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I've stumbled upon this article before thanks to a tweet by @azforeman (https://twitter.com/azforeman/status/1370779212697628672 https://twitter.com/azforeman/s
by nathell 5y ago
I've stumbled upon this article before thanks to a tweet by @azforeman (https://twitter.com/azforeman/status/1370779212697628672 https://twitter.com/azforeman/status/1370779212697628672), which I'll reproduce here:
> I once was sitting in O’Hare airport reading a book of Latin poetry when a guy looking like a monk walks up to me looking utterly lost and asks “Loquerisne Latine”? (Do you speak Latin?) To which I answer “Ita, possumne te adiuvare?” (Yes, can I help you?.)
> Turned out he was indeed a Polish monk and knew only Polish and Latin. Had never been outside Poland before, or even seen the inside of an airport, and needed help finding his way.
> That is my personal story of Latin as an auxlang.
- fennecfoxen 5y agoYeah, it’s a little surprising to read the article and not see one mention of the word “church” when the Catholic one is one of the most-active modern day users of the language.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- rst 5y agoThe first example of a contemporary speaker is a Catholic priest and former staffer at the Vatican. That subsequent examples are drawn from elsewhere is probably the author deliberately trying to convey it isn't just the church.
- 1-more 5y agoThis is the dream for me. Sure I've helped the odd Spanish and French tourist, but to swing into action in Latin? This is all I could ever hope for. Gonna maybe hang around monasteries looking helpful.
- bobthechef 5y ago
- tasty_freeze 5y agoIt shouldn't take much effort to find a fluent speaker of Polish in Chicago's main airport. I don't know if it was true, but growing up there I often heard that Chicago is the second largest Polish community outside of Warsaw.