Classical Languages - Study Group
- einzelne
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Re: Classical Languages - Study Group
I've been reading a very intriguing book on the history of Latin since the 16th century — Francoise Waquet's Latin, or, the empire of the sign (if you happen to know French, you can read it in the original). It narrates the story of Latin since its revival thanks to humanists of the Renaissance. Lots of historical evidence and surprising details. The chapter on the history of oral Latin is the most shocking. While people praised Classical Latin, very little if few could actually speak it fluently even among those who were supposed to know it at a very high level (teachers and clergymen). I don't want to spoil Living Latin's party but the evidence is rather damning! Anyway, no matter what position you take in this debate, this book is highly recommended. (on a side note, I didn't expect Verso to publish such a book, it was a pleasant surprise.)
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- Herodotean
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Re: Classical Languages - Study Group
einzelne wrote:I've been reading a very intriguing book on the history of Latin since the 16th century — Francoise Waquet's Latin, or, the empire of the sign (if you happen to know French, you can read it in the original). It narrates the story of Latin since its revival thanks to humanists of the Renaissance. Lots of historical evidence and surprising details. The chapter on the history of oral Latin is the most shocking. While people praised Classical Latin, very little if few could actually speak it fluently even among those who were supposed to know it at a very high level (teachers and clergymen). I don't want to spoil Living Latin's party but the evidence is rather damning! Anyway, no matter what position you take in this debate, this book is highly recommended. (on a side note, I didn't expect Verso to publish such a book, it was a pleasant surprise.)
Not everyone agrees with Waquet's take. See, for instance, the review by Terence Tunberg, himself an expert on spoken Latin in the Renaissance.
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- MorkTheFiddle
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Re: Classical Languages - Study Group
MorkTheFiddle wrote:Geoffrey Steadman recently posted a pdf of Book 6 of The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides.
FWIW, the Perseus site has a running commentary of Book 6 by E. C. Marchant.
Other commentaries on Book 6, which I have not seen:
Bryn Mawr Commentaries, Shelmerdine
Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War Book VI (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics), Christopher Pelling.
Searching on Amazon for Thucydides Book 6 brings up a couple more.
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Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson
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Re: Classical Languages - Study Group
A new graded reader in the tradition of LLPSI was published earlier this year — Via Latina: De lingua et vita Romanorum.
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Re: Classical Languages - Study Group
I'm curious if anyone in this group has some insight into this: I've started studying Old English due to finding this thread on the Resources board and have noticed that while the letters thorn and eth are preserved, wynn is replaced with "w" in every text I've found. The only reasoning I've found online for replacing ƿ with w is that it looks too much like þ, but to me they look sufficiently different not to be confused, at least with the fonts on my computer. The þ's in the book linked in that thread do look like ƿ, but that seems to be a result of the particular font (probably one of very few available for a typewriter) used at the time, which shouldn't be a problem today.
Is there any other reason?
Is there any other reason?
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Shelmerdine Intro. to Greek:
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Re: Classical Languages - Study Group
Textkit's Bedwere has completed another massive project: a recording of Xenophon's Cyropaedia, weighing in at almost 17 hours.
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Re: Classical Languages - Study Group
It's not just ƿ. For instance, ſ is also standardised as "s" despite being very different in shape.ros wrote:I'm curious if anyone in this group has some insight into this: I've started studying Old English due to finding this thread on the Resources board and have noticed that while the letters thorn and eth are preserved, wynn is replaced with "w" in every text I've found. The only reasoning I've found online for replacing ƿ with w is that it looks too much like þ, but to me they look sufficiently different not to be confused, at least with the fonts on my computer. The þ's in the book linked in that thread do look like ƿ, but that seems to be a result of the particular font (probably one of very few available for a typewriter) used at the time, which shouldn't be a problem today.
Is there any other reason?
So, it's more why have þ and ð been spared when every other letter is mercilessly brought in conformity with modern fonts? My guess is that there is no simple way to differentiate between þ and ð if you want to use the modern English alphabet. Using something like "th" and "dh" is rather clumsy, so it's easier to go with þ and ð. No such problem exists for other letters, where a one-to-one correspondence with modern English letters can be found.
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Re: Classical Languages - Study Group
Bits of Spinoza's Ethica in audio (Ecclesiastic pronunciation)
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Re: Classical Languages - Study Group
I just finished the 10-month-ish Glyphstudy through Collier & Manley's How to read Hieroglyphs. Moving on now to translating Amenemhat's Instructions to his son. Looks hard already!
Thankfully, we're not translating the Hieratic. We're translating a hieroglypic transliteration of it:
Thankfully, we're not translating the Hieratic. We're translating a hieroglypic transliteration of it:
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You're not a C1 (or B1 or whatever) if you haven't tested.
CEFR --> ILR/DLPT equivalencies
My swimming life.
My reading life.
CEFR --> ILR/DLPT equivalencies
My swimming life.
My reading life.
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