18.05.24: where it all started …

 

18.05.24: derivations [2]

This post is less about Latin but more on how English developed and enhanced its vocabulary because of it.

[1] re: again │ redo; reread; rewrite: these three are good examples of the way in which English can apply Latin prefixes to Germanic words

Old English: dōn (do) + Latin: re- > redo

Old English: rǣdan (read) + Latin: re- > reread

Old English: wrītan (write) + Latin: re- > rewrite

Sometimes, English has both Latin and Germanic in the same word!

La: in- expressing opposite; Engl: -ly ( OE: -līċ) > indirectly

[2] ‘progress’: an example of displacement where an original Old English word had its meaning shifted or the word was completely lost.

OE: forþgang (progress); it still exists in ‘go forth’ but the Latin derived “progress” replaced that original Old English meaning.

[3] What is very frequent in English is the co-existence of two words, one from Old English and the other derived (Latin) i.e. came from Latin. Sometimes these words are synonyms and sometimes have a related meaning, but a meaning more specific than they were in the original Latin.

[i] What is a common feature is that ‘domestic’ and ‘agricultural’ vocabulary in Old English is enhanced by Latin derived words:

ox (and we still have the plural: oxen < OE oxan) │ Latin derivation: bovine (La: bōs; ox)

house < OE hūs │ Latin derivation: domestic (La: domus house)

ship < OE sċip │ Latin derivation: naval (La: nāvis; ship); English has ‘shipping lanes’ (< OE) and also ‘maritime laws’ (< Latin: mare; sea)

sail < OE seġl is an interesting one; here, you can see that it remains fixed as the act of sailing on a boat, but the Latin derived word navigate(La: nāvigāre; sail) is used in a more specialised way.

[ii] Sometimes we can’t be sure:

farm: could be from Mediaeval Latin ferma or possibly OE feorm(rent; supplies) but there’s no question as to where agriculture comes from!

[4] Is there much difference between these two?

friendly [< OE: frēondlīċ]; Modern German: freundlich │ amicable [< La: amīcus; friend]

But English often uses derived words to express abstract ideas or subtle differences in meaning:

brain [< OE bræġn]: He’s very brainy. │ He’s very cerebral rather than emotional. [La: cerebrum; brain]

I have a pet cat. [< OE catt] │ She has feline features. [< La: fēles; cat]; the word cattus, -ī [2/m] is Late / Mediaeval Latin – Old English already had it – and, rather like cats themselves, nobody knows where the word came from!

· dog [< OE docga] │ canine teeth [< La: canis; dog]

[5] There are a few Latin words hiding in Old English which came from the Angles and Saxons who occupied Britain after the Romans left. There is some debate as to whether the Germanic tribes took these words from the Romans.

wall │ Gmn: Wall; rampart │ La: vallum; wall, rampart

street │ Gmn: Straße; street │ La: (via) strāta; paved road

Some sites list others e.g. ‘cheese’ and ’wine’ but I’m not convinced they are of Latin origin despite their similarities i.e cheese │ Gmn: Käse │ La: cāseus, and wine │ Gmn: Wein │ La: vīnum. I should imagine that the Germanic tribes were eating cheese and drinking wine long before the Romans got involved!

Image #1: a small part of the Lord’s Prayer in Old English and Latin; there is nothing in the OE prayer that’s from Latin, not even ‘father’, or ‘name’ which look similar. Those two words, both in English and in Latin, come from the same Indo-European root, a reconstructed language that is the common ancestor of most of the European languages. English didn’t take those words from Latin; they were already in the languages of the Germanic tribes.

Image #2: Then the Normans come …

Image #3: … and English ends up like this 

18.05.24: review; verb conjugations

This little dialogue gives an insight into an aspect of Roman life. The wealthy and influential often had ‘clientēs’, people who visited them, paid their respects and were generally looking for some sort of favour or financial assistance.

The doorman is very cynical about the reasons why they want to visit his master!

____________________

Salūtātor (Forēs pulsat) Num dormiunt omnēs? Aperī iānuam!

Iānitor Quis tam vehementer forēs pulsat? Num ārdēmus?

Salūtātor Salūtātor sum. Licetne mihi patrōnum salūtāre?

Iānitor Cūr ita māne ades? Prīma modo est hōra. Audī! Gallus cantat.

Salūtātor Errās. Tardus est gallus, namque secunda iam est hōra. Ecce, aliī adsunt clientēs.

Clientēs Adestne patrōnus? Licetne nōbīs intrāre?

Iānitor Intrāte omnēs. Dominus adest, sed eum vidēre nōn vultis. Salūtant clientēs patrōnum, sed rē vērā petunt sportulās.

Clientēs Sportulās nōbīs dā, pessimē. Necesse est sine morā abīre.

(Iānitor clientēs per vestibulum in ātrium dūcit.)

Iānitor Ecce, in mēnsā sunt sportulae. Accipite atque abīte.

(Clientēs sportulās capiunt et abeunt.)

____________________

Vocabulary

foris, -s [3/f]: door

iānitor, iānitōris [3/n]: doorman

mora, -ae [1/f]: delay; sine morā: without delay

patrōnus, -ī [2/m]: the ‘patron’ i.e. the master of the house; this is the man who can do the favour

rē vērā (or: rēvērā) in actual fact

salūtātor, salūtātōris [3/m]: literally, one who greets from the verb salūtō, -āre [1]: greet, but here referring to somebody who has come to visit

sportula, -ae [2/f]: small basket but can also refer to ‘a gift’ i.e. a handout 

vehementer: violently; loudly

Note:

Licet: an impersonal verb i.e. literally it means it is allowed / permitted

Licetne mihi patrōnum salūtāre? │ Is it permitted for me to greet the patron? │ May I greet the patron?

Licetne nōbis intrāre? │Literally: Is it permitted for usto come in? │ May we come in?

[A] These dialogues from Appleton’s Initium are carefully written. There are all different verb types in the text which have already been covered and reviewed.

[1] Imperative /command forms

[i] Talking to one person:

Give us (the baskets / gifts)

Listen

Open the door!

[ii] Talking to more than one person

Come in, everybody.

Take / receive / accept (them) ..

1st conjugation

You’re wrong

Who’s knocking the door?

The cock’s crowing

The clients greet the patron

2nd conjugation

We’re not on fire, are we?

3rd conjugation

The doorman leads (takes) the clients …

They’re looking for gifts

3rd-iō conjugation

They take the gifts

4th conjugation

Surely not everybody’s sleeping? [in Latin, this is plural i.e. all people]

Irregular verb

You don’t want to see him.

[B] the verbs with prefixes

1. It’s necessary [(here) we need] to go away

2. They go away

3. Go away!

4. Why are you here in the morning?

5. Is the patron here?

6. The master is present.

7. Other clients are here.

____________________

(Beats at the door) Surely not everybody’s asleep? Open the door.

Who’s banging at the door so loudly at the door? We’re not on fire, are we?

I am a visitor. May I greet the patron?

Why are you here in the morning like this? It’s only the first hour? Listen! The cock’s crowing.

You’re wrong. The cock’s late, for it’s already the second hour. Look, other clients are here.

Is the patron here? May we come in?

Come in, everybody. The master is present, but you don’t want to see him. The clients greet the patron but, in fact, they’re looking for gifts.

Give us the gifts, you most evil man. We need to leave without delay.

(The doorman leads the clients through the entrance into the reception room.)

Look! The baskets are on the table. Take (them) and go away!

(The clients take the baskets and leave.)