Lessons XXIV-XXV CLAS/LING 1010 November 10, 2008

 The Latin word for cheese is caseus (as in Lactobacillus casei) and Spanish queso.  But the Italian word for cheese is formaggio?  What happened? Do you see a familiar base in formaggio? The Italian etymology involves metonymy: the mold in which cheese is made stands for the product.  What extra development led to the French word for cheese, fromage?

 When we speak rapidly, we often produce speech errors: Transposing words: The means justify the ends. Dropping syllables: She was particuly nice. Substituting words: That’s how the cookie bounces!  Metathesis is another kind of speech error.  It involve the transposition of two sounds in a word, as in: the development of crud from curd the pronunciation purty for pretty

 ask [ aks ]  nuclear [nucular]  foliage [foilage]  mischeivous [mischevious]   comfortable [comfterble]   asterisk [asteriks]   relevant [revelant]   introduce [interduce]

 Metathesis is distinct from Spoonerism, a type of speech error frequently committed by Rev. Willliam A Spooner ( ): Willliam A Spooner The Lord is a shoving leopard. Let us glaze our asses to our queer old dean  Like other speech errors, a metathesized pronunciation can catch on, and become the conventional pronunciation of a word.  This is how they become relevant to the study of word histories.

a Spoonerism b Assimilation c Metathesis d Dissimilation

1979 USNA class ring: omnes viri Angelina tattoo: Quod me nutrit, destruit. Mottos of US universities and states universitiesstates

 Some Latin words and phrases have entered English while retaining their original forms.  Some of these words are found in fixed phrases: ad hoc ad hoc per se per se per diem per diem de facto de facto vice versa vice versa  Some of these words are nouns, and as nouns they can take Latin singular and plural inflections.

 The proper plural form of many Latinate nouns is a subject of controversy.  Do the following nouns even have a plural form? : Her data was interesting. Data: Her data was interesting. : The media gives only one side. Media: The media gives only one side.  These nouns get treated like mass nouns in current English, but they are in fact plurals.  Singulars: datum and medium.

 Sometimes the ‘proper’ form seems snobby or pedantic: alumna alumna alumnus alumnus index index focus focus stadium stadium genus genus octopus octopus appendix appendix

a Alumni b Alum c Alumnus d Alumna e Both b and d are acceptable

Erudite ExamplesQuotidian Examples sic  Meaning: ‘so’, as in Sic semper tyrannis!, Spanish sí  Current usage: The House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker... qua qua  Meaning: ‘by which [is meant]’  Current usage: Christ qua God knows the whole essence of God; Christ qua human being does not pro pro con con via via ego ego

 Sometimes the abbreviation of a phrase is more familiar that the phrase itself.  What do the following abbreviations mean? e.g. e.g. i.e. i.e. cf. cf. A.D. A.D. AM AM NB NB et al. et al. etc. etc. ca. ca.

 According to a recent report, several local councils in Britain prohibit staff from using Latin words.recent report  What do the following phrases mean? in camera in camera habeas corpus habeas corpus de facto de facto ad hominem ad hominem ex post facto ex post facto per capita per capita per diem per diem per se per se

 What do the following phrases mean? persona non grata persona non grata sine qua non sine qua non quid pro quo quid pro quo prima facie prima facie a fortiori a fortiori status quo status quo reductio ad absurdum reductio ad absurdum ad hoc ad hoc post mortem post mortem

a Prima facie b Ad hoc c A fortiori d Ad hominem e Reductio ad absurdum

 Lesson XXIV: AUD AUD CARN CARN NUNCI (NOUNCE) NUNCI (NOUNCE) PRESS PRESS PROPRI PROPRI SAT(IS) SAT(IS)  No new forms in Lesson XXV!

a Satiate b Terrific c Fact d Satiety e All of the above

a Pronunciation b Enumeration c Nomination d Ounce e All of the above