as domus (locative domî, "at home").

Servum domî exspectant. "They await the slave AT HOME."

[VermiciousKnid]

Thank God!

They did away with Latin the year I entered high school. It should be on ALL high school curricula, as the study of it can do nothing but increase knowledge and understanding of our own English language and its vocabulary.

Regards,

[VermiciousKnid]

One time, when I was in the third grade, our class had misbehaved at recess.

As punishment, the teacher assigned us the following:

Write the numbers 1-1000.

In Roman numerals.

If I recall correctly, our class NEVER misbehaved (as a class) again.

I've told this story to my own third grader, who is astonished at the swiftness and severity of the punishments that were meted out to us. I told him to remember what I'd said, because I wouldn't have any problem giving him the same exact assignment should HE misbehave at school.

Of course....I'd actually have to teach him the Roman numerals first, 'cause they don't teach THAT anymore, either.

Regards,

[cornelis]

I would rather my school tax dollars be used to teach English

I always tell my students, if you desire to improve your English, learn to translate from the Latin. A student remarked to me this year, "This really is the way to learn grammar! I've learned so much."

[cornelis]

Wheelock's Latin is popular, but if you want something with an interesting Catholic twist, try Henle's First Year Latin published by Loyola Press. A used copy should be out there if it is out of print.

[cornelis]

Virgil, Eclogue 1, vv. 1–25 mp3 audio link

M. Tityre, tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fagi
silvestrem tenui Musam meditaris avena;
nos patriae fines et dulcia linquimus arva,
nos patriam fugimus; tu, Tityre, lentus in umbra
formosam resonare doces Amaryllida silvas.
T. O Meliboee, deus nobis haec otia fecit.
Namque erit ille mihi semper deus: illius aram
saepe tener nostris ab ovilibus imbuet agnus.
Ille meas errare boves, ut cernis, et ipsum
ludere quae vellem calamo permisit agresti.
M. Non equidem invideo, miror magis: undique totis
usque adeo turbatur agris. En ipse capellas
protinus aeger ago; hanc etiam vix, Tityre, duco.
Hic inter densas corylos modo namque gemellos,
spem gregis, a!, silice in nuda conixa reliquit.
Saepe malum hoc nobis, si mens non laeva fuisset,
de caelo tactas memini praedicere quercus.
Sed tamen iste deus qui sit, da, Tityre, nobis.
T. Urbem quam dicunt Romam, Meliboee, putavi
stultus ego huic nostrae similem, quo saepe solemus
pastores ovium teneros depellere fetus.
Sic canibus catulos similes, sic matribus haedos
noram, sic parvis componere magna solebam.
Verum haec tantum alias inter caput extulit urbes
quantum lenta solent inter viburna cupressi. 


Catullus 3  mp3 audio link

Lugete, o Veneres Cupidinesque,
et quantum est hominum venustiorum!
Passer mortuus est meae puellae,
passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quem plus illa oculis suis amabat.
Nam mellitus erat, suamque norat
ipsam tam bene quam puella matrem,
nec sese a gremio illius movebat,
sed circumsiliens modo huc modo 
illuc ad solam dominam usque pipiabat.
qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum
illud, unde negant redire quemquam.
At vobis male sit, malae tenebrae
Orci, quae omnia bella devoratis!
Nam bellum mihi passerem abstulistis.
O factum male, o miselle passer!
tua nunc opera meae puellae
flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli! 

[-=Wing_0_Walker=-]

Latina est pro avibus

[Deo et Patria]

Gosh, I feel so trendy. I'm a Jesuit high school graduate (inter alia) who was enough of a geek to say the following to the Pope during a visit to Rome last year (my wife and I got a papal blessing at the Vatican):

"Ora pro nobis peccatoribus, Pater Sanctissimus."

[SunkenCiv]

Archimedes manuscript yields secrets under X-ray gaze
PhysOrg.com | 20 May 2005 | Staff
Posted on 05/21/2005 4:14:32 AM PDT by PatrickHenry
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1407559/posts

[SunkenCiv]

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[Eva]

I found that Lating made biology class much easier because the names of the phylums were much easiers to memorize when the words meant something.

[SunkenCiv]

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