Figure 1: Linfield F.C.’s badge. The motto reads: ‘Audaces Fortuna Juvat’, which means ‘luck helpeth the daring’, or ‘luck assists the daring’.
This is Linfield F.C.’s badge. Their home ground, Windsor Park, is in the news these days. Unionists, unsurprisingly, are opposed to the use of the derelict GAA stadium, Casement Park, for Euro 2028. The GAA has grounds like Lochrie/Campbell Park and competitions named after Provisional IRA members like Mairéad Farrell (1957-1988). The GAA, as well as being a sporting body, is also an explicitly nationalist political group. Sport is a means to ending partition—i.e. Northern Ireland itself!—for the GAA in its official guidebook. The semtex bombing that Farrell was planning was, in my view, psychopathic. Only a psychopath, in my view, can set a carbomb to go off, in a place bustling with tourists, and then drive away. The Gibraltar-bombing attempt was an Eniskillen-style attack on a military parade attended by tourists/civilians. The failed Gibraltar bombing was an Enniskillen-style attack, after the atrocity of Enniskillen hadalready occurred in 1987. In a documentary, Farrell said, lyingly, that she disaproved of the Enniskillen atrocity, even though she herself was planning an almost identical atrocity.
Video 1: At 41:40 it is reported that Mairéad Farrell ‘disaproved’ of the Enniskillen atrocity: this was a lie, on her part.
Leader of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou Mc Donald, said that Unionist opposition to using Casement Park for Euro 2028 was “incomprehensible”. In my view, this speaks only to her inability to comprehend. Now that Catholics/Nationalists are in the majority in Northern Ireland, I sense that they are behaving every bit as chauvanistic, intolerant, and triumphalist as the Old Stormont, the “Protestant State for a Protestant People”, supposedly was, and I say this as an ethnic Irish Catholic, myself. Leo Veradkar, the Southern-Irish Taoiseach—pronounced: “tééshock”, or, to employ the IPA: /ˈtʰiː.ʃɑχ/—or Prime Minister, recently visited Windsor Park.
Figure 2: The Southern-Irish Taoiseach or Prime Minister holding up a Linfield F.C. Jersey in Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Figure 1: The Latin Alphabet. The word ‘abecedarium,’ in English, can mean ‘an alphabet inscribed into stone.’ Hence, this portico, with the Latin alphabet inscribed onto its frieze, is a diagram of an ‘abecedarium,’ in the English sense of the word, as well.
Introduction:
In beginning our study of the Classical Latin language, we shall begin with its alphabet. We shall learn the Latin name of its letters, and how these letters ought to be pronounced.
The Latin word for ‘alphabet’ is ‘abecedārium.’[i]
Body:
Classical Latin possesses an alphabet that contains twenty-three letters. These letters are as follows:
The Classical Latin Alphabet:
Latin Lowercase Letter:
Latin Uppercase Letter:
Letter Name in Latin:
How to Pronounce the Letter’s Name in Phonemic Transcription:
Table 1: The Classical Latin Alphabet. The diligent student will pronounce the letters of this alphabet, aloud, over and over again; and shall write them out, over and over again; until he/she will have committed this alphabet, and the names of its letters, to memory.
Conclusion:
In this chapter have examined the alphabet of the classical Latin language. We have committed the knowledge:
that the Latin word for ‘alphabet’ is ‘abecedārium;’
that the Latin Alphabet comprises twenty-three letters;
which letters comprise the Latin Alphabet;
the names of the Latin letters;
how the names of the Latin Letters are pronounced in Latin.
to memory. Our now having acquired the above-listed knowledge, we can now move forth to following chapters that will treat of the pronunciation of Latin in greater detail.
Endnotes for the Chapter, ‘The Classical Latin Alphabet:’
[i] The Latin, ‘abecedārium,’ genitive singular: ‘abecedāriī,’ is a 2nd-declension neuter noun. The first four letters of the Latin alphabet are:
‘ā,’ ‘bē,’ ‘cē,’ ‘dē
.
Hence from the first four letters of the Latin alphabet we derive the word:
‘“ā,”-“bē,”-“cē,”-“d’”-“-ārium.”’
The 2nd-declension neuter nominal suffix: ‘-ārium,’ genitive singular: ‘-āriī,’ denotes ‘a place where things are kept.’ Where do we keep our letters? We keep our letters in an ‘alphabet,’ or, in Latin, in an ‘abecedārium.’
Hence, etymologically, in Latin, an ‘abecedārium,’ can be defined as: ‘a place where we keep the Latin letters, “ā,” “bē,” “cē,” “dē,” etc.’
[ii]Properly speaking, there is no ‘j’ or ‘J’ in Latin. However, one will often see this character’s being employed—usually in Church texts and other works composed later than the Classical epoch—to denote a consonantal ‘i,’ or ‘I.’ In Latin, ‘i,’ as a vowel, is pronounced, when short, as /ɪ/ or /i/; and when long as /iː/.
