# Obviously, any Intelligent Person is Fluent in Latin **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 26, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619 "2009-09-26T03:28:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/81 "2009-09-27T21:56:56Z")
Nitpick: _alea_, not _aleia_. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/82 "2009-09-27T22:26:29Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Don’t worry. I’ll keep you company. 🙂 And here is why I wanted to be regarded as intelligent… 😛 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/83 "2009-09-27T22:28:31Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > And here is why I wanted to be regarded as intelligent… 😛 😉 You better get workin’ on that Latin then dearest because I’m gettin’ in the car now and am on my way to keep you company. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/84 "2009-09-28T00:01:08Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I don’t suppose you have an example or two at hand do you? Not immediately to hand, I’m afraid, but it’s that time of year where all my assingments are starting to come due so my “reading for pleasure” time is rather limited. ☹ If you’ve got a copy of _King Solomon’s Mines_ or _She_ (both by H. Rider Haggard) handy, have a read through them. They’re great stories and they’re done with a sort of colourful exoticism not generally found in “modern” adventure stories, if that makes sesne. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/85 "2009-09-28T01:17:35Z")
[QUOTE=constanze] I wonder if this is why the English translation of Asterix has no footnotes for the Latin quotes (Cesar’s Aleia iacta est and similar), while the German translation does? But they were done in the 1960s and 70s… [/quote] I’m thinking it depends on the actual translator. The Latin translation has _Caius Bonus_ rendered as _Gaius Bonus_, but it seems like that’s only a pun for English speakers reading Latin. But the actual English version has him as _Crismus Bonus_. The old Latin had _Cacafonix_ translated as _Cantorix_, which is not really a pun at all. The newer Latin editions seem to have him as _Armavirumquecantorix_, and I’m betting that its because they have a new translator who is more in the spirit of the word games. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/86 "2009-09-28T01:50:47Z")
I distinctly remember my copy of _Asterix the Gaul_ had it spelled Christmus Bonus. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/87 "2009-09-28T02:02:17Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > You better get workin’ on that Latin then dearest because I’m gettin’ in the car now and am on my way to keep you company. 🙂 That wouldn’t be a VW Bug by chance, would it?..\* \*there was a print ad with a VW Bug and a guy covered in bees a few years ago. I attempted to link to it but could not. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/88 "2009-09-28T02:15:43Z")
If this is the thread for Latin-reading Asterix fans, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/89 "2009-09-28T02:53:23Z")
I always wondered why Obelix wasn’t covered in scar tissue if he was dropped in a cauldron of magic potion as a baby. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/90 "2009-09-28T03:21:04Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I always wondered why Obelix wasn’t covered in scar tissue if he was dropped in a cauldron of magic potion as a baby. It had already boiled and cooled to lukewarm. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/91 "2009-09-28T03:42:10Z")
All my knowledge of Latin comes from [Looney Tunes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner#List_of_episodes). ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/92 "2009-09-28T15:28:18Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > That’s _Latium_. I know someone who was born there. The locals call it [Lazio](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazio) these days – it sounds like the name of the protagonist in a badly written love story. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/93 "2009-09-28T17:11:25Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > If this is the thread for Latin-reading Asterix fans, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. Speaking of which, the comic begins with the dateline “annō a.C.n.L: tota Gallia…” I am not familiar with this system for representing dates in Roman numerals. If it’s Roman, then surely it would be blah-blah a.u.c. I know the answer is supposed to be something in the neighborhood of 50 B.C., because that’s when the Gallic wars happened, but I don’t see how you get to that from the specifications given. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/94 "2009-09-28T17:30:46Z")
Latin? Who has time to learn it? I’m much too busy contradicting myself, getting punished - twice! - for other people’s crimes, giving away things and rights I don’t have, judging my own cases, and renting properties to myself to learn any Latin. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/95 "2009-09-28T17:36:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > Speaking of which, the comic begins with the dateline “annō a.C.n.L: tota Gallia…” I am not familiar with this system for representing dates in Roman numerals. If it’s Roman, then surely it would be blah-blah a.u.c. I know the answer is supposed to be something in the neighborhood of 50 B.C., because that’s when the Gallic wars happened, but I don’t see how you get to that from the specifications given. Some internet research indicates that it stands for Ante Christum Natum 50. Which is pretty ridiculous, but is a direct translation. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/96 "2009-09-28T17:44:31Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > Some internet research indicates that it stands for Ante Christum Natum 50. Which is pretty ridiculous, but is a direct translation. Doh! Here I was trying to figure out some way by which it meant you take 100 from 50. Mind you, that would have been a strange way to represent dates. “The year was X, where X = a + Yb, there was a fly walking south east on a tray carried by a waiter moving toward the caboose of a train heading due west.” ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/97 "2009-09-28T18:22:09Z")
The best thing I ever did to understand the English language was to study Latin. The other best thing I ever did to understand the English language was to study German. When I was studying Latin, my parents gave me a copy of [Winnie Ille Pu](http://www.amazon.com/Winnie-Ille-Pu-Latin-Milne/dp/014015339X). And I see now that I could get [Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis](http://www.amazon.com/Harrius-Potter-Philosophi-Lapis-Philosophers/dp/1582348251/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c) if I so desired. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/98 "2009-09-30T01:31:14Z")
[QUOTE=Clothahump] When I was studying Latin, my parents gave me a copy of Winnie Ille Pu. And I see now that I could get Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis if I so desired." [/quote] It kind of irritates me that the Latin Harry Potter is presented with uncapitalized sentences, because “the Romans didn’t capitalize the beginnings of sentences!” What the hell does that matter? We don’t try to imitate anything else about their chicken scratchings. The modern world has a new system with thoughtful typographical conveniences. Nūgae sunt! ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/99 "2009-09-30T01:33:50Z")
What was worse about it, in my opinion, was trying to figure out what the heck some of the words meant. There is no word for ‘motorcycle’ in Latin, much less ‘Fizzing Whizbees’. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619/100 "2009-09-30T02:11:47Z")
New words I don’t have a problem with. If you’re going to talk about modern things in Latin you need new vocabulary. And you have to use the words to see which ones will take and which will die. But you absolutely have to gloss any new vocabulary, or new uses of old vocabulary. The guy who translated Wind in the Willows could be bothered to identify his new vocabulary, as did the translator of Winnie the Pooh, and the translator of Treasure Island. And frankly, I think you should use marcons. With Macrons, the full vocalic catalog of Latin can be represented. Oh, but if I didn’t already know exactly where the macrons were supposed to go I guess I’m not qualified to read Harry Freaking Potter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obviously-any-intelligent-person-is-fluent-in-latin/511619.md?page=6)