Picture this: you’re neck deep in a collection of African folktales or commentary written by some 19th century ethnographer when, suddenly, you find yourself faced with a block of Latin text.
Curious…
I’ll admit, the first time I encountered this phenomenon, it didn’t even register past the archaic English and prejudice that are the hallmark of so many books from those eras. I was raised Catholic in the part of Cameroon which follows the British education and legal system. Latin has always been that familiar toga-clad figure floating in the background of my consciousness watching be-suited English and French trample over the toghu of Chuufiè, the language spoken in my village, while pidgin – the real lingua franca of the region – clad in okrika or secondhand jeans and an ankara blouse laughed at them all.
But why would an Englishman choose to use Latin in a book destined for an English-speaking audience?
Listen to this week’s episode of the MA Podcast to find out!
Some Latin Texts from The Ila-speaking peoples of Northern Rhodesia by Edwin William Smith and Andrew Murray Dale
Vir etiam purgandus et lavandus x est, capillo pubis evulso. A man must also be cleansed and washed, with his pubic hair pulled out. (Advice given to a soon to be wed girl)
Si enim hominis cuiusvis umbra mulieri incidat, credunt effluvium sempiternam fore ita ut hac tabe cito peritura sit. For if the shadow of any man should fall upon a woman, they believe that there will be an everlasting effusion, so that she will quickly perish from this loss. (Applies to menstruating women)
Praeterea mulier membrum magnum miratur, plurimusque de co apertissimusque sermo , formamque sponsi saepe laudant vel vituperant coram sponsa. Moreover, the woman is surprised by the large member, and most of them talk very openly, and often praise or blame the bridegroom's appearance in the presence of the bride. (Girl talk!)
Can’t Get Enough
Quomodo Evenit ut Penis Primum cum Vagina Coiit or How It Happened that Penis First Had Intercourse with Vagina (Latin and English Translation)
Sound Effects
The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos - Veni Creator Spiritus
Latin Notes