Re: Dead languages?

From: Robert Wagner (robert.deletethis_at_wagner.net)
Date: 07/11/04 

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 01:43:13 GMT

docdwarf@panix.com wrote:

>In article <40ef1d19.87379907@news.optonline.net>,
>Robert Wagner <robert.deletethis@wagner.net> wrote:
>>docdwarf@panix.com wrote:
>>
>>>In article <40ee18af.20703229@news.optonline.net>,
>>>Robert Wagner <robert.deletethis@wagner.net> wrote:
>>>>docdwarf@panix.com wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>In article <40edfa9c.13003756@news.optonline.net>,
>>>>>Robert Wagner <robert.deletethis@wagner.net> wrote:
>>>>>>Richard Maine <nospam@see.signature> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>docdwarf@panix.com writes:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> 'Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres!'
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Oh dear! My high school Latin text must have had a bowdlerized
>>>>>>>version or something. I'd *SWEAR* I remember this as
>>>>>>>'Alles Gall in tres partes divisa est'. But a quick google
>>>>>>>check doesn't find it in that form.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Richard is correct. Caesar actually wrote: "Gallia est omnis divisa in
partes
>>>>>>tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum
lingua
>>>>>>Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur.
>>>>>
>>>>>Mr Wagner, this is confusing... Mr Maine wrote 'I'd *SWEAR* I remember
>>>>>this as 'Alles Gall in tres partes divisa est' in response to my stating
>>>>>'Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres!'... how does what you cite here
>>>>>support his reminisce as 'correct'?
>>>>
>>>>Even more confusing is the Original Latin I remember as "Omnes Galii est
divista
>>>>in tres partes."
>>>
>>>What's Life without a bit of Mystery?
>>>
>>>>I remember it very distinctly. How many versions of Gaelic Wars
>>>>did Caesar write? What the hell's going on here?
>>>
>>>Ahhhhh, for the Oldene Dayse... when they taught Latin quotes such as
>>>cannot be taught by *ten* teachers, today!
>>
>>Unlike English, where normal word order is SVO (subject, verb, object), Latin,
>>along with Japanese, has no normal word order. One can rearrange the words in
a
>>sentence and it still says the same thing.
>
>This is similar to what I was taught about Ancient Greek, where order word
>important is very not.
>
>>
>>My hypothesis is that high school Latin text authors rearranged words to make
it
>>easier for English-speaking students to understand. Thus
>>
>>Caesar's "Gallia est omnis divisa in parte tres." and
>>Mr Maine's "Alles Gall in tres partes divisa est." and
>>My "Omnes Galii est divista in tres partes."
>>
>>are linguistically equivalent, are saying the same thing and are equally valid
>>Latin.
>
>All right... let's see how much I can shame myself publically with my lack
>of skill; my apologies in advance for the grievous errors.
>
>I would say not *quite* so, Mr Wagner. In Caesar's quote 'Gallia' is a
>nominative, in Mr Wagner's quote 'Galii' appears to be modified by 'Omnes'
>(which would make it an object, hence accusative, but 'Galii' appears to
>be a genetive). In Mr Maine's example there is the slight problem of
>'Alles'.

Modification by an adjective doesn't make Gallia an object. It is the subject of
the sentence and therefore should be nominative. In my memory it was plural.
What's the plural of Gallia? Galliae?

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dead languages?
    ... when they taught Latin quotes such as ... >Unlike English, where normal word order is SVO, Latin, ... in Mr Wagner's quote 'Galii' appears to be modified by 'Omnes' ...
    (comp.lang.fortran)
  • Re: Dead languages?
    ... when they taught Latin quotes such as ... >Unlike English, where normal word order is SVO, Latin, ... in Mr Wagner's quote 'Galii' appears to be modified by 'Omnes' ...
    (comp.lang.cobol)
  • Re: Dead languages?
    ... >>Unlike English, where normal word order is SVO, Latin, ... >>My hypothesis is that high school Latin text authors rearranged words to make ... Modification by an adjective doesn't make Gallia an object. ...
    (comp.lang.fortran)