On Tue, 18 Jun 1996, David Flory wrote:
Those silly old Latin jokes are
> terribly hard to decipher. What they are, actually, is a testimony to
> the fondness in the English-speaking world for the Latin language, through
> which uncountable millions of school children have had to suffer. The
> language has never lost its vogue in this country or in England, and the
> whole study (with its attendant frustrations!) is something that actually
> sparks a kind of good-natured humor of the kind seen in these old
> jokes. They are really quite culture-specific.
and also class-specific - when i started my PhD it was simply "assumed"
by various people that i would already "have" latin, since i was a
nice, polite "chap". Actually, i'd never had the opportunity to study
it before; and although i read latin now [for the very specific work i
do] the jokes sailed right past me as well ...
cheers
john arnold
Centre for Medieval Studies
Kings Manor
Exhibition Square
York YO1 2EP
ENGLAND
(01904) 433948
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