Dog Latin
Encyclopedia
Dog Latin, Cod Latin, macaronic Latin, or mock Latin refers to the creation of a phrase
or jargon
in imitation of Latin
, often by directly translating English
words (or those of other European languages) into Latin without conjugation
or declension
. Unlike the similarly named language game
Pig Latin
(a form of spoken code
popular among young children), Dog Latin is more of a humorous device for invoking scholarly
seriousness, especially when creatively used in nomenclature
and naming convention
s, such as the systematic names of the synthesised elements. Sometimes "dog Latin" can mean a poor-quality genuine attempt at writing in Latin.
More often, correct Latin is mixed with English words for humorous effect or in an attempt to update Latin by providing words for modern items.
A once-common schoolboy doggerel
, which though very poor Latin, would have done a tolerable job of reinforcing the rhythms of Latin hexameter
s:
The meter uses Latin vowel quantities for the Latin parts, and to some extent follows English stress in the English parts.
Another variant has similar lines in a different order, with the following variants:
Another verse in similar vein is
which "translates" from Cockney
as
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
or jargon
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
in imitation of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, often by directly translating English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
words (or those of other European languages) into Latin without conjugation
Latin conjugation
Latin verbs have four main patterns of conjugation. As in a number of other languages, Latin verbs have an active voice and a passive voice. Furthermore, there exist deponent and semi-deponent Latin verbs , as well as defective verbs...
or declension
Latin declension
Latin is an inflected language, and as such has nouns, pronouns, and adjectives that must be declined in order to serve a grammatical function. A set of declined forms of the same word pattern is called a declension. There are five declensions, which are numbered and grouped by ending and...
. Unlike the similarly named language game
Language game
A language game is a system of manipulating spoken words to render them incomprehensible to the untrained ear. Language games are used primarily by groups attempting to conceal their conversations from others...
Pig Latin
Pig Latin
Pig Latin is a language game of alterations played in English. To form the Pig Latin form of an English word the first consonant is moved to the end of the word and an ay is affixed . The object is to conceal the meaning of the words from others not familiar with the rules...
(a form of spoken code
Code (cryptography)
In cryptography, a code is a method used to transform a message into an obscured form, preventing those who do not possess special information, or key, required to apply the transform from understanding what is actually transmitted. The usual method is to use a codebook with a list of common...
popular among young children), Dog Latin is more of a humorous device for invoking scholarly
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
seriousness, especially when creatively used in nomenclature
Nomenclature
Nomenclature is a term that applies to either a list of names or terms, or to the system of principles, procedures and terms related to naming - which is the assigning of a word or phrase to a particular object or property...
and naming convention
Naming convention
A naming convention is a convention for naming things. The intent is to allow useful information to be deduced from the names based on regularities. For instance, in Manhattan, streets are numbered, with East-West streets being called "Streets" and North-South streets called "Avenues".-Use...
s, such as the systematic names of the synthesised elements. Sometimes "dog Latin" can mean a poor-quality genuine attempt at writing in Latin.
More often, correct Latin is mixed with English words for humorous effect or in an attempt to update Latin by providing words for modern items.
Examples
Examples include:A once-common schoolboy doggerel
Doggerel
Doggerel is a derogatory term for verse considered of little literary value. The word probably derived from dog, suggesting either ugliness, puppyish clumsiness, or unpalatability in the 1630s.-Variants:...
, which though very poor Latin, would have done a tolerable job of reinforcing the rhythms of Latin hexameter
Hexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verse consisting of six feet. It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad and Aeneid. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace's satires, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. According to Greek mythology, hexameter...
s:
- Patres conscripti took a boat and went to Philippi
- Boatum est upsettum, magno cum grandine venti.
- Omnes drownderunt qui swim away non potuerunt.
- Trumpeter unus erat, qui coatum scarlet habebat
- Et magnum periwig, tied about with the tail of a dead pig.
The meter uses Latin vowel quantities for the Latin parts, and to some extent follows English stress in the English parts.
Another variant has similar lines in a different order, with the following variants:
- Stormum surgebat et boatum oversetebat
- Excipe John Periwig tied up to the tail of a dead pig.
