04.12.25: Latin vocabulary: dining and cooking: introduction

Latin can mean different things to different people. For many, of course, the ability to read the authors in the original language provides access not only to historical narratives, poetry and letters, but also to the universal emotions and, sometimes, dark motives of highly intelligent and politically shrewd figures – or we can simply laugh at the madcap characters in the plays of Plautus. Equally, there are those who wish to read the Vulgate, or are fascinated by the discoveries,  and uncertainties, of the Renaissance where documents may still only exist in Latin.

Latin can remain a ‘passive’ activity i.e. reading and understanding, despite which the means by which such a skill is attained can be active. The vocabulary of Classical Latin has the ability to an enormous extent to express 21^st century ideas; naturally, there are exceptions – the Romans didn’t have microwaves – but it is perfectly possible to “lift” Latin from the page, and to speak it. In doing so – no differently from any other modern foreign language – the vocabulary, grammar and syntax are reinforced. However, when we are speaking, we like to apply the language to our own lives.

In the group many topics have been discussed which lend themselves very well to achieving that aim, for example introducing oneself and family members, physical descriptions, daily routine, clothes, hobbies, sport, school, and places in the town. The lengthy list of topics covered in the work by Comenius (1658) make no reference to the Romans, but are specifically designed for the pupils to identify the world around them and to talk about it.

One topic that can lead to lengthy, but rewarding study is cooking and dining. The next series of posts are designed to “break the ceiling” where all we know is at the most basic.

Many food items have already been presented in earlier posts, and so these ones are not so much about types of food (although some are given as examples in context), but rather about everything related to food, for example kitchen utensils, tableware, processes used in cookery and the ways in which food is cooked, including herbs and spices. For this topic, Latin does not give up its secrets easily, but there are some excellent sources, notably the Apicius cookbook which I will refer to as I go along.

Every verb is listed with its principal parts, the first principal part always being the 1^st person singular present tense i.e. the aim of this vocabulary is not to talk about what somebody else did in the 5^th century, but about what you do in your kitchen in the 21^st. Comments are made about the authenticity and / or reinterpretation of words when necessary.

Image: people have been talking about cooking for a very long time – from the beginning of time, in fact, and so there’s no reason to stop now!