Latin To Be Introduced At 40 State Secondaries In England

[naomi24]

//£4m scheme will form part of government effort to counter subject’s reputation as elitist//

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jul/31/latin-introduced-40-state-secondaries-england

A difficult one. I tend to think that teaching modern languages is more beneficial to the majority - but I would welcome teaching Latin selectively - which makes it elitist. No?

[Bazile]

Latin is about as useful as a bathtub without a plug

[pat2604]

Dominions!! 'So rude'

[jno]

a shower in other words, Bazile?

[pixie374]

I liked Virgil :-) and Horace, Catullus, Ovid etc... got a bit lost around Lucretia:-). But that school didn't teach it in quite such a rational way. I found parrot fashion so much easier!

[The Builder]

jno............. my old Latin master didn't include any nice swear-words sadly.
He did though often trot out his favourite Latin gag.

Definition of "Virgin"..............

vir .............. a man
gin ............. trap.

[The Builder]

Pixie............... Respect! ;o)

[pixie374]

Sadly, not :-)
//The word virgin comes via Old French virgine from the root form of Latin virgo, genitive virginis, meaning literally "maiden" or "virgin"—a sexually intact young woman or "sexually inexperienced woman". ... In the latter usage, virgin means uninitiated//

[pixie374]

Lol. No idea what for- but thanks!

[jno]

Pixie, the only one I remember is

O Sybilli, eres ergo
Fortibus es in ero
O nobili, demis trux
Ars quot sinum, causen dux

...by Ovid-19, I think

[The Builder]

Pixie... respect for liking Virgil. ;o)

And, as for the joke. You remember the old adage:
"Never let the truth get in the way of a good gag"

;o)))

[pixie374]

Not far off :-)

[pixie374]

Fair enough, builder :-)

[steg]

Agree with Vulcan @11.45 and 12.45. Being a forester, getting trees delivered with eg ‘唐松’ on the bag would be confusing
Having 1 standard language ie. Latin ‘ 唐松’ becomes : Larix kaempferi (I would know strait away, and so would any half decent forester of any nationality any where in the world that it’s at least some kind of larch (Japanese)

[jno]

Pixie, I looked up Partridge and he cites one possible origin as vir (man) +egere (to lack), so a woman lacking a man. He doesn't seem entirely convinced, though.

[The Builder]

Sorry to go off on one, but just one more...
jno.......... my favourite is the Alfred Godley poem "The Motor Bus".
It pokes fun at Latin declensions.

It begins:

What is this that roareth thus?
Can it be a Motor Bus?
Yes, the smell and hideous hum
Indicat Motorem Bum!
Implet in the Corn and High
Terror me Motoris Bi:
Bo Motori clamitabo
Ne Motore caedar a Bo—

It goes on. ;o)

[pixie374]

Quite possibly, jno....I only googled it myself!

[pixie374]

I mean- it isn't always right. I wasn't being sarcastic....

[tomus42]

I can't see the point of it. It used to be that you needed it to get into Oxbridge which is why it was taught at schools where pupils had aspirations of going there.

It seems like stupid gimmick these days. They should concentrate on modern languages.

[jno]

very good, The Builder

[andy-hughes]

vulcan - // Gromit, Common names of plants vary among languages and even among regions within a single country so everybody speaking English would still result in confusion. Using Latin eliminates that. //

All well and good, but given the choice between discussing the common names of plants with my waiter in a Spanish restaurant, and knowing enough Spanish to explain that I want my omelette without herbs and spices in it - I know which I'd rather be equipped with.