Another verse in similar vein is
- Caesar ad sum iam forte
- Brutus et erat
- Caesar sic in omnibus
- Brutus sic in at
which "translates" from Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
as
- Caesar had some jam for tea
- Brutus ate a rat
- Caesar sickVomitingVomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...
in omnibus - Brutus sick in hat
See also
- Languages
- Hiberno-LatinHiberno-LatinHiberno-Latin, also called Hisperic Latin, was a learned sort of Latin literature created and spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the tenth century.-Vocabulary and Influence:...
, playful learned Latin literature by Irish monks - Latino sine FlexioneLatino sine FlexioneLatino sine flexione , or Peano’s Interlingua , is an international auxiliary language invented by the Italian mathematician Giuseppe Peano in 1903. It is a simplified version of Latin, and retains its vocabulary...
, a constructed languageConstructed languageA planned or constructed language—known colloquially as a conlang—is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary has been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally...
based on Latin, but using only ablative as the standard form. - Latatian, Dog Latin in the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett
- Macaronic languageMacaronic languageMacaronic refers to text spoken or written using a mixture of languages, sometimes including bilingual puns, particularly when the languages are used in the same context . The term is also sometimes used to denote hybrid words, which are in effect internally macaronic...
, using a mixture of languages, such as Latin and English - New LatinNew LatinThe term New Latin, or Neo-Latin, is used to describe the Latin language used in original works created between c. 1500 and c. 1900. Among other uses, Latin during this period was employed in scholarly and scientific publications...
, post-mediaeval Latin used for international science - Pig LatinPig LatinPig Latin is a language game of alterations played in English. To form the Pig Latin form of an English word the first consonant is moved to the end of the word and an ay is affixed . The object is to conceal the meaning of the words from others not familiar with the rules...
, simple verbal code language in English
- Hiberno-Latin
- Examples
- HoboSapiensHoboSapiensHoboSapiens is a 2003 album by John Cale, his first for EMI. Cale co-produced the album with Nick Franglen of Lemon Jelly. The cover photography is by Jon Shard.-Track listing:All tracks composed by John Cale#"Set Me Free" – 4:35...
, a John CaleJohn CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
album - Homo ConsumericusHomo consumericus]Homo consumericus is a neologism used in the social sciences, specially by Gad Saad in his book The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption. and Gilles Lipovetsky's Le Bonheur Paradoxal...
, a concept in the social sciences - Illegitimi non carborundumIllegitimi non carborundumIllegitimi non carborundum is a mock-Latin aphorism meaning "Don't let the bastards grind you down". -History:...
, Dog Latin for "don't let the bastards grind you down" - Mater si, magistra noMater si, magistra noMater si, magistra no is a macaronic phrase that means Catholics need not follow all the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly in regard to economic justice or the rights of workers...
, a macaronicMacaronic languageMacaronic refers to text spoken or written using a mixture of languages, sometimes including bilingual puns, particularly when the languages are used in the same context . The term is also sometimes used to denote hybrid words, which are in effect internally macaronic...
mashup of Mater et MagistraMater et Magistra"Mater et Magistra" is the encyclical written by Pope John XXIII on the topic of "Christianity and Social Progress". It was promulgated on May 15, 1961. The title means "mother and teacher", referring to the role of the church. It describes a necessity to work towards authentic community in order...
and Cuba si, Castro no - Reductio ad HitlerumReductio ad HitlerumReductio ad Hitlerum, also argumentum ad Hitlerum, is an ad hominem or ad misericordiam argument whereby an opponent's view is compared to a view that would be held by Adolf Hitler or the Nazi Party...
, a Dog Latin phrase - SmuggleriusSmuggleriusSmugglerius is an écorché sculpture of a man posed in imitation of the ancient Roman sculpture known as the Dying Gaul. The original bronze cast was made in 1776 by Agostino Carlini for William Hunter, first Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy Schools, from the body of a muscular criminal,...
, a dog Latin name for a cast of a smuggler's body posed as a dying gladiator. - Mots d'Heures, a book of verses in cod-French
- Wile E. Coyote and Road RunnerWile E. Coyote and Road RunnerWile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
, two Looney TunesLooney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
characters, are given various Dog Latin Linnaean taxanomicalLinnaean taxonomyLinnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts:# the particular form of biological classification set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his Systema Naturæ and subsequent works...
names at the beginning most of their cartoons.
- HoboSapiens