In Latin, consonantal ‘i’ can be represented by the IPA symbol, /j/. The consonantal ‘i,’—or ‘j,’ as one sometimes sees (in Church texts)—represents this very /j/ sound. The consonantal ‘i’ in the Latin word, ‘iugum,’ or ‘jugum,’ /ˈjʊ.ɡʊm/ that means ‘yoke,’ is pronounced as the ‘y’ in the English word, ‘yurt,’ i.e. as: /jεːt/.
[iii]In Classical Latin, properly, ‘u,’ and ‘v’ are the same letter. Properly, a ‘V’ is nothing more than the capital form of the lowercase ‘u.’ Therefore, strictly speaking, the presence of a lowercase ‘v,’ in a classical Latin text, is an aberration. Oxford University Press wishes, eventually, to strike this aberration from all of its Latin publications, and I wish them well with this endeavour. Hence, the word ‘verbum,’ that one may observe in present O.U.P. Latin texts will eventually become ‘uerbum.’ However, this practice, today, is far from standard. I prefer this practice, and this is the practice that is employed by Peter V. Jones and Keith C. Sidwell’s Reading Latin: Text Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1986. However, these texts—although I deem them more correct—are still in the minority. At present, in most Latin texts, a ‘u,’ or a ‘U,’ is employed to represent the letter ‘u,’ as a vowel; and a ‘v’ or a ‘V’ is employed to represent the letter ‘u,’ as a consonant. Hence, the letter ‘u,’ or ‘U,’ when short, can be said to represent the phonemes: /ʊ/ or /u/ and, when long it can be said to represent the phoneme /uː/. The letter ‘v’ or ‘V’ can be said to represent the phoneme /w/. This will be the practice employed in this present work. Although not our focus, in Church texts, the letter ‘v,’ or ‘V’ can be said to represent the phoneme /v/.
The technical name for the phoneme, /v/, is ‘voiced labiodental fricative.’
The Phonetics term, ‘voiced,’ informs us that vibrating air from the vocal chords is involved in the pronunciation of /v/.
The Phonetics term, ‘labiodental,’ informs us that both the lips and the teeth are involved in the pronunciation of /v/.
The English adjective, ‘labiodental’ is derived from the New Latin 3rd-declension adjective, ‘labiōdentālis, labiōdentāle,’ genitive singular: ‘labiōdentālis,’ genitive plural: ‘labiōdentālium,’ base: ‘labiōdentāl-.’ This New Latin word is derived from the Classical Latin 2nd-declension neuter noun, ‘labium,’ genitive singular: ‘labiī,’ which means ‘lip;’ and from the Classical Latin 3rd-declension masculine noun, ‘dēns,’ genitive singular: ‘dentis,’ genitive plural: ‘dentium,’ which means ‘tooth;’ and from the 3rd-declension adjectival suffix, ‘-ālis, -āle.’
Hence, etymologically, in this instance, the English adjective, ‘labiodental’ denotes ‘the use of the lips and the teeth in the articulation of a phoneme.’
The Phonetics term, ‘fricative,’ informs us that turbulence, caused by the air escaping from a narrow channel—in this instance, the mouth and lips—is involved in the pronunciation of /v/.
[iiii]As with ‘i,’ the Latin letter, ‘y,’ can function as a vowel or as a consonant. Its name in Latin is ‘ī Graeca’ which means ‘Greek “i.”’ When the character, ‘y,’ functions as a consonant, it is said to represent the phoneme, /j/, and on the occasions that ‘y’ functions as a vowel, when short it can be said to represent the phonemes: /ɪ/ or /i/ and when long—i.e. when a macron should appear above it, as: ‘ȳ’—it can be said to represent the phoneme: /iː/.
The Ancient-Greek word, τὰ στοιχει̃α or, when transliterated ‘tà stoicheĩa,’ is a plural form of the 2nd-declension neuter verb, τὸ στοιχει̃ον genitive: του̃ στοιχείου or, when transliterated: ‘tò stoicheĩon,’ genitive: ‘toũ stoicheíou.’
The Ancient-Greek word, ‘tò stoicheĩon,’ can mean ‘an element in a set.’
Figure 1: The elements of this set are alpha, beta, gamma and delta.
The Ancient-Greek word, ‘tò stoicheĩon,’ is formed from the Ancient-Greek masculine noun, ὁ στοι̃χος genitive: του̃ στοίχου or, when transliterated, ‘ho stoĩchos,’ genitive: ‘toũ stoíchou,’ which means ‘steps,’ or ‘a flight of stairs;’ and the Ancient-Greek 2nd-declension neuter nominal suffix, ‘-eĩon,’ genitive: ‘-eíou’ which denotes ‘a means (of),’ ‘an instrument of;’ etc.
Figure 2: a ‘stoĩchos’ or ‘series of steps.’
The term, ‘stoĩchos,’ according to Wiktionary, may be traced back to the indo-european word:
*steigʰ
, which means:
‘climb.’
