purdyamos Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I think knowing latin would make gardening come alive. The latin names can seem opaque and difficult to remember, but they're usually highly descriptive and sometimes poetic. I love finding out what the terms mean but can never remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Purdy you are right on there. Latin isn't dead... as StarSparkle has said it opens up a whole new world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltheof Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 If you'd also had "I David Cassidy"[1], we could be the same person! Cerberus was the dog. There was Timmy in the Famous Five, but I don't remember a Bruno. Sorry. Like HappyHippy, I was fortunate to have a good teacher. She was fortunate to have the good materials(CLP above) to work with - it was a really nicely structured course. And, coincidentally, she was Greek. You just reminded me of a favourite quote "Television? The word is half Greek, half Latin. No good can come of it." - CP Scott So, to the topic... Oh, I haven't actually got a point to add that hasn't already been made. What's the Latin word for that? [1] Nullum punctum habeo ad id quod iam dictum est addendum That's the Latin for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltheof Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Seriously, I never regretted learning Latin (apart from the fact that it was essential for the studies in medieval literature and history that I did). I too had an excellent teacher and even got to the stage of composing Latin hexameters. Since so much of English vocabulary is taken from Latin, it really is a help, and it made learning the Romance languages easier. We neglect the ancient legacy of rome at our peril. Lingua Latina non mortua est, immo vivit cum vigore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzyjj Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 And suddenly, you realise you can understand a lot of obscure words in English as well - it's obvious they come from a Latin root. It expands your English vocabulary tremendously. Now if I managed to learn a bit of Greek, the rest of the English language would be opened up to me Except for all the German parts! English is a Germanic language in origin as the Angles and Saxons weren't exactly Mediterranean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angle20 Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Except for all the German parts! English is a Germanic language in origin as the Angles and Saxons weren't exactly Mediterranean. Some of the more basic everyday words in English are of Germanic origin but an awful lot of the bigger and fancier words are of Latin or Greek origin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdyamos Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Some of the more basic everyday words in English are of Germanic origin but an awful lot of the bigger and fancier words are of Latin or Greek origin. Which is still-continuing legacy of the influence of the Norman overlords. I think it's fascinating that the higher and lower registers of *posh* and *common* vocabulary still exists today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarSparkle Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Which is still-continuing legacy of the influence of the Norman overlords. I think it's fascinating that the higher and lower registers of *posh* and *common* vocabulary still exists today. It's utterly fascinating, isn't it? It's amazing what you can learn about a society or a people's psyche from their language. I must admit, I'd not thought about the roots of English being so divided along class lines until I read Angle20's post. Makes you see the language in a whole new light. Thanks, Angle20, by the way, for such an interesting post Great stuff StarSparkle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzyjj Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 It's utterly fascinating, isn't it? It's amazing what you can learn about a society or a people's psyche from their language.As language is directly influenced by cultural mores/events/circumstances etc, that is to be expected. I must admit, I'd not thought about the roots of English being so divided along class lines until I read Angle20's post. Makes you see the language in a whole new light. Note sure what Angle20 wrote, but language is also directly linked to genetics.When the global spread of languages has been mapped against genetic diversity, there is an extremely good correlation. Which in fact is again exactly what one would expect. Class is just a finer distinction of genetic content within a society. A result of the Norman rule was that French was the language of the court, and some of the very posh people now tended to be French. As the plebians didn't speak French, class would affect language very directly in the 12/13th centuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzyjj Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Which is still-continuing legacy of the influence of the Norman overlords. I think it's fascinating that the higher and lower registers of *posh* and *common* vocabulary still exists today. Something that is also interesting that 'thou' as used in say older translations of the Bible is seen as 'posh', yet the reality is that 'you' was the posh/polite form. Just like German still does, English used to have formal and informal modes. The formal, used to one's social superiors and strangers to whom one wished to be polite was 'You'. The informal, used to one's intimates or social inferiors was 'thou'. If you note 'thou' is used by God when speaking to the inferior humans. 'Thou shalt...etc' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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