20.02.24: Asking and saying what things are; articles

Est is part of the verb esse (to be), which we shall look at in greater detail in a later post, and it can have different meanings:

[1] simply ‘is’ as in English

[2] ‘she / he / it is’ i.e. the words ‘he’, ‘she’ and ‘it’ are not explicitly stated

[3] ‘there is’: when est is at the beginning of the sentence, it usually means ‘there is’.

Context will tell you how est is best translated and sometimes different translations are equally acceptable.

Quid est? What is it?

Cāseus est. It's cheese.

Olīva est. It's an olive.

Mālum est. It's an apple.

articles

Articles is the term used in grammar for the words ‘the’ and ‘a’; in English we have the definite article: the book, the apple, and the indefinite article: a book, an apple. In Latin there is no definite or indefinite article. Therefore, fluvius can mean ‘river’, ‘a river’ or ‘the river’ depending on context. The lack of articles never caused the Romans any confusion, nor indeed does it confuse modern-day Russians, whose language also has no articles.

Look at the third image numbered 1-9 and, using est, practise saying what these things are.

19.02.24: identifying genders

19.02.24: look again at the notes in the previous post and work out the genders of the nouns in the attached image; look at the ending and note whether they are masculine (Masc), feminine (Fem) or neuter (Neut).

19.02.24: Gender

Latin nouns are grouped according to gender: masculine, feminine, neuter. In English, people that are male would be regarded as masculine, people that are female as feminine, and all other nouns as neuter. This is not the same as Latin. While it is true that male and female human beings and animals are often masculine and feminine in gender respectively e.g. servus (slave), medicus (doctor), lupus (wolf) are masculine, and puella (girl), fīlia (daughter), vacca (cow) are feminine, this is not a consistent rule. Furthermore, all inanimate objects and abstract ideas can be masculine or feminine or neuter; if you have studied French or German, you will already be familiar with this concept. It is vital to know the genders of nouns because other words such as adjectives and pronouns will change depending on the gender of the noun. In Latin, however, the ending of the noun will often tell you the gender. Here, we focus on three endings:

masculine: -US e.g. hortUS (garden)

feminine: -A e.g. viA (street)

neuter: -UM e.g. oppidUM (town)

People (animate nouns) are, as you would expect, either masculine or feminine in gender:

MASCULINE

• amīcus: friend (m)
• avus: grandfather
• deus: god
• dominus: master
• fīlius: son
• servus: slave
• discipulus: pupil (m)
• grammaticus: teacher (of grammar)
• marītus: husband
• medicus: doctor
• sagittārius: archer

FEMININE

• amīca: friend (f)
• āvia: grandmother
• dea: goddess
• domina: mistress
• fīlia: daughter
• ancilla: maidservant
• discipula: pupil (f)
• magistra: teacher (f)
• fēmina: woman
• puella: girl
• rēgīna: queen

Masculine nouns ending in -a

A small group of nouns ending in -a, which refer to what were considered traditionally male occupations, are masculine.

• agricola: farmer
• nauta: sailor
• poeta: poet
• animals

The gender of some nouns referring to animals also distinguish between whether the animal is naturally male or female:

MASCULINE

• taurus: bull
• equus: horse
• gallus: rooster
• lupus: wolf
• porcus: pig

FEMININE

• vacca: cow
• equa: mare
• gallina: hen
• lupa: she-wolf
• porca: sow

However, many nouns referring to animals are either grammatically masculine or feminine regardless of whether the animal itself is male or female e.g. pullus (chicken).

Inanimate objects

But all inanimate objects and abstract ideas (e.g. ‘happiness’) can be any gender:

• ānulus (masculine): ring
• hortus (masculine): garden
• taberna (feminine): shop
• via (feminine): street
• īra (feminine): anger
• laetitia (feminine): happiness
• templum (neuter): temple
• poculum (neuter): wine cup
• odium (neuter): hatred

19.02.24: Asking for the meanings of words

Quōmodo dīcitur ‘village’ Latīnē? What’s the Latin for `village’?

Quōmodo dīcitur ‘vicus’ Anglicē? What’s the English for `vicus’?

Quōmodo dīcitur ... Anglicē / Latīnē? Literally: In what way / how is ... said in English / Latin?