Hence, etymologically, the Ancient-Greek term, ‘stoicheĩa,’ can be said to mean: ‘the means of climbing up;’ ‘the means of stepping up;’ ‘the means of ascent;’ etc.
This is highly instructive, as, in truth, Elements is a book that is a Jacob’s ladder, of sorts, by which one can ascend, element by element, into the heavens of mathematical knowledge.
Figure 3: With The Elements of Euclid, we advance in our mathematical knowledge element by element. Each element is, conceptually, like a rung, heaving us upwards to Mathematical prowess; to an implicit knowledge of Euclidean Geometry.
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The Famous Syllogism[1] in Greek, Latin and English:
Figure 1: I drew this pencil portrait of George Boole (1815-1864) with Pencils and Photoshop. The Mathematical Analysis of Logic was published in 1847, and An Investigation into the Laws of Thought was published in 1854.
Introduction:
Quite early on, in his Mathematical Analysis of Logic, George Boole–whence in programming and computer science we derive the datatype name, ‘Boolean’– introduces this famous syllogism to us, his readers.
Body:
In Ancient Greek:
ὁ Σωκράτης ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος.
πάντης ἄνθρωποι ἐστι θνητοί.
οὖν ὁ Σωκράτης ἐστι θνητός.
When Transliterated:
ho Sōcrátēs estin ánthrōpos.
pántēs ánthrōpoi esti thnētoí.
oũn ho Sōkrátēs esti thnētos.
In Latin:
Sōcratēs est homō.
Omnēs hominēs sunt mortālēs.
Ergō, Sōcratēs est mortālis.
In English:
Socrates is a man.
All men are mortal.
Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
Conclusion:
The Ancient-Greek term, ὁ λόγος or, when transliterated, ‘ho lógos,’[1] means–within the context of logic– ‘statement,’ or ‘argument.’
The Latin 1st-and-2nd-declension adjectival suffix, ‘-ica, -icus, -icum’ means ‘of,’ ‘about,’ ‘concerning,’ ‘pertaining to,’ etc.
Hence, etymologically, ‘logic’ is ‘the study of the truth or falsehood of statements and arguments.’
Conventional arithmetic or Conventional Algebra has quantity for its subject. George Boole developed an algebra, or an arithmetic that had logic as its subject.
Indeed, in his book, The Laws of Thought he terms this ‘arithmetic’ or ‘algebra’ of his ‘a calculus of logic’ by which he meant ‘a system whereby the truth or falsehood of statements/arguments could be analysed.’
Figure 1: I drew this pencil portrait of Socrates (469/470-399 BC) with Pencils. Vēre Sōcratēs est enim mortālis. Truly Socrates is mortal indeed.
Glossary:
calculus (ˈkælkjʊləs) nounplural-luses
a branch of mathematics, developed independently by Newton and Leibniz. Both differential calculus and integral calculus are concerned with the effect on a function of an infinitesimal change in the independent variable as it tends to zero.
any mathematical system of calculation involving the use of symbols
logic an uninterputed formal system. Compare formal language (sense 2)
(plural-li (ˈkælkjʊˌlaɪ) ) pathology a stonelike concretion of minerals and salts found in ducts or hollow organs of the body[C17 from Latin: pebble, stone used in reckoning, from calx small stone, counter]
calcular(ˈkælkjʊlə) adjective relating to calculus
calculous (ˈkælkjʊləs) or calculary(ˈkælkjʊlərɪ) of or suffering from a calculus. Obsolete form: calculose
calculus of variations a branch of calculus concerned with maxima and minima of definite integrals.[1]
It is my contention that the knowledge of Latin and Greek make STEM[1] easier to learn. A huge number of STEM terms are derived from Greek and Latin.
Fig 1: I drew this portrait of George Boole with pencils. George Boole was self-taught and fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew by the time that he was 12.
Vel Symbol:
Fig 1: This is the Vel symbol. You may view the Vector at my CodePen Account.
In Formal Logic this symbol represents ‘disjunction.’ The equivalent in Boolean Algebra is ‘Inclusive Or.’ ‘vel’ is Latin for ‘or.’ One sees this quite a bit in liturgical rubrics[2].
The Wedge Symbol
Fig 1: This is the Wedge symbol. You may view the Vector at my CodePen Account.
In Formal Logic this symbol represents “conjunction.” The equivalent in Boolean Algebra is “And.” In Latin, ‘ac’ or ‘atque’ is ‘and.’ Sometimes this symbol is called this. One sees this quite a bit in ecclesiastical Latin.
‘I announce to ye a great joy: we have a Pope!, the most eminent and most revered [forename] lord of the most holy Roman Church, Cardinal [surname], who hath placed upon himself the name [regnal name].’
In the offertory the priest prays:
‘…prō fidēlibus christiānīs vīvīs atque dēfūnctīs…’
‘…for all faithful Christians living and dead…’
In The Young Pope (2016), a Cardinal, disfavoured by Pius XIII/Jude Law, prays this in the frozen wilderness of Alaska, to whence he was banished.
Maths and Comedy 