Tuesday, September 23, 2008

VICTORY!!!!

Thank you all so much for your suggestions!! I got a 100 % on the second quiz! I mixed up the pluperfect active subjunctive and the pluperfect passive subjunctive, but I knew what I had done the second I saw the key. I also felt more comfortable with English to Latin composition, although I need to brush up on my participles. This victory was exactly what I needed to help me get through the piles of homework I still have left to do this week.

On a side note, I'd like to mention a Latin related irritant of mine, since this seems like the best forum. When I'm not studying, I play online games. It has become a custom to come up with a catchy and symbolic Latin phrase to name guilds in the games. It gives me some pride in my fellow Latinists to see the interesting combinations that some people come up with. I was HORRIFIED to encounter a guild with the name: Dominus Pugnea. I have expressed my horror to all of my friends and anyone else who will listen (incidently the only one who listened teaches English grammar to highschool kids, thankless job I'm sure). I believe the intended translation is Lords (plural, not singular) of battle (1st declension feminine singular). What bothers me most is that the person who constructed the guild name didn't care enough to get it right and no one really cares that its wrong. I don't even think "pugnea" is a latin word is it?? Anyway, thanks for tolerating my crazed ranting!

Jessica

1 comment:

E Pluribus Unum said...

Jessica!

The title of your posting reminds me of Stewie, my favorite character from "Family Guy." He is an evil baby with a banging British accent, and one of his mottoes is "VICTORY IS MINE!" (it sounds so much better when he says it!).

I am so glad that it finally evened out---I had no doubt it would, since Latin works in that mysterious way where you feel completely lost for the first few weeks and then suddenly begin to see how things work. I have no worries about you or anyone else in our class; it just takes time and effort to feel confident in what you know as you take the test.

As for those name guilds...eek! If I had a penny every time I see a wanna be Latin phrase...just last week I got a call from someone in the MacDill military airbase (or something like that) who got this award from his colleagues and he wanted to know if the Latin in it was real: the award read "Ne bastardis carborundum". I knew immediatelly this was not Latin, but I was curious to see what on earth it was. Well, I won't spoil the mystery--google it, and you will see. The whole thing is pretty funny actually if you are not a Latinist. If you are, it's is simply irritating!

More in class,

EM.