Revise some of the vocabulary introduced in earlier posts:

1. Quōmodo dīcitur ‘stilus’ Anglicē?

2. Quōmodo dīcitur ‘sword’ Latīnē?

3. Quōmodo dīcitur ‘fluvius’ Anglicē?

4. Quōmodo dīcitur ‘plaustrum’ Anglicē?

5. Quōmodo dīcitur ‘money’ Latīnē?

6. Quōmodo dīcitur ‘hut’ Latīnē?

19.02.24: vocabulary notes

amphitheātrum

The Romans loved going to the games (lūdī) which comprised hand-to-hand combat between the gladiators (gladiātōrēs), or hunters (vēnātōrēs) fighting wild animals in hunting shows (vēnātiōnēs ).

These events took place in large stadiums, the most famous of which is the Colosseum in Rome although, during the time of the Ancient Romans, the Colosseum was known as the Amphitheatrum Flavium, named after the dynasty of Emperors (Flavius) which oversaw its construction. Stadiums, albeit of a smaller scale, were built throughout the Empire.

oppidum

Generally translated as ‘town’, ‘oppidum’ refers to a main settlement in any administrative centre of Ancient Rome. The Romans used the term for settlements smaller than a city (urbs) although Roman cities themselves were by no means as large as modern-day equivalents. The oppidum was often fortified, and the style would vary depending on where in the Roman Empire it had been constructed. The image above is a reconstruction of an oppidum in Gaul.

tabula; stilus

Romans did not have books in the way we manufacture them. They would write on a papyrus scroll (volumen) or, for writing that was not designed to be preserved, on a tabula, a wax tablet. When writing on a tabula a thin piece of wood or metal called a stilus which was pointed at one end, was used to scratch the letters into the wax.

vicus

Vicus refers to either a district in a town, a neighbourhood, or a village, the smallest administrative unit of a Roman provincial town.

via

The Romans were masters of road construction, one of the most well-known routes being the Via Appia (the Appian Way) which connected Rome to the major port of Brundisium (modern-day Brindisi) in SE Italy. The image below shows the Roman pillar marking the end of the Appian Way in Brundisium.

vīlla

A ‘villa’ was a large and sprawling house, often with surrounding arable land, which was in the countryside or just outside the city. Many wealthy Romans owned a villa in addition to their accommodation in the city and was a place to escape from the noise and bustle of urban life.

vīnum

The wine in the glass bottle in the image below may not look all that tempting, but it is the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world! It is dated from between 325 and 350 CE and was found in the tomb of a Roman nobleman. Wine was stored in a large vessel (amphora) with a pointed bottom to allow for transportation by ship. Had our nobleman lived long enough to enjoy his wine, he would have poured it into a drinking-cup (poculum).

19.02.24: Pointing things out: ecce!

We will begin practising some vocabulary simply by pointing out objects, and all that is required is ecce which means see! look! behold! It is used to draw somebody’s attention to an object or a person.

Ecce fenestra. Literally, ‘look, a window’ but other translations will work equally well that simply indicate the existence of a person or an object.

Ecce Mārcus. There’s Marcus!

Ecce hortus. Look, a garden!

Look at the images below. How, using ecce, would you draw somebody's attention to them?

Note that the words are divided into three groups: any idea why?

• fluvius: river
• gladius: sword
• hortus: garden
• stilus: 'stylus'; instrument used to inscribe letters on a wax tablet
• vīcus: street; village; neighbourhood

____________________

• cāsa: hut
• pecūnia: money
• tabula: wax tablet (used for writing)
• via: street
• vīlla: country house; estate

____________________

• amphitheātrum: amphitheatre
• oppidum: town
• plaustrum: wagon
• pōculum: cup for drinking wine
• vīnum: wine

19.02.04: Notes on the pronunciation of Latin [4] stressed syllables

19.02.04: Notes on the pronunciation of Latin [4] stressed syllables

When a syllable is stressed, it is pronounced a little more strongly than the other syllables in the word. Consider the following English words that have been divided into syllables, the stressed syllable indicated in block capitals:

[1] PHO-to-graph [stress on first syllable]

[2] pho-TO-grapher [stress on second syllable]

[3] pho-to-GRA-phic [stress on third syllable]

Were we to pronounce the above words with a stress on the wrong syllable, it would sound odd, although it would still be comprehensible

The same applies to Latin. However, the rules for stressed syllables in Latin are far less random than they are in English.

