Latin translation, can you help?

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DaveBee
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Latin translation, can you help?

Postby DaveBee » Sun Jun 25, 2017 9:35 am

I've been looking thru an old language learning book, that describes a 'learn by translation' method.

There is some use of latin that I need to understand. I suspect it refers to parts of speech, but I'm not sure.

p.17
But to go forward as you perceive your scholar to go better and better on away, first with understanding
his lesson more quickly, with parsing more readily, with translating more speedily and perfectly than he
was wont, after give him longer lessons to translate, and withal begin to teach him both in nouns and
verbs what is Proprium, and what is Translatum, what Synonymum, what Diversum, which be Contraria, and which be most notable phrases in all his lecture.

As:
Proprium.
    {Rex sepultus est magnifice.

Translatum.
    {Cum illo principe,
    {sepulta est et gloria
    {et salus Reipublicae

Synonyma.
    {Ensis, gladius.
    {Laudare, praedioare.

Diversa
    {Diligere, amare.
    {Calere, exardescere.
    {Inimicus, hostis.

Contraria.
    { Acerbum et luctuosum bellum.
    { Dulcis et laeta pax.

Phrases
    { Dare verba.
    {Abjicere obedientiam.


Your scholar then must have the third paper book : in the which, after he hath done his double translation, let him write after this sort four of these forenamed six, diligently marked out of every lesson :

Quatuor.
    {Propria.
    {Translata.
    {Synonyma.
    {Diversa.
    {Contraria.
    {Phrases.


Or else, three, or two, if there be no more :
and if there be none of these at all in some lecture, yet not
omit the order, but write these :

Diversa nulla.
Contraria nulla,
etc.

Can you please explain any of that?
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Ani
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Re: Latin translation, can you help?

Postby Ani » Sun Jun 25, 2017 8:20 pm

I'm sure someone will do a better job than I can, but from what I see, the main categories are not parts of speech but the subjects related to the method. It looks like proprium is the main subject, translatum leaves me a little puzzled. I wonder if they are just phrases that should be translated. After that, synonyma and diversa are synonyms and antonyms. Contrara seem to be contrasts, and phrases being "most notable phrases" as mentioned in the opening paragraph.
So I think this is basically the outline of the method. Is there more than explains how to identify these parts or is it just assumed that an educated teacher knows this?


Oh and the diversa nulla at the end is just the way you would tell your students to mark the list if there are no words that fit into that category, no antonyms for example.
Last edited by Ani on Sun Jun 25, 2017 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Latin translation, can you help?

Postby zenmonkey » Sun Jun 25, 2017 8:31 pm

Proprium and Translatum come from Cicero, De oratore.

Proprium: Proper form, the definite designation of things.
Translatum: What is expressed as metaphor. Words used as metaphors.
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Querneus
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Re: Latin translation, can you help?

Postby Querneus » Sun Jun 25, 2017 9:23 pm

Synonyma and diversa are kinds of synonyms (I don't know what the difference could be, as the examples don't make it clear), while contraria are antonyms (as can be seen in the examples: acerbus vs. dulcis, bellum vs. pax).

Phrases are just collocations or idioms (there's nothing notable about dare verba [alicui] 'to deceive, cheat [someone]' or abjicere oboedientiam 'to do away with obedience [to reason]').
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