People who do Classical languages

[WJC]

Are there any of you here on the Escapist? Do you too feel cool, overuse participles and irritate all your friends every time you mention the derivation of a word?

(No, the musical Italian vocabulary is not a Classical language for those of you who were wondering, rather pretty much any of these ones [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_language#General_Usage]; I myself study Latin and Greek.)

PS I have now lost my thread viginity woo

 

[Vie]

Carpe testiculum, quod roto.

That's about my limit to be honest.
Unless BASIC counts as a Classical Language these days?

 

[Outright Villainy]

Nah, I already know one dead language, I don't really any intention of having another. I find languages bloody hard as it is, it'd have be very necessary if I was to pick up a new one.

 

[the Dept of Science]

I went to a private school so I did Latin until GCSE and know quite a few people that are taking it onto degree level.

Most of them just find it interesting.

If I ask them for more justification, they say that because of the difficulty of, say, ancient Greek, having a degree in it is just like a big certificate saying "I'm very clever and hard working". ie. People with classics degrees are very employable, in tonnes of areas where they are likely never to use it again. Its like how people with degrees in medicine often go to work in buisiness, because employers know that they are the best.

 

[silver wolf009]

Im taking Latin now but im no where near fluent in it.

The funny thing about the history of Latin is that it was the main language of the Roman Empire, but many of the emperors found it eaiser to speak greek.

 

[Kortney]

I don't see the point of it. It's purely academic and very wanky.

 

[MrNickster]

When it comes to classical languages, I just use a Latin translator and quote the results to seem intelligent, even though I'm sure the grammar and pronunciation was butchered to the point of it making no sense to a native speaker.

Perussi excrement quod pereo

 

[Kurokami]

I don't see the point of it. It's purely academic and very wanky.

But... You've listed the point.

 

[Stollos]

Man, I'd love to learn latin (or ancient Greek, either is good).

How long did it take you to learn? How dedicated did you have to be/how much of your time did it consume? As I said, i'd love to learn a classical language but i'm afraid I wouldn't have the time for it, in amongst my super-busy high-roller life of half-arsed unemployed uni-student activities

 

[Quaxar]

I've learned 7 years of Latin, but due to a really awful teacher I lost all the interest in it I had.
While I actually enjoy reading translated Latin and Greek (De Bello Gallico, Politeia) I would never look at the original language version.

 

[Stollos]

I don't see the point of it. It's purely academic and very wanky.

But... You've listed the point.

You guys are both wrong, i'm afraid. Being fluent in ancient tongues is an invaluable tool for any time traveller worth his salt.

 

[LongAndShort]

Well, as others have said, it's a bit of a wank, but it's a pretty cool sounding wank.

I'd like to learn some of the classical languages like Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. Some of you may find it odd, but I'd like it for studying Semitic religious texts. If I'm gonna have an argument with someone, I'd like a source. And when that source has thousands of years of misinterpretations around it, I like to know the original.

 

[Pearwood]

I know the latin terms that are used in literature analysis and studying chemistry makes me familiar with the greek alphabet. That's about it for me.

 

[Kurokami]

I don't see the point of it. It's purely academic and very wanky.

But... You've listed the point.

You guys are both wrong, i'm afraid. Being fluent in ancient tongues is an invaluable tool for any time traveller worth his salt.

Fair enough, don't believe in time travel though. (Not the backwards kind anyway)

 

[Ask]

Antiquus scientia est novus iterum.

Music, science, biology and psychology all fueled my interest to learn Latin. (There is certainly a great deal more for me to learn.)

 

[Guest_Star]

I learnt some Latin just for the creepy chanting factor. But every time I speak it I either feel like a pretentious **** or I am wondering if I am slaughtering it with my accent.

It's a dead lingo. Nobody know's how yer supposed to pronounce the words. Even most of the Romans didn't speak Classic Latin on a daily basis, they prolly spoke Vulgar Latin (or Latinum vulgare if yer anal about it) and different local pidgins.

OT:
I don't find dead lingos interesting as such, but it's always good to know stuff. Loadsa loan words (especially technical and medical terms) are partially based on latin (or greek), so knowing the root of the word can be very helpfull when tryin' to read stuff in other languages.

 

[Veleste]

I speak fluent Irish (not sure it's considered classical but it's old and no one speaks it anymore) and I used to be fairly hand with Latin but I haven't spoken or thought about it since I left the convent 4 years ago (Lived with a cousin while my parents were ill, she was a nun)

I found that Latin helped me a little when learning French and Spanish and to a lesser degree German though I'm only fluent in French. Irish was just bloody useless in every respect except that I feel superior when I meet Irish people who can't speak it but that's just me being a bit of a jerk.

If you want to learn a language that is difficult and has practical application you're better off learning Chinese. That's been around since the year dot and is still useful.

 

[WJC]

Man, I'd love to learn latin (or ancient Greek, either is good).

How long did it take you to learn? How dedicated did you have to be/how much of your time did it consume? As I said, i'd love to learn a classical language but i'm afraid I wouldn't have the time for it, in amongst my super-busy high-roller life of half-arsed unemployed uni-student activities

I've had about five and a half years of school lessons (admittedly most of which was spent messing around in class) and with some vocabulary I could translate most things you put in front of me. The vocab isn't too hard but there's a lot of grammar although most of it's pretty sensible, but some people find it very hard and you have to know it well.

Ancient Greek is like that, squared, on drugs. Well, I exaggerate, but again a lot of grammar and also dialectical variations: people complaining about French verbs can fuck up, any Greek verb you will use with much frequency is irregular or defective to some extent, sometimes to ridiculous levels. On the other hand, I would heartily recommend it for the culture stuff and the challenge. I've also read a bit of Coine Greek (used in the New Testament) and it's a lot easier, more like a modern language, although I would argue less rewarding unless you're into the Bible.

Latin also provides a good base from which to learn other Romantic languages such as French, Spanish and Italian, one day I shall make a stab at French but after the HSC!

 

[darkfire613]

I'd really like to learn Latin, but alas, my school doesn't offer it. The only language I'm fluent in is English, and I'm learning Chinese.

 

[Kermi]

Carpe testiculum, quod roto.

That's about my limit to be honest.
Unless BASIC counts as a Classical Language these days?

I'm guessing here: "Seize the testicles, then twist"?

I have never studied ancient languages, however you tend to experience snippets in day to day life and as a student of the English language I consider myself fairly adept at interpreting meaning phrases in most Latin-based languages. I'd like to learn an ancient language, purely so I can say I do. I'd be such a douchebag if I knew Latin fluently, I openly admit that.