School Latin (was Bella???)

[eloise_herisson]

> Jen: 

> Well, and here's another variation--I've always said "auk-e-o".
> Once I hear the correct pronunciation of certain words, either in 
> the movies or JKR interview or whatever, I can usually change my 
> pronunciation. Like Hagrid used to be Hey-grid in my head when 
first 
> reading the books and now that sounds so strange! I still forget 
how 
> to pronounce Slytherin. Does the first part rhyme with sly or 
> slither?


Slither. Like a snake. That *is* the Fry pronunciation, but that's a 
good point about the sly bit which I'm sure is a visual pun to add to 
the auditory one.

> I still remember the first Latin sentences I learned: "Britania est 
> insula. Britania est *parva* insula." (Can't tell you if it's 
> spelled right!)

Britannia. <g> 
Was this from the Roman viewpoint of the US one, I wonder? 

> Jen, remembering a semester devoted entirely to translating the 
> Aeneid. Why?

I think that because apart from being great literature, it's an 
important work in terms of Roman history and identity, only this is a 
point that doesn't tend (or wasn't in my case) to be made at school 
level.

I'm by no means an expert on classical literature, but I am studying 
art of the Augustan period at the moment. The Romans were  very 
conscious of the images they wanted to project, certainly at this 
stage, and they used mythology to explain both who they were and 
their values. 

>From what I understand, the Aeneid was commissioned by Augustus 
himself and was (simply put) a piece of highly artistic propaganda. 
There are parallels in it with more recent(in Augustan terms) Roman 
history. It can be read to glorify and legitimise Augustus' rule as 
emperor as well as some of his achievements, thus being a cultural 
prop for the very concept of the Roman empire itself. 

~Eloise

who feels she should point out that she and David weren't at the 
*same* school and isn't aware of his calling her Florence *yet*.