Norway is a part of Europe, but has twice tried to run away. Fortunately, Sweden and Finland have captured the country both times, as visible in this picture.
Posted on 10/24/2006 2:33:03 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim
Finland is one of the quieter members of the EU. But now its turn at the EU presidency has thrust it into the spotlight - and exposed an unusual passion.
Like the boy at the party with cheese straws stuck up his nose, it has been caught doing something vaguely disturbing - indulging a penchant for Latin.
It is the only country in the world which broadcasts the news in Latin.
On its EU presidency website one can find descriptions of meetings in Latin. But love of the language of Rome goes deep.
'Eternal language'
I am in a hotel somewhere comfortably north of Helsinki. It is off-season, so the place is deserted. There are dark brown mock logs, lining one side of the room. Fake beams on the ceiling, chocolate-box pictures on the walls.
There is also a man in the corner of the room singing Elvis Presley's songs in Latin, like Can't Help Falling In Love - or Non adamare non possum.
It sounds a little like Italian but rather more stilted - like Italian sung by a Finnish person.
We are a long way from Memphis.
--ELVIS IN LATIN
Surrender - Nunc aeternitatis
It's Now Or Never - Nunc hic aut numquam
Can't Help Falling In Love - Non adamare non possum
Wooden Heart - Cor ligneum
Love Me Tender - Tenere me ama
The singer is Dr Jukka Ammondt, an academic whose twin passions, it appears to him, march in lock-step.
"The legend of Elvis Presley lives for ever, and it's of course very important to sing Elvis Presley's songs in the Latin language, because Latin is the eternal language," he says.
Mia Lahti, who edits the EU presidency website, is like many Finns an optimist at heart. But why do a website in Latin?
"The website is in English and French," she says.
But they have their secret language: Conspectus rerum Latinus, or "Latin News in Brief".
"I know there are people who are angry because, for example, in their childhood they had to read compulsory Latin. But also I think it might be interesting to read the news in brief in Latin," Ms Lahti believes.
Latin revenge
Lurking within the world of EU Latin, which is only marginally more difficult to comprehend than EU English, is one delightful statistic - more people subscribe to the newsletter in Latin than to the one in French.
The Finns are clearly having their revenge on French President Jacques Chirac, who once dismissed their food as the worst in the EU.
The news in Latin on national radio gets 75,000 listeners, which may not sound like much, but on a per capita basis is more than some BBC Radio 4 programmes get.
This is the final piece in the Finland Latin jigsaw.
"In Latin we have more listeners in the world than for Finnish broadcasts," explains Professor Tuomo Pekannen, who does the translations.
"Latin is more known abroad than Finnish," he adds.
Perhaps Finland wants to dominate the global news agenda in the same way Elvis once dominated the music scene.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
It's the country for me.
You're so near to Russia,
So far from Japan.
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.
You're so sadly neglected,
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.
Finland has it all...
I'm speechless.
Suomi frigida sed pulchra est.
Norway is a part of Europe, but has twice tried to run away. Fortunately, Sweden and Finland have captured the country both times, as visible in this picture.
Latin is also supposed to be popular in Hungary. It's a portal for those who speak a non-Indo-European language to get closer to the other Western languages, whether French, Italian, and Spanish, or German and English, since so much vocabulary comes from Latin roots.
Lentus-a-um!
Do Finnish hog farmers speak pig Latin?
Actually, the Finns have been real leaders in the revival of Latin, and any Latinist who wants to log on and listen will be amply rewarded. Also, Latin teachers out there - and their students - will enjoy the current events in Latin.
Highly recommended!
Just toss another reindeer on the barby eh!
Not good, but otherwise understandable Latin.
Actually, all that marvelous vocabulary ends up coming from Ladino, which is not exactly Latin. This is the language where advances in the sciences, arts, and engineering were made in the Medieval period.
Latin ping-a-ling!
ping
Can any of you Latinists point me to sites with accented Latin texts and one-letter diphtongs? I've put together a Latin reading tool at semi-fluent.com, and I'd like to evaluate whether I should spend my time treating such special cases.
My wife is in Linguistics Dept. She said nowadays 'Endangered Languages' issue is very hot in that field. Donor agencies (NSF, etc.) provide tons of money to research on preserving these endangered languages. Some of them only have less than 100 speakers. And now these people are making a big deal about Latin, a very important language of the past?
All and good, but do they have Elvis on black velvet?
A complete jackass wrote this article.
Good for Finland: Latin's one of the cooler languages in the world.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.