Posted on 10/30/2006 6:48:03 PM PST by G8 Diplomat
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.
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.
e 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 Pekkanen, 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.
Being a 'Latin lover' myself, could you please specify on this legend, if possible?
Well I don't know a whole lot myself, my mom was the one who told me. I could ask her tomorrow and post what I learn.
Do you know what the website is? My son is in first year Latin, I bet it would be a great learning tool!
Nevermind! They posted it on the BBC site. Thanks for the heads up G8.
You're welcome :)
I'm thrilled to hear that Latin is still being taught somewhere.
I took two years of Latin in high school. (Yes, public schooling, way back when, was pretty good.) I loved it. Latin taught me so much. I never went further in a formal education; but, compared to today's high school graduates, I'm holding my own. Indeed, my two sons, both with masters degrees, feel quite challenged taking me on at Scrabble!
As he learns Latin, he will learn English. He will learn grammar. He will learn spelling. He will learn root meanings of words which have evolved from Latin (the so-called "romance languages"). And he will learn ancient history.
Tell your son he is in for far more pleasure than he could ever have imagined. Latin is not that hard to learn.
Just one word of caution: Tell him NOT to fall behind, or he's in considerable trouble!
Chorus: 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.
Verse: You're so near to Russia,
So far from Japan.
Quite a long way from Ca
iro,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.
Chorus: 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.
Verse: You're so sadly neglected,
And o
ften ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.
Chorus: 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.
Repeat: 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.
Fade: Finland has it all...
Finnish has 15 cases, so declining a Latin noun or adjective must be child's play for them.
Appreciate it! Best wishes.
I saw that song on another FR thread!
Yeah LOL. When I was studying Finnish I saw that there were 15 cases and I went crazy. I took a year of Latin last year in 11th grade and it didn't seem too bad compared to Finnish!
As a service to the Esperanto-speaking community of the EU, the same newsletters are now also available in Esperanto here as announced in a presidential newsletter a couple of months ago. Enjoy!
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Note: this topic is from October 30, 2006. |
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