Latin has words of 1 syllable, 2 syllables and more than 2 syllables.

[1] One syllable words are not an issue since the stress can only be on that syllable:

ab (from; away from)

at (but)

dē (down from)

et (and)

ex (out of)

quis (who)

in (in; on)

ōs (mouth)

nōn (not)

cum (when)

tū (you sg.)

[2] No Latin word is stressed on the final syllable. Therefore, words of 2 syllables are always stressed on the first syllable:

AT-que (and)

AR-bor (tree)

AE-tās (age): the diphthong /ae/ is a single sound)

SAE-pe (often)

CAE-lum (sky)

CĒ-na (dinner)

E-quus (horse) remember that /qu/ is pronounced /kw/ i.e. the first /u/ is not a vowel)

TEM-plum (temple)

DO-mus (house)

FOE-dus (treaty): again, the diphthong /oe/ is regarded as a single sound

IN-ter (between)

Ī-ra (anger)

UL-trā (beyond)

UM-bra (shade)

When a Latin word comprises more than 2 syllables, you need to look at the PENULTIMATE (second last) syllable:

[i] (a) If the penultimate syllable has a long vowel, then the stress is on that vowel:

ha-BĒ-re (to have)

au-DĪ-re (to hear)

na-vi-GĀ-re (to sail)

vul-ne-RĀ-tus (wounded)

ae-di-fi-CĀ-tus (built)

(b) The penultimate syllable is also considered long if it has:

vowel + two consonants (including double consonants):

lī-BER-tus (freedman; a former slave)

fun-dā-MEN-tum (foundation)

pu-EL-la (girl)

vowel + /x/ [ks]: di-LEX-it (s/he loved)

[ii] If the penultimate syllable has a short vowel, then the stress goes back one step to the ANTEPENULTIMATE (third last) syllable:

DĪ-cĕ-re (to say): the symbol above the /e/ is not used in Latin but is here to show that the penultimate vowel is short

FĒ-mĭ-na (woman)

SA-cĕr-dōs (priest; priestess)

SI-mĭ-lis (similar)

PRAE-mĭ-um (reward)

COR-nŭ-a (horns)

AU-rĕ-us (made of gold): the diphthong /au/ is a single sound

sen-TEN-tĭ-a (opinion)

in-ter-FIC-ĭ-ō (I kill)

19.02.24: Addressing people directly

Look at these extracts from the dialogue in the earlier post and note the difference in the spelling of Mārcus and Quīntus:

[i] Nōmen mihi est Mārcus. Nōmen mihi est Quīntus.

[ii] Valē, Mārce! Cūrā ut valeās, Quīnte!

When males whose names end in -us, and there are many of them, are addressed directly, in the same way we would say ‘Hello, John!’, ‘See you later, David!’ the ending of their names changes from -us to -e:

• Mārcus > Salvē, Marce!
• Quīntus > Valē, Quīnte!

Male names ending in -ius, for example, Iūlius, remove the -ius and add -ī:

• Cūrā ut valeās, Iulī!

The grammatical term for this is the vocative case, and we will look at what the term ‘case’ means in a later post, but it does not occur with any male names that do not end in –(i)us and does not occur with any female names at all: Nōmen mihi est Iūlia > Salvē, Iūlia (no change).

It is also common to see the single letter word ō (oh) before the name as an indicator that the person is being addressed directly:

Salvē, ō Mārce! An English equivalent would be ‘Hi there, Mark!”

In Shakespeare's play 'Julius Caesar', the titular character, as he receives a final stab from Brutus, exclaims "Et tu, Brute?" (Even you, Brutus?) The chances that Caesar actually said that are slim, but it's a good way of remembering the vocative case.

