Dog Latin or cod Latin is a phrase or jargon that imitates Latin,[1] often by "translating" English words (or those of other languages) into Latin by conjugating or declining them as if they were Latin words. Dog Latin is usually a humorous device mocking scholarly seriousness. It can also mean a poor-quality attempt at writing genuine Latin.[2]
Fifty-two volumes in folio, of the acta sanctorum, in dog-latin, would be a formidable enterprise to the most laborious German.[5]
Examplesedit
Illegitimi non carborundum, interpreted as "Don't let the bastards grind you down." Offred, the protagonist of the novel The Handmaid's Tale, finds a similar phrase scratched into the wall of her wardrobe: Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
Semper ubi sub ubi is unintelligible as Latin, but translates word for word as 'always where under where', interpreted as 'always wear underwear'.[6]
A once-common schoolboy doggerel which, though very poor Latin, would have done a tolerable job of reinforcing the rhythms of Latin hexameters:
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.[7]
Insofar as this specimen can be translated, it is as follows:
The conscript fathers [i.e. Senators] took a boat and went to Philippi. The boat was upset by a great hailstorm of wind. All drowned who could not swim away. There was a trumpeter, who had a scarlet coat, and a great 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:
Stormum surgebat et boatum oversetebat Excipe John Periwig tied up to the tail of a dead pig.[8]
The meaning here is "The storm rose up and overturned the boat" and "Except for John Periwig", etc.
I, Caesar, am already here by chance Brutus was present Caesar thus in all things Brutus thus in but
The following spoof of legal Latin, in the fictional case of Daniel v Dishclout (from George Alexander Stevens' "Lecture on Heads", 1765),[10] describes a kitchen:
camera necessaria pro usus cookare, cum saucepannis, stewpannis, scullero, dressero, coalholo, stovis, smoak-jacko; pro roastandum, boilandum, fryandum, et plumpudding mixandum, pro turtle soupos, calve's-head-hashibus, cum calipee et calepashibus.
In English, this is:
A necessary room for the purpose of cooking, with saucepans, stewpans, scullery, dresser, coalhole, stoves, smoke-jack; for roasting, boiling, frying, and mixing plum pudding, for turtle soups, calves'-head hashes, with calipee and calipashes.
In a similar vein, a humorous love song of 1782, the text of which is attributed to John O'Keefe, states:
Amo, amas, I love a lass, As a cedar tall and slender; Sweet cowslip's grace is her nominative case, And she's of the feminine gender.
Chorus: Rorum corum sunt divorum, Harum scarum divo; Tag rag merry derry, periwig and hatband, Hic hoc horum genetivo.
Can I decline a nymph divine? Her voice as a flute is dulcis; Her oculus bright, her manus white, And soft when I tacto her pulse is.
(Chorus)
O how bella my puella I'll kiss sæcula sæculorum; If I've luck, sir, she's my uxor, O dies benedictorum.
The Red Green Show closes each episode with the recitation of the Possum Lodge motto, Quando omni flunkus moritati – which can be translated as "When all else fails, play dead".
Finnish death metal band Omnium Gatherum gets its name from 1500s era butchered Latin meaning "a hodgepodge of various things".
The title of death/folk metal Verbal Deception's debut album Aurum Aetus Piraticus is Dog Latin for "Golden Age of Piracy".
The songs of Era, a musical project by Eric Lévi, are usually in Latin-sounding gibberish.
The magazine name Atlas Obscura is not proper Latin.
A running gag in the series of Looney Tunes cartoons starring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner assigns different fake Dog Latin species names in each episode to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.[11] The actual Latin species names for the coyote and road runner were used in a 2003 episode of the series, The Whizzard of Ow.
The Warhammer 40,000 wargame universe makes frequent use of pseudo-Latin (which is referred to in-universe as 'High Gothic') in its product names and background material.
See alsoedit
Latatian, dog Latin in the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett
Hiberno-Latin, playful learned Latin literature by Irish monks
^"What's the origin of pig Latin?". The Straight Dope. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
^Letter to John Adams, 08/10/1815, Gutenberg.org I had supposed them defunct with the society of Jesuits, of which they were: and that their works, although above ground, were, from their bulk and insignificance, as effectually entombed on their shelves, as if in the graves of their authors. Fifty-two volumes in folio, of the acta sanctorum, in dog-Latin, would be a formidable enterprise to the most laborious German.
^S.O.M.A., Soma's Dictionary of Latin Quotations, Maxims and Phrases, 2010, ISBN1425144977, s.v.
^Notes and Queries. October 13, 1855. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
^Percival Leigh (1840). The comic Latin grammar. Charles Tilt. p. 152. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
^George Alexander Stevens, Frederick Pilon (22 May 1802). "A Lecture on Heads". Printed by T. Bensley for Vernor and Hood [etc .] Retrieved 22 May 2022 – via Internet Archive.
