# Use of Latin in Posts (Note from What Exit) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 18, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249 "2021-02-18T19:24:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/1 "2021-02-18T19:24:12Z")
I realize this isn’t a big deal at all and that board rules are purposely vague to allow for flexibility in rulings, and most aren’t even written down to allow for differences in how individual Fora are Modded. So, even as I write this I’m left feeling the effort to copy links is a waste of even my time… [https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-has-died/933140/49?u=retrovertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-has-died/933140/49) In the Rush Limbaugh pit thread Mod What Exit gives a Note the use of foreign language requires a translation. However, it seems that Latin has never been treated this way before and even in an earlier thread about the use of foreign languages in threads Latin used by Mods was not translated. > [@Rush Limbaugh, you are dead to us](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-you-are-dead-to-us/933143/127): > > Modnote: Do not post in non-English without translations. I sure many of us recognize the Latin but post in English. Also it isn’t a very clever dig at almost everyone in this thread. You’re being a jerk. Do not repeat. \*This is just a guidance, not a warning. \* Again not a big deal, just was wondering if there was a change in the rules. ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/2 "2021-02-18T19:28:47Z")
I also need to figure out how link all cool like the rest of you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/3 "2021-02-18T19:35:39Z")
To the best of my knowledge, there was always a rule against posting in a foreign language without translation. I’m not even sure when I picked up on that, but lets say by 2006? What would have taken it beyond a note was my mistake in interpreting what he wrote. Doing the translation in my head based on Latin classes I took over 35 year ago, I missed the joke he was making and thought he was chiding most of the posters in the thread for speaking ill of the dead. **raventhief** and then **kaylasdad99** made me realize I was mistaken and I apologized. I stand by the translation is required (unless is it a really common phrase like E Pluribus Unum) I don’t think there was any rule change in invoking this. I could be wrong again. ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/4 "2021-02-18T19:43:17Z")
The rule has definitely been around for a long time (and I’m not arguing against the rule), just that Latin it has always seemed was grandfathered into how it was enforced. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/5 "2021-02-18T19:47:41Z")
That might be true. I might not have picked up on that part. I’ll wait to hear from other mods or see something else on it. * * * As to posting links and having them resolve: I took your link above and removed the User parameter and it works fine. So make sure your link doesn’t include _?u=retrovertigo_ and it should resolve. _ **example:** _ [https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-has-died/933140/49](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-has-died/933140/49) ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/6 "2021-02-18T20:02:49Z")
Fantastic. Thanks for the help. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/7 "2021-02-18T20:04:43Z")
I think it would be a courtesy to others if you post something that’s not in English, that you also provide an English translation. For example, about the only bit of Latin that I know is “Me transmitte sursum, Caledonis.” (Literally, “Send me above, Scotsman.” Or, colloquially, “Beam me up, Scotty.”) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/8 "2021-02-18T20:05:01Z")
The rule against using foreign languages in posts is not new. I found [this official FAQs post from 2006](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faq-rules-for-posting-at-the-straight-dope-message-boards/369395/8?) that codifies it. I seem to recall the rule is actually a couple of years older than that. There is an exception for “foreign words or phrases that have come into English.” That arguably could apply to _De mortuis nil nisi bonum_, which can be found in many English dictionaries including [the Merriam-Webster dictionaries.](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/de%20mortuis%20nil%20nisi%20bonum). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/9 "2021-02-18T20:17:11Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > The rule against using foreign languages in posts is not new. I found [this official FAQs post from 2006](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faq-rules-for-posting-at-the-straight-dope-message-boards/369395/8?) that codifies it. I seem to recall the rule is actually a couple of years older than that. There is an exception for “foreign words or phrases that have come into English.” That arguably could apply to _De mortuis nil nisi bonum_ , which can be found in many English dictionaries including [the Merriam-Webster dictionaries.](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/de%20mortuis%20nil%20nisi%20bonum). Thanks for finding that. I also recalled there was a rule but it doesn’t seem to have made it into the current rules and FAQs. I did not recall there was any exception for Latin. As a courtesy, any extensive quote in a foreign language should be translated. Of course, we don’t expect people to translate well known phrases like _Hasta la vista, baby_ or _C’est la vie._ ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/10 "2021-02-18T20:17:17Z")
How about when you’re discussing fine points of grammar in extracts in a foreign language? Like in this thread, where the examples and some of the answers were in French: > [@French grammar question: use of articles in French version of the Constitution Act, 1867](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-grammar-question-use-of-articles-in-french-version-of-the-constitution-act-1867/932029/32): > > Judges here will do their best to interpret the English and French versions as having a common meaning, but if there is a clear difference between them, then the rule of « common ground » usually applies: the common content of the two versions is the preferred interpretation, and if one version has a broader scope than the other, the broader part is ignored. Should we have been translating each phrase or passage from French? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/11 "2021-02-18T20:25:52Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > How about when you’re discussing fine points of grammar in extracts in a foreign language? I think that would be an exception. Anyone participating in such a thread is likely to know the language. Basically, just use common sense. Don’t assume anyone will understand your joke in a foreign language. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/12 "2021-02-18T21:03:46Z")
What **Colibri** said. I had a post, it was more convoluted and then saw his. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/13 "2021-02-19T03:43:24Z")
What? I sometimes throw Yiddish words into posts without realizing it. I’ve never been called on it, although I believe on maybe two occasions someone has asked me what something meant. I’m not going to get banned for this, am I? I don’t do it on purpose; it’s the way I talk. If I’m face-to-face with someone I know is a gentile, I suspect I don’t do it, although I can’t really say. I think I do it more here then in general conversation, but less than in conversation with someone I know for sure is Jewish. Please don’t ban me. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/14 "2021-02-19T04:16:04Z")
Don’t get all _farklemt._ If we banned you for using an odd foreign word here and there it would be the first time in the history of the boards.😉 There’s no problem with an occasional word like that, but if uncommon you should provide the meaning. One reason we want people to post in English is that we don’t want people using foreign words that may not be generally understood to insult other posters. Mods need to be able to understand what people are saying to one another. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/15 "2021-02-19T07:57:20Z")
Just wanted to chime in and say I’d prefer that, when it’s a joke, you put the translation in one of the spoiler tags. That seems the best compromise between not spoiling the joke but also following the rules. Other than that, I get why even Latin might need translating if it’s not those phrases everyone knows. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/16 "2021-02-19T08:04:06Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > it’s not those phrases everyone knows. Graecum est; non legitur. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/17 "2021-02-19T10:38:53Z")
Like the one above. I don’t know it. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/18 "2021-02-19T11:35:01Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > > [@BigT](#): > > > > it’s not those phrases everyone knows. > > Graecum est; non legitur. > [@cochrane](#): > > Like the one above. I don’t know it. Which is why they say > …si quis minorem gloriae fructum putat ex Graecis versibus percipi quam ex Latinis, vehementer errat: propterea quod Graeca leguntur in omnibus fere gentibus, Latina suis finibus, exiguis sane, continentur. Tell that to the Latin snobs 😃 (Translation: Cicero says, don’t write in Latin.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/19 "2021-02-19T12:27:57Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I don’t know it. That’s actually the translation: It’s Greek, I don’t read it. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249/20 "2021-02-19T13:08:03Z")
Well, not quite; it says it cannot be read, i.e., _no one_ can read it. Which directly contradicts C’s exhortation that nigh _everybody_ can read it! Mutandis mutatis as it relates to our case, but ironic and food for thought considering the context. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-latin-in-posts-note-from-what-exit/933249.md?page=2)