19.02.24: Roman names

Many Romans, especially those from more distinguished families, had three names:

1. GAIVS: praenōmen

2. IVLIVS: nōmen

3. CAESAR: cognōmen

1. PRAENŌMEN: the equivalent of our first name

2. NŌMEN: The name of the gens: family or clan i.e. similar to our surnames

3. COGNŌMEN: This was originally a nickname, which could distinguish different individuals and branches of leading families. It could refer to a military honour, for example Gnaeus Pompeus Magnus (Pompey the Great), or frequently to some physical characteristic of the individual: Rufus (red-haired). Scrawled on a wall in Pompeii is a little Roman cartoon making fun of a man called Rufus: RUFUS EST (see image below).

4. The names of women in Rome did not follow the same pattern as for men’s names: they were usually known by their family name (nōmen) e.g. Cornelia is from the gens Cornelia and, if there were more than one daughter, words such as maior (elder), minor (younger), secunda (second) or tertia (third) may be added to indicate birth order.

Most Roman first names – praenōmina - if referring to males, end in –(i)us, and most female names end in -a. Many have both male and female equivalents, for example Octāvius / Octāvia, and Iūlius / Iūlia. Here are some further examples of Roman praenomina:

Male:

• Flavius
• Lucius
• Marcus
• Publius
• Quintus
• Sextus

Female

• Cornelia
• Flavia
• Fulvia
• Lepida
• Livia
• Messalina

19.02.24: Asking somebody their name, and giving your own

Quid est nōmen tibi? Nōmen mihi est Mārcus.

What’s your name? My name is Marcus.

1.The question ‘Quid est nōmen tibi?’ literally means ‘What is the name you have?’ or ‘What is the name to you?’ And the answer ‘Nōmen mihi est ...’ literally means ‘The name to me is ...’ or ‘I have the name ...’; mihi est and tibi est are ways in Latin of expressing ‘I have’ and ‘you have’ but, for the moment, simply learn the phrases without concerning yourself about the grammar.

2. You may also see ‘Quod nōmen tibi est?’, but it means the same although the literal translation is a little different.

3. From the start of your study of Latin, you need to become accustomed to the order of words. Owing to the endings of nouns, adjectives, pronouns and verbs, Latin word order is far more flexible than English. Therefore, you will see variations of the same phrase in terms of word order, for example:

Quid nōmen tibi est?, or Quid est tibi nōmen?

> Mihi nōmen est Quīntus, or Nōmen mihi Quīntus est, or Nōmen mihi est Quīntus.

4. As in any language, Latin can express the same idea in different ways and you will also come across: [i] 'Quid est nōmen tuum?' and [ii] 'Nōmen meum est ...' which translate exactly as [i] 'What is your name?' and [ii] 'My name is ...'

Remember not to try to acquire too much information at the same time; learn one of the expressions and recognise alternatives.

19.02.24: Roman handwriting

This is an example of Roman handwriting from 1st century Pompeii; you are not expected to be able to read it, but, if you look closely, you will see that it is written exclusively in capital letters. Latin did not have small letters, nor did it have punctuation marks. However, most courses – including this one – will follow the conventional rules of a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence and with proper nouns. Similarly, modern punctuation is used.

The first word of the second line shows the letter V standing for a vowel: AVDIAT; in modern editing, this is now written as audiat.

19.02.04: Notes on the pronunciation of Latin [3] consonants

19.02.04: Notes on the pronunciation of Latin [3] consonants

The pronunciation of Latin consonants is very similar to English, with only a few differences to note.

Sounds that are the same as in English:

b ¦ bibo (I drink)

d ¦ domus (house)

f ¦ forum (market place)

h ¦ pronounced softly: hīc (here)

k ¦ (rare; pronounced the same way as C [see below]: Kalendae (the calends, the first day of the month)

l ¦ liber (book)

m ¦ manus (hand)

p ¦ poculum (wine cup)

r ¦ trilled as in Spanish ‘perro’ or in Scots pronunciation of /r/: rosa (rose)

s ¦ always as /s/, never as /z/: spēs (hope)

t ¦ always as /t/, never as /sh/ as in Engl. nation: nātiō [/ˈnaː.Ti.oː/] (birth; nation)

x ¦ /ks/: ex (out of)

***

Points to note:

[1] c ¦ /c/ in Classical Latin is always pronounced as a hard c [= /k/]: circus [/ˈkir.kus] (racecourse); over the centuries the pronunciation changed which is evident in Ecclesiastical / Mediaeval Latin, but for the purposes of studying CL, /c/ = /k/

[2] g ¦ always pronounced as a hard /g/ as in good, never as in Engl. ‘age’: gladius (sword)

[3] m ¦ is essentially the same as in English. However, after a vowel at the end of a word, it was pronounced as a nasal sound as in French main or bain. But this is only for information because most students of Latin simply pronounce the /m/ without a nasal sound.

