QUIZ: kidlit is a genre dead as dead can be!
Alicia in Terra Mirabili
Aliciae Per Speculum Transitus (Quaeque Ibi Invenit)
Cattus Petasatus
Ferdinandus Taurus
Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis
Ieremia Piscatore
Maria Poppina
Pinoculus
Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit
Virent Ova! Viret Perna!!
Regulus
Tela Charlottae
Walter Canis Inflatus
Winnie Ille Pu
(there are 31 titles listed on amazon in this subsection: i left out all the asterixes as they don’t count) (most of the above are fairly easily guessable — one requires actual real latin vocab and a bit of gumption)
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katie on March 13th, 2008
Where is COMETES IN TERRA MOOMINI eh?
Rosie on March 13th, 2008
Wot? No Iemima Anate Aquatica?
Marcello Carlin on March 13th, 2008
The “Grinchus” kind of gave the “difficult” one away…
FT's anatol_merklich on March 13th, 2008
“Virent ova!” etc maybe the most difficult? Something with green eggs??
“Regulus” = “The Little Prince”? Literally more like “The Little King”, but I don’t know of that book.
Marcello Carlin on March 13th, 2008
I think that’s the official biography of top seventies avant-pub rock band Roogalator.
FT's Lena on March 13th, 2008
Walter the Flying Dog? I don’t know that one…
Marcello Carlin on March 13th, 2008
um, it’s actually Walter the F*rting Dog…and no, I don’t know it either… ;-)
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on March 13th, 2008
yes i think regulus is the most tricky: it’s st exupery’s “petit prince” and it more normally means a “minor king” or “kinglet” (regulus = diminutive of rex. a king)
i forgot about “virent ova viret perna” being hard bcz this was the one i saw in foyles’ linguistics dept (looking for something w.vick) which made me hunt them down — it kinda translates as “they glow green: EGGS! it glows green: HAM!!” (ie “to be green” is a pretty gutsy one-word verb in latin, not a mimsy copulative-plus-adjective like we have in english)
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on March 13th, 2008
the grinch one is pretty easily guessable: what’s nice abt it is that “Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus” means something like “that little shit by name GRINCHUS”
in fact, just based on the titles, i think the dr seuss translator is a bit of a star — latin gets lots of its subtle energy from word-order (which can vary far more than english), so there’s a lot of fun (or expression) had with anticipation within a sentence
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on March 13th, 2008
ie “virent ova” and “ova virent” means exactly the same thing, except the first keeps you in (micro)suspense as to what it is that’s going be being green
Casuistry on March 14th, 2008
I read a few chapters of Winnie-Ille-Pu at some point… The Latin is, unsurprisingly, a bit odd. Virent Ova! Viret Perna!! is indeed a pretty choice rendering, but what’s the main character’s name? “Samsum”?
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on March 14th, 2008
not samsum sadly — i peeked at the time and remember thinking “ooh clever” but forgot it since :(
Casuistry on March 14th, 2008
The pre-story pages in which Dr. Seuss has Sam announce, “I am Sam. Sam-I-Am,” here become, Sum ‘Pincerna’ nominatus. Famulari…nunc paratus! In other (English) words: “I’m called the server. To serve I’m prepared.”
Not bad! I’m glad they went with medieval rhymegasms, too.