^"Roadrunner&Coyote". Home.ku.edu.tr. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
January 01, 1970
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Not to be confused with Pig Latin This article gives self sourcing popular culture examples Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources and remove less pertinent examples Unsourced or poorly sourced material may be challenged or removed August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this message Dog Latin or cod Latin is a phrase or jargon that imitates Latin 1 often by translating English words or those of other languages into Latin by conjugating or declining them as if they were Latin words Dog Latin is usually a humorous device mocking scholarly seriousness It can also mean a poor quality attempt at writing genuine Latin 2 Broken Latin inscription in Fishguard Contents 1 History 2 Examples 3 See also 4 ReferencesHistory editExamples of this predate even Shakespeare whose 1590s play Love s Labour s Lost includes a reference to dog Latin Costard Go to thou hast it ad dungill at the fingers ends as they say Holofernes O I smell false Latine dunghill for unguem 3 4 Thomas Jefferson mentioned dog Latin by name in 1815 Fifty two volumes in folio of the acta sanctorum in dog latin would be a formidable enterprise to the most laborious German 5 Examples editIllegitimi non carborundum interpreted as Don t let the bastards grind you down Offred the protagonist of the novel The Handmaid s Tale finds a similar phrase scratched into the wall of her wardrobe Nolite te bastardes carborundorum Semper ubi sub ubi is unintelligible as Latin but translates word for word as always where under where interpreted as always wear underwear 6 A once common schoolboy doggerel which though very poor Latin would have done a tolerable job of reinforcing the rhythms of Latin hexameters 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 7 Insofar as this specimen can be translated it is as follows The conscript fathers i e Senators took a boat and went to Philippi The boat was upset by a great hailstorm of wind All drowned who could not swim away There was a trumpeter who had a scarlet coat and a great 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 Stormum surgebat et boatum oversetebat Excipe John Periwig tied up to the tail of a dead pig 8 The meaning here is The storm rose up and overturned the boat and Except for John Periwig etc Another verse in similar vein from Geoffrey Willans Down with Skool is 9 Caesar adsum jam forte Brutus aderat Caesar sic in omnibus Brutus sic in at which when read aloud using traditional English pronunciation of Latin sounds like the following Caesar ad had some jam for tea Brutus ad a rat Caesar sick in omnibus Brutus sick in at hat but which means in Latin I Caesar am already here by chance Brutus was present Caesar thus in all things Brutus thus in but The following spoof of legal Latin in the fictional case of Daniel v Dishclout from George Alexander Stevens Lecture on Heads 1765 10 describes a kitchen camera necessaria pro usus cookare cum saucepannis stewpannis scullero dressero coalholo stovis smoak jacko pro roastandum boilandum fryandum et plumpudding mixandum pro turtle soupos calve s head hashibus cum calipee et calepashibus In English this is A necessary room for the purpose of cooking with saucepans stewpans scullery dresser coalhole stoves smoke jack for roasting boiling frying and mixing plum pudding for turtle soups calves head hashes with calipee and calipashes In a similar vein a humorous love song of 1782 the text of which is attributed to John O Keefe states Amo amas I love a lass As a cedar tall and slender Sweet cowslip s grace is her nominative case And she s of the feminine gender Chorus Rorum corum sunt divorum Harum scarum divo Tag rag merry derry periwig and hatband Hic hoc horum genetivo Can I decline a nymph divine Her voice as a flute is dulcis Her oculus bright her manus white And soft when I tacto her pulse is Chorus O how bella my puella I ll kiss saecula saeculorum If I ve luck sir she s my uxor O dies benedictorum The Red Green Show closes each episode with the recitation of the Possum Lodge motto Quando omni flunkus moritati which can be translated as When all else fails play dead Finnish death metal band Omnium Gatherum gets its name from 1500s era butchered Latin meaning a hodgepodge of various things The title of death folk metal Verbal Deception s debut album Aurum Aetus Piraticus is Dog Latin for Golden Age of Piracy The songs of Era a musical project by Eric Levi are usually in Latin sounding gibberish The magazine name Atlas Obscura is not proper Latin A running gag in the series of Looney Tunes cartoons starring Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner assigns different fake Dog Latin species names in each episode to Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner 11 The actual Latin species names for the coyote and road runner were used in a 2003 episode of the series The Whizzard of Ow The Warhammer 40 000 wargame universe makes frequent use of pseudo Latin which is referred to in universe as High Gothic in its product names and background material See also editLatatian dog Latin in the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett Hiberno Latin playful learned Latin literature by Irish monks Latino sine Flexione a constructed language based on Latin but using only ablative as the standard form Law Latin a form of Latin used in English legal contexts similarly to Law French Lorem ipsum nonsense filler text based on a Cicero work Macaronic language using a mixture of languages such as Latin and English Medieval Latin including many influences from vernacular languages Neo Latin Latin used in the modern world Pig Latin simple verbal code language based on EnglishReferences edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dog Latin Brewer E Cobham Dictionary of Phrase amp Fable Dog Latin Bartleby com Retrieved 22 May 2022 OED s v dog compounds C3a Love s Labor s Lost 5 1 77 80 Folger Shakespeare Library What s the origin of pig Latin The Straight Dope 1 June 2004 Retrieved 22 May 2022 Letter to John Adams 08 10 1815 Gutenberg orgI had supposed them defunct with the society of Jesuits of which they were and that their works although above ground were from their bulk and insignificance as effectually entombed on their shelves as if in the graves of their authors Fifty two volumes in folio of the acta sanctorum in dog Latin would be a formidable enterprise to the most laborious German S O M A Soma s Dictionary of Latin Quotations Maxims and Phrases 2010 ISBN 1425144977 s v Notes and Queries October 13 1855 Retrieved January 16 2010 Percival Leigh 1840 The comic Latin grammar Charles Tilt p 152 Retrieved January 16 2010 Willans Geoffrey Searle Ronald 1953 Down with Skool London Max Parrish ISBN 9780141191683 George Alexander Stevens Frederick Pilon 22 May 1802 A Lecture on Heads Printed by T Bensley for Vernor and Hood etc Retrieved 22 May 2022 via Internet Archive Roadrunner amp Coyote Home ku edu tr Retrieved 22 May 2022 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dog Latin amp oldid 1220356770, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