[4] q ¦ is always followed by /u/, the pronunciation being /kw/: quid? (what?)

[5] z ¦ appears only in Greek loanwords as a rendering of zeta (ζ); pronounced like English z or dz

The following needs careful study:

[6] i ¦ this letter has a double function [i] as a vowel (see previous post) and [ii] equivalent to English /y/ before another vowel e.g. Iūlius [/ˈi̯uː.li.us/] Caesar (Julius Caesar); note: some Latin textbooks differentiate between [i] /i/ as a vowel and [ii] /i/ as /y/ by using /j/ for the latter, but that was not the practice in CL. Both /i/ and /y/ were written as /i/: Iūlius [YoolIoos]; there was no letter /j/ in CL, nor was there a sound equivalent to Engl. /j/ as in ‘jump’

[7] u / v: the original Latin alphabet had no separate letter U which is why in inscriptions you will only see V e.g. GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR (Gaius Iulius Caesar). However, there was a difference in pronunciation: sometimes the letter V represented /w/, and sometimes /u/, and those pronunciations stayed distinct in the Romance languages derived from Latin, leading to the difference between modern V and U. Therefore, modern editors of, for example, dictionaries, course books and editions of the Ancient Roman authors often show this distinction by writing the consonant sound /w/ as V, and the vowel sound as U. Therefore, if you are reading a modern edition of a CL work and you see /v/ it is pronounced as a /w/. The pronunciation of Latin /v/ as Modern English /v/ is only a convention of Ecclesiastical Latin (the Latin of the church).

19.02.24: notes on the pronunciation of Latin [2] diphthongs

A diphthong is two vowels that are pronounced together as one sound e.g. English bOY, hOW; in Latin there are six diphthongs:

[1] ae ¦ like i in high or y in cry: caelum (sky)

[2] au ¦ like ow in how: nauta (sailor)

[3] ei ¦ like ey in hey: deinde (then)

[4] eu ¦ Latin /e/ and /u/ said rapidly together: seu (or)

[5] oe ¦ like oy in boy: foedus (treaty)

[6] ui ¦ Latin /u/ and /i/ said quickly (rather like English gooey; Spanish muy): cui (to whom)

19.02.24: notes on the pronunciation of Latin [1] vowels

How a language was pronounced by diverse ethnicities of different levels of education throughout a massive empire 2000 years ago cannot be determined with 100% certainty. Even the English language today in the UK can be pronounced differently in different towns let alone worldwide. However, there is a standard Classical Latin pronunciation which is used when learning the language.

Latin has five vowels: /a/ /e/ /i/ /o/ /u/ and one borrowed vowel /y/; the /y/, similar to German ü or French 'tu', was not a sound native to Latin speakers and initially used in the spelling of foreign words.

These vowels can be either short or long; in Latin text books the long vowels are marked by a line above them which is known as a macron: ā ē ī ō ū

The first point to note is that the macron sign was not used in Classical Latin writing; it is a feature added to assist in correct pronunciation, and you should not be too concerned at the outset about differentiating between the long and short vowels; that will come with practice by saying the words aloud.

[1] long Ā ¦ like a in father: māter (mother)

[2] short A ¦ like u in cup, but: casa (cottage)

[3] long Ē ¦ like a in save: cēna (dinner)

[4] short E ¦ like e in bed: penna (feather)

[5] long Ī ¦ like ee in bee: : sīdus (star)

[6] short I ¦ like i in pig: vēritās (truth)

[7] long Ō ¦ like o in drove: nōn (not)

[8] short O ¦ like o in pot: collis (hill)

[9] long Ū ¦ like oo in food: mūs (mouse)

[10] short U ¦ like u in put: portus (harbour)

[11] long Ȳ ¦ like u in French tu or German ü: Dionȳsus (name: Dionysus)

[12] short Y ¦ same as long ȳ, just slightly shorter: Aegyptus (Egypt)

19.02.24: Greeting people, asking how they are and saying how you feel

Latin, like other languages, can have different ways of expressing the same idea. When learning, do not try to memorise everything at once; focus on one way of saying what you want to say and be able to recognise the others. That way, you will be able to express yourself quickly and not have to grapple with too much information at the same time.

