Contents

=> Latin Phrases
=> Latin-English Gap-Fill exercises
=> Latin Abbreviations
=> Answers to Latin-English Gap-Fill
=> One Little Quiz Question
=> In the Next Issue


—————————————————————
Welcome & Reader Comments
—————————————————————

This 26th issue of “English Teachers in Russia” marks the one-year anniversary of its publication.

We appreciate all of you who write to say really nice things. E.g. …

<>Thanks to Oleg Iovenko from Krasnodar for saying we’re “so creative, resourceful and inexhaustible!” And that we have an “unsurpassable sense of humor!!!”

<> Thanks to the Nadezhda Perelgut and the EL Department at Nizhnevartovsk State Pedagogical Institute for writing, “your Business English lessons helped us surprise our American colleagues by our knowledge of professional slang!

<> And thanks to all of you who have written. We toast you all (with a cup of coffee), and wish you a HAPPY NEW ACADEMIC YEAR.

–Kevin M,
Responsible Editor
–I.M. Poosheesty,
Irresponsible (but more fun) Editor

—————————————————————
LATIN PHRASES
—————————————————————

Here are 8 common Latin expressions that are still used in English. These are known to just about everyone, not just lawyers, economists, or mathematicians. You’ll find them most oftenin written English, but they are spoken too.

I’ve included the modern English pronunciation in [brackets].

1. ALMA MATER [Al-much MOTT-er]
= the university you graduated from. “Oh, you went to Fluffy University? That’s my alma mater too.”

2. CIRCA [SIR-kuh]
= …around the year/approximately in the year… “Socrates probably drank his first bottle of wine circa 460 B.C.”

3. ERGO [air-GO]
= therefore.
“I think, ergo I’m pretty thoughtful.”

4. ET CETERA [et-SET-er-uh]
= …and so on; and other things.
“We bought pencils, pens, staples, et cetera.”

5. LINGUA FRANCA [LING-gwa FRANK-uh]
= any language widely used for communication in areas where a variety of languages are spoken.
“French used to be the common language when people from many countries gathered; ergo the term ‘lingua franca.’”

6. NON SEQUITUR [non SEK-kwah-ter]
= a statement that doesn’t logically follow what has been said before.
“I said I was hungry. She said that penguins are great swimmers. She always talks in non sequiturs.”

7. PER SE [per SAY]
= in and of itself;
“He’s not a bad cook per se; he’s just doesn’t wash his hands very often.”
*Note: “per se” is usually used with “not” or in a negative sentence.

8. PERSONA NON GRATA [per-SOHN-uh non-GRAT-uh]
= a person who is not welcome.
“After accidentally poisoning the eaters with bad mushrooms, Liz became a persona non grata at Uncle Joe’s potluck dinners.”

—————————————————————
LATIN-ENGLISH GAP-FILL
—————————————————————

Choose one of the above phrases and put it in the gap
below.

1. Perhaps because India has so many languages (over 600),
English is often the _____________________.

2. Everyone was shocked by Mr. Poosheesty’s crazy–and
rather destructive–style of dancing; so after that
night he was a ___________________ at our parties.

3. I can never understand the process of his thinking.
Each sentence is one __________________
followed by another.

4. No one knows exactly when the Pyramids were built,
but most think it was _____________ 2500 B.C.

5. Presidents George Bush, George W. Bush, and Bill
Clinton all share the same ________________. They
went to Yale University.

6. Drinking alcohol is not bad for the health ___________,
but it must be drunk in moderation.

7. He’s had most food-service jobs–cook, dishwasher,
waiter, cashier, ______________–but his greatest
dream is to become a lion tamer.

8. I am an English teacher; _____________ my salary is
low.

(Answers after “Latin Abbreviations)

————————————————————–
LATIN ABBREVIATIONS
————————————————————–

These Latin abbreviations are incredibly common in written
English.

1. e.g.
(from “exemplii gratia”). It’s used to mean “for example.”
It’s sometimes used in spoken English and pronounced
just as the letters are: “i.e.”

2. etc.
(from “et cetera.” See above). Pronounced in the full
from “et-SET-er-a.”

3. i.e.
(from “id est” which means “that is.”) Use it to mean,
“In other words…” It’s sometimes used in spoken English
and pronounced just as the letters are: “i.e.”

————————————————————–
=> Answers to Latin-English Gap-Fill
————————————————————–

1. lingua franca
2. persona non grata
3. non sequitur
4. circa
5. alma mater
6. per se
7. et cetera
8. ergo

————————————————————–
One Little Quiz Question
————————————————————–

What’s a “potluck dinner?”
Answer in the next issue.

————————————————————–
IN THE NEXT ISSUE: (Sept. 20, 2002)
————————————————————–

Little-scraps-of-paper Games