Posted by Ed Kiser on September 06, 2003 at 15:37:14 from 205.188.208.8 user Kisered.
In Reply to: multitudinus crapidus - ad nausium posted by Ed Kiser on September 06, 2003 at 02:44:23:
There is the question of the understandability of Latin when reading Missee Lee. For some, it can be an interesting challenge, a reminder of those early days of our educational trials, but for others, it is STUFF to be skipped, and to wonder just what have I missed out on.
The question is: When one is reading RANSOME out loud to younger eager ears, and the Latin comes up, how does the non-classical parent manage this STUFF for the child? What concept is the child receiving as a result of the parent's stumbling about with this STUFF when the little one realizes that the parent (apparently) has been discovered to actually not KNOW EVERYTHING. What an awakening.
About Latin - at the risk of being off topic - I have no idea what its place is within the normal educational path in the UK, but across the pond, it is rare that it is offered. To find someone who can manage at least a modicum of veracity of that Lingo, one better start at an old folk's home, as they found in their youth that Latin was an expected path of study. We have lost out a valuable artifact of our culture. I am glad to be in that fading minority that came through the schools in time to catch the trailing edge of this subject. I truly believe that my understanding of a lot of the mechanics of English was greatly enhanced by understanding the Latin influence on the way we speak. The concept of "parts of speech" or how to "diagram the sentence structure" is made so obvious with Latin, thanks to the concept of the Declension of Nouns. I am grateful for that exposure; the youth of today have to get along without it. It is their loss.
How gripping and stirring it was to read Caesar's recording of those famous words, "Ego certe meum officium facio." How much better to have the actual words, not some translation. It is powerful STUFF.
Reading Ransome aloud to children can present problems.
How to handle the Latin...
How to handle the several references to the infamous "N-word"...
How to handle the lyrics in certain songs, like "Hanging Johnny"...
Ed Kiser, South Florida