Saying hello:

[i] salvē (hello); [ii] salvus sīs / salva sīs

Both are terms of greeting or welcome but note that the second expression, literally meaning 'may you be well', changes depending on whether you are talking to somebody male [salvus sīs] or female [salva sīs].

Asking how somebody is feeling:

[i] Quid agis? [ii] Ut valēs? [iii] Ut tē habēs? [iv] Valēsne?

All of these expressions can be used to express ‘how are you?’; their actual translations differ a little from one another, but there is no need to go into detail now.

When talking to more than one person:

salvēte: hello

Quid agitis?: How are you? How are you (all) doing?

Answering the question:

Depending on how you feel, you can answer in different ways:

😊😊 optimē: great

😊😊 rēctē bene: very well

😊 bene mihi est; bene mē habeō; valeō: I’m well

😊😐 satis bene: ok (well enough)

😐 nōn / haud male: not bad

🙁 male: badly

🙁🙁 pessimē: very badly

Saying thank you:

[i] grātiās [ii] grātiās tibi [iii] grātiās tibi agō

All three expressions mean ‘thank you’. If you know Spanish or Italian, both of which are derived from Latin, you will recognise the word for ‘thanks’: gracias (Spanish) and grazie (Italian).

Saying good-bye:

👋 valē! Good-bye (talking to one person); salvus / salva sīs referred to above as a way of greeting can also be used to say good-bye

[i] tē cūrā! [ii] cūrā ut valeās! Take care of yourself.

👋 valēte! Good-bye (talking to more than one person)

19.02.24: dialogues

Below are two short dialogues introducing various expressions used when greeting people, asking their names, asking how people are, and saying good-bye. The translations are after the Latin, but try to work out what they're saying before you check the meaning. 

Dialogue #1

Marcus : Salvē!

Flavia: Salvē!

Marcus: Quid agis?

Flavia: Bene mihi est, grātiās tibi agō. Et tū? Valēsne?

Marcus: Nōn male valeō, grātiās. Quid est nōmen tibi?

Flavia: Nōmen mihi est Flāvia. Et tū? Quid est nōmen tibi?

Marcus: Nōmen mihi est Mārcus.

Flavia: Valē, Mārce!

Marcus: Valē, Flāvia!

Dialogue #2

Iulia: Salvus sīs!

Quintus: Salva sīs! Ut valēs?

Iulia: Valeō, grātiās. Et tū? Ut tē habēs?

Quintus: Satis bene mē habeō.

Iulia: Nōmen mihi est Iūlia. Et tū? Quid est nōmen tibi?

Quintus: Nōmen mihi est Quīntus.

Iulia: Cūrā ut valeās, Quīnte!

Quintus: Tē cūrā, Iūlia!

____________________

Dialogue #1

Marcus: Hello!

Flavia: Hello!

Marcus: How are you?

Flavia: I’m fine, thank you. And you? Are you well?

Marcus: I’m not bad, thanks. What’s your name?

Flavia: My name’s Flavia. And you? What’s your name?

Marcus: My name is Marcus.

Flavia: Bye, Marcus!

Marcus: Good-bye, Flavia!

____________________

Dialogue #2

Iulia: Good day to you. (literally: may you be well)

Quintus: Hello! How are you?

Iulia: I’m well, thanks. And you? How are you?

Quintus: I’m quite well.

Iulia: My name is Julia. And you? What’s your name?

Quintus: My name is Quintus.

Iulia: Take care, Quintus!

Quintus: Take care, Julia!

19.02.24: getting started

19.02.24

• Greeting people, asking how they are and saying how you feel
• Saying thank you and good-bye
• Asking people their names, and giving your own
• Roman names
• Spelling, capitalisation and punctuation
• Addressing people directly
• Gender of nouns
• Pronunciation and stress