Pronunciation

[titanu]

No strictly a rules question but it does not fit into any category. In a game this week I played a chap with Principate Roman and he prounnced it with a hard c like prink rather than a soft c as in principle. I have also noticed that people call Dominate Roman as if it spelt Dominarte. Are these correct?

[zoltan]

Do you want to speak English or Latin?

Prince-a-pit is an anglicisation (ang-la-sigh-zay-shun) of the Latin stem Princeps (prin-keps; prince).

Do you say Pariss or Paree?

[philqw78]

He doesn't know where it is

[titanu]

Do you want to speak English or Latin?
Prince-a-pit is an anglicisation (ang-la-sigh-zay-shun) of the Latin stem Princeps (prin-keps; prince).
Do you say Pariss or Paree?

That makes it clear if it is an Anglicisation it must be right!!

[ShrubMiK]

Ah the joys of Latin pronunciation! No soft C's in Latin. Just ask that nice Dictator, Mr. Seezer!

My first Latin teacher (who also ran the wargames club at school and was responsible for indoctrin^H^H^H^H^H^Htroducing me to this hobby) was very adamant about proper pronunciation.

Then when it came to O-Level we moved to the other Latin teacher at the school, who really (and I say this politely) just couldn't be r'sed. I used to cring every time he said "theatrum" as thee-ah-trum (soft th as in throw) instead of tay-ah-trum. His point was that nobody *really* knows, so best just to stay away from all assumptions and use a modern English approach.

Since Latin O-level seemed to consist mostly of memorising an English translation of various Latin texts*, and writing a small essay or two about how they would scrape bathing oil off with a small metallic implement before squatting over a hole in a communal toilet, it's hard to say his approach wasn't justified!

* I can still quote from memory several lines from the start of Virgil's Aenead Book 4, despite never having looked at it in the past 30 years, which is a bit sad really.

[zoltan]

That geezer seezah, was he keyzah? Just one small step to Kaizer which kinda fits the personae.

[titanu]

Aenead Book 4

Was that 1066 to 1415?

[ShrubMiK]

LOL, very good!

However, even a double Latin lesson was only 1 hour 20 mins. But at the end of it could certainly feel like you had spent 3 and a half hours on it, and completely missed lunch as well

[zoltan]

Reminds me of the old Rat Pack joke.

Frank (to Sammy, natch): pour me a Martini
Dean (interjecting): don't you mean Martinus?
Frank (offended): if I wanted one, I'd ask for just one!