Latin
- Thread starter campbell
- Start date
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 27 Sep 2004
- Posts
- 25,821
- Location
- Glasgow
Why do people assume that if you quote Latin then you must be fluent? Or rather I should say why do people believe that to utilise a specific term in context you should be fluent in the language? Does this apply to every language? And if so then where do we stop considering that English is a mongrel tongue that has appropriated words from a variety of sources?
If I use a caelo usque ad centrum in a post it isn't because I'm fluent in Latin, I primarily know what is specific to law and even then it's limited yet I'd reckon that it's appropriate to do so because any translation is less than perfect. For those who are interested though it means, very roughly, "from the centre of the Earth to the heavens" and relates to property rights.
If I use a caelo usque ad centrum in a post it isn't because I'm fluent in Latin, I primarily know what is specific to law and even then it's limited yet I'd reckon that it's appropriate to do so because any translation is less than perfect. For those who are interested though it means, very roughly, "from the centre of the Earth to the heavens" and relates to property rights.
Soldato
- Joined
- 4 Feb 2003
- Posts
- 6,140
- Location
- Birmingham
OP, a source to try might be to contact one of the Roman reenactment groups
Legio XIIII
Ermine Street Guard
Legio II Augusta
Brittania
The above are a few examples there are others.
Legio XIIII
Ermine Street Guard
Legio II Augusta
Brittania
The above are a few examples there are others.
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Mar 2008
- Posts
- 12,751
Quintus est in cubiculum
I'm pretty adept with GCSE Latin, heading for an A*, but that's about as close as I am to fluent.
What do you need to say?