We all know that (no longer as used) systen, BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini).
Here’s the question: Why is one in English and the other in Latin?
Of course, the whole problem is solved with BCE and CE, but that’s besides the point.
Interesting point.
Well, at a guess, I would suggest if you had BC in latin, it would be something like Ante Domini… or AD. A bit confusing.
We could have both in English, since Latin is a pretty dead language, so it would be Y.O.O.L. Pretty cool huh?
I guess we could be asking what they use in other countries.
Since anno Domini is Latin, it may have a Latin counterpart for BC in other languages.
Among other differences is that in formal usage AD comes before the date and BC after.
As an aside, while trying to research this I came across an interesting bit of Latin:
ad Calendas Graecas means “at the Greek Calends” -i.e., never, as the Greeks had no Calends. :eek:
While not correct, I often hear people refer to AD as “after death,” that is, “Before Christ” and then “After [his] Death.” Although logically that would leave a 33 year gap in our calendar… 
Never heard it quoted as such, but I see your point.
There would be those who then argue the point saying he is still alive… or even that he never died… damned gnostics!
Oh no… I feel so horribly stupid…
I have read all of Cecil’s columns, I must just have forgotten, so I didn’t check the archives…
goes to hide in her shame
I know that in German the letters a.D. only mean “Retired” (außer Dienst)
«Till, in place of the “Kalends of Greece,” men said,
“When Crook and his darlings come back with the head.”»
One other relevant factor which hasn’t been mentioned is that the full Anno Domini formula was usually used only in formal documents which were themselves written in Latin. Only scribes and lawyers bothered to specify precisely which dating system was being used. Such documents would almost never need to refer to a date before the birth of Christ. Until relatively modern times, earlier dates would have been refered to using other calendars.
The Before Christ formula was popularised by scholars who needed a standard dating system and who, in English-speaking countries, were writing in English. This was not a decisive factor, as the examples of other languages show, but it must be part of the explanation.
Do “regular” people actually ever use the “C.E.” and “B.C.E.” in the first place? I have heard of these abbreviations, but I have never heard anyone use them. I have seen them in books occasionally, but that’s it.
Why would ‘regular’ people need to use them? Few people need to use dates which are B.C./B.C.E. and dates which are A.D./C.E. can be used without specifying the dating system. Their purpose is literally academic.
In my experience, most of the people that use CE/BCE are Jewish, and object to using a dating system that centers around Christ. Of course, the CE/BCE dating system still centers around Christ, but if you don’t tell them I won’t 