Latin seems to hide in plain sight. I turn around and spot it randomly. Many things are also written to look like Latin using English words. People place –us and –um to the end of words and “create” Latin. I’ve seen that often. On to finding Latin under my nose, yes there is some “duh” and “no, really” moments but I’m just showing that Latin is still in use.
Latin is used as dummy text. Not my favourite use of Latin but it is still a use. You’ve probably seen this text before. The text is called lorem ipsum. Most people think it is just made up and has no meaning. It has a meaning, very roughly translated, “pain itself.” Lorem is short for delorum meaning pain, grief, misery, and suffering. It came from Cicero’s text, De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum (Of the boundaries of good and evil). It came from sections 1.10.32-1.10.33. The full text can be viewed at lipsum.com with translation.
I first came across it when I was creating a website on Google Sites. One of their templates was full of this Latin text. At the time I hadn’t a clue what it was. I tried to translate it. Sometimes it makes sense, other times it does not. In more research I came to find that it has some words missing. I also found that it is supposed to be nonsense that someone can use to advertise a website template or it can be used a kind of place holder too.
lorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur?
In the creating of a website and in general, when you are showing something, like a template, the reader will be distracted by readable content. Lorem ipsum looks like a normal distribution of letters but it is not immediate recognizable to the English eye. It also looks better than “content here.”
Latin can be found in really random places. I know that we all know about the Latin saying throughout our government. Latin is on our currency. E pluribus unum, a saying we see every day. It is part of a poem that was written by an unknown author and is generally attributed to Virgil. It came from the idea “out of many one.” When the United States was young it suggested that out of the many states and colonies would come one nation. It is one of the three dictums on the Seal of the United States. These are not as well known. The mottos are Annuit coeptis and Novus ordo seclorum. The meaning of Annuit coeptis is “he approves of all undertakings.” Novus ordo seclorum means “new order of the ages.”
Latin is a highly visible, dead language. It is part of our currency and on the Seal of the United States. Latin is used because of how it looks on dummy sites and templates. Latin is used more often than one might think.
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