Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/120877
FIFTEEN FUN PHRASES IN LATIN (Can you say that fast three times?) While you don���t hear people speaking Latin these days, many words and expressions of the ancient language are used daily in conversation and writing. Here are a few you may recognize and perhaps never knew were Latin. Per se by itself. Vice versa with the order changed or reversed. Alma mater the literal translation is ���nourishing/ bountiful mother,��� but it is used to describe the college from which one has graduated. Bona fide in Latin this stands for ���good faith,��� and it is used in modern language to represent something without deception or fraud. Quasi Status quo Et cetera Tabula rasa in Latin, it means ���as if��� or ���as though,��� while in English, it designates something that partially resembles something else. in Latin, it means ���the state in which,��� and it is now used to mean the existing condition of things. it means ���and others��� in Latin, and is commonly used today to list things that could continue into in���nity. a clean slate. Habeas corpus a writ of habeas corpus (literally ���have the body,��� from the opening words of the writ) is a legal document ordering someone to appear in person before a court. Mea culpa it means ���my fault��� in Latin and is used to admit wrongdoing. In vitro it means ���in glass,��� and it refers to a biological process that occurs in a test tube, rather than in the body. Persona non grata Ad nauseam Per diem Carpe diem ���unacceptable person,��� one no longer welcome in a social or business setting. ���There is nothing dead about Latin,��� says Josh Davis, sporting appropriate headgear. To provide language relevancy, the ���rst thing Davis teaches his students is how to cuss in Latin. ���I teach them words for scoundrel, but the real meaning is much worse than that,��� he says. ���But it makes them laugh and they understand Latin can be fun, not intimidating.��� Nova ingratia (a new popularity) Latin is ���ourishing, says Davis, Irvine Teachers Association. Latin has increased from seven to 10 class sections in the last ���ve years. His school���s chapter of the Junior Classical League, an organization for middle and high school students studying Latin, has increased to more than 200 students. Students attend conventions ��� sometimes in togas ��� to compete in everything from chariot races to catapult competitions. Some of his teams have gone on to compete at the national level. ���It���s a celebration of Roman culture. Going to the conventions gives them a social connection to what they are studying,��� says Davis. ���It���s not a requirement of the class, but more than 90 percent of students join for the fun activities.��� Davis��� students watched Pope Francis��� inaugural Mass and saw Latin take a role in modern history. ���We really enjoyed reading the Latin in the newspaper and hearing it during the Mass and recognizing that this was heard or read by over a billion people,��� he says. ���There is nothing dead about Latin.��� When Svetlana Lazarova joined the Latin Program in 1993 at Palm Springs High School, there were eight students enrolled in the program and no advanced classes. Today, more than 200 students are enrolled in six periods ranging from basic Latin to AP Latin IV. Lazarova voluntarily gave up her prep period to accommodate the increased demand, which happened after she actively recruited students to join. ���I don���t know why it���s so popular,��� says the Palm Springs Teachers Association member. ���But it looks at the whole child a term to describe an argument that has continued to the point of causing nausea. it means ���by the day��� and is often used in teaching contracts regarding payment due. this phrase, from a poem by Horace, means ���seize the day��� or live life to the fullest. CAPTION TK. Caption TK. Caption tk tk tk. CAPTION TK. Caption TK. Caption tk tk tk. CAPTION TK. Caption TK. Find more fun phrases, also from Open Education Database, at oedb.org/library/beginning-onlinelearning. April 2013 www.cta.org 43