Were you aware of vicipaedia, which is the Latin version of Wikipedia? It's lovingly described in a front-page Wall Street Journal article, which should be available-without-subscription at least for the weekend.

The article talks of the difficulty of expressing modern things in Latin. It begins:

It's not that ancient Romans didn't know a thing or two about wild sex. They had their Bacchanalia, after all. But lacking video technology, they had no expression for "sex tape." And that is why writing about Paris Hilton in Latin can sometimes be so difficillimum.

The editors of Vicipaedia Latina, the Latin version of the popular Wikipedia Internet reference site, were thus forced to wing it. In their article about the hotel heiress, they described Ms. Hilton's famous X-rated Web video as pellicula in interrete vulgate de coitu Paridis.

Much of the Latin used in the WSJ article is in the form of clickable links to vicipaedia entries.

I'm thinking arnie will like that!

From the WSJ article:

quote:

Latin isn't dead, it just smells funny

I've been using different versions of Wikipedia pretty much from the get-go. If you look at any substantial article, at the bottom of the left column, there are usually links to the comparable article in other languages. Sometimes these articles are more detailed.

z, what is the "get-go" with Wikipedia? When did it start? It seems such a part of my searches now that I can't remember not using it. I really don't remember being without Google. In fact, I don't think I searched much on Yahoo or some of the others. I think I have mainly used Google.

Speaking of Latin, I've forgotten most of what little I learned, but maybe you can help: Recently the German model airplane products manufacturer Multiplex introduced a sailplane named Cularis. Combining French slang with Latin case endings, would one have something pertaining to the ass (arse, if you speak English) with Cularis?

the "get-go" with Wikipedia?

2001 according to themselves. But, what do they know?

Cularis

French cul 'arse' is hardly slang. It is standard French and approved by the boys (do they let girls in?) in the Academy. OTOH, I think you've scoped the whole Teutonic late anal phase thing. Cularis is obviously coined, along the lines of polus 'Pole' > polaris 'polar', from culus arse. So, it means 'arsish, arsely'. I hoped that the French had coined the word culaire which would be its form in their tongue, but alas. I did find the naughty nautical term culer 'to back the ship, fall astern, go astern, have stern-way'. Is this because the stern (or backside) of a ship (which is also called a poop, French poupe, both from Latin puppis 'stern, poop') is thought of as its ass-end? Maybe cularis is supposed to bring to mind corsair 'swift pirate ship' or the famous German admiral Canaris?

quote:

Originally posted by zmježd:
[ the famous German admiral Canaris?

I thought that was from "canis," dog, from which we get the Canary Islands. Didn't Cicero write, "Cave cularis canem,? beware of the dogs ass?