Latin in Italy

     The Romans had a big influence all over the European continents. Today, everywhere a person goes in Europe, they would see something influenced by the Romans. In Italy, Roman influence is all over. When I went to Italy in April of 2011, I was amazed on how much Latin is all over the place. It seemed like in every corner I looked, there was Latin (and Italian) written on signs and on stone.

The amphitheater

     On my first day, my group went to Capua and saw a amphitheater where Spartacus had fled from. Walking up to the theater, I immediately saw Latin carved into pieces of art that would have decorated the inside of it. 

Latin on a piece of slate

    

Greek temple in Paestum

      My second day was a bit more interesting. We went to Paestum, where I saw Greek influenced temples and Latin inscriptions. I also rode along the Amalfi Coast and saw a statue in the center with Latin written on it in reference to a saint. Then as the night started to fall, my group was able to meet a group of Italian students and I was able to finally meet my Italian pen pal, Leo, for the first time face to face.
 As we had dinner, we were able to show each other the differences in our Latin textbooks. I have to say that I commend any student to study the text similar to what the Italians study. We spoke of Latin that entire night.

Statue in Amalfi

Leo

Mt. Vesuvius, taken in Sorrento

     On my third day, my group went to Pompeii, and we climbed up the side of Mt. Vesuvius. Afterwards, we visited the ruins of Pompeii, and that is where I saw the most legible scripts of Latin.

The view from the top of Mt. Vesuvius

Cave Canem mosaic
(Beware of the dog)

**Next week I will continue the rest of my adventure in Italy and continue telling about the Latin I saw written.

Latin is ALIVE!

     When I think of Latin, I think of  how many people claim it is a dead language. Well, guess what! It's not actually dead! Yes, Latin is not actually spoken in the modern day world as an actual language itself, but it is STILL used in many things we do today. Latin is ALIVE! We just have to open our eyes to see it.

     Today, we use Latin to help us in many situations. In a court case, you may hear Haebeas Corpus, which means "May you have the body." I was once told by a close friend of mine that when she was in court for a traffic violation, she was asked to plea guilty or not guilty. Instead of pleading guilty of the violation, she said "Nolo contendere," I do not wish to fight. the judge was so surprised to hear those words, he let her off completely. Computer technicians use Latin on computer projects. On many occasions I have seen "Lorum Ipsum" on the Microsoft help center's web page. Latin is still somewhat spoken today as well, but we really don't see it because we think of them as normal English words, like benefit. Benefit is actually two Latin words, bene and fit, and means "good happens."

The words on the Pantheon

     Latin is written on many buildings, especially in Italy. All of the artifacts from ancient Rome have Latin on them in some way. The Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Saint Peter's Basilica, and the statues in Italy all have Latin on them, even a lot of the marked tombstones. Most of the time, the Latin tells who made the structure or who it was dedicated to. If it wasn't for Latin, we wouldn't have the fine writings of Julius Caesar, Cicero, Vergil, or Ovid. We wouldn't know of the Trojan War or what it was about. We wouldn't even know where it was written unless we knew of Vergil's Aeneid. 

The Trojan Horse from the war 

     The language of Latin is so elegant and very beautiful! It is the base of many modern languages. It written on many manuscripts from buildings to tombstones to parchment. Latin is ALIVE! It really is... just open your eyes!

Common English Words From Latin

      This weeks post will be a little different than the past posts because this week I have heard a lot of people complain about not understanding some words they see in a doctor's office or even common words and not understand why the words mean what they mean.


     Here are a few common words that derive from Latin...


Recognize and Cognitive- They both have a meaning to think or remember
                                    something , and they both have a similar root of
                                    COGN. They both come from the Latin word
                                    COGNO, COGNERE,which means to think or reflect.

Corpse- This word basically means "a dead body." It comes from the Latin
           word CORPUS, which means body. Corpus is also the basis of many
           other English derivatives, such as 

           corporal, corporation, corps, and
           corpulent.
               Corpus is used in many different
           areas as well, like religion or even
           court. In religious ceremonies
           (typically in Catholic churches), we
           hear Corpus Christi, the body of
           Christ, and "Hoc est corpus," this is
           [my] body. 
               In court, we may hear attorneys
           say habeas corpus, may you 
           have the body (where a person is
           tried in court); corpus delicti, 
           the body of the offence (where a person is convicted of a crime); and
           cepi corpus, I got the body (where a police officer arrests someone
           like a wanted criminal).


Ambulance- Everyone knows this word. It is the vehicle that escorts a person
to the hospital quickly. Ambulance actually comes from the Latin word AMBULARE, which means to walk. Honestly, I still can not figure out why they chose this word for ambulance.   










Music and Museum- They are both forms of entertainment. They come from
              the word MUSE, and the Muses are
              extremely knowledgeable entertainers.
              There are nine muses in all. Calliope is
              the muse of Epic Poetry, Erato is the
              muse of Love Poetry, Euterpe is the muse
              of Elegiac Poetry and Music, Polyhymnia is
              the muse of Hymns, Terpsicore is the
              muse of Dance, Thalia is the muse of
              Comedy Theatre, Melpomene is the muse
              of Tragedy Theatre, and Urania is the
             muse of Astronomy.










*Unfortunately, I am currently running out of topics for my blog. If anyone has any suggestions for a topic, it would greatly be appreciated. Please comment and help me keep this blog alive! Thank you!*