Pope Francis Twitters.
I haven't got into the Twitter craze yet but I see that the Pope has and it has become one of the greatest surprises. The Pope's Twitter account in Latin has surpassed all expectations. It was expected to draw some 5,000 followers. Instead, it has over 213,000.
Though it may sound rather ironic, a language that hasn't been spoken in centuries has become a prime way to use one of the most modern and popular communication tools today. What we usually have to say with 12 or 14 words, in Latin about four words are enough.
His account is: @Pontifex_ln
For Valentine's Day his message was:
"Iuvenes – ne vereamini matrimonio iungi. Alicui quidem fideliter et fecunde coniungi iucundum est."
People with a bit of Latin often re-post it in their own lingo, e.g.
In English: "Young people, let you not be afraid to marry. A faithful and fruitful marriage will bring you happiness."
In Irish: "A dhaoine óga! Ná bíodh eagla oraibh pósadh. Bronnfaidh pósadh dílis agus torthúil sonas oraibh."
Yesterday' message was: "Deum precemur pacem in Africa, praesertim in Republica Africae Mediae atque Sudania Australi."
Maybe you would like to try your hand at it and re-post it yourself?
Though it may sound rather ironic, a language that hasn't been spoken in centuries has become a prime way to use one of the most modern and popular communication tools today. What we usually have to say with 12 or 14 words, in Latin about four words are enough.
His account is: @Pontifex_ln
For Valentine's Day his message was:
"Iuvenes – ne vereamini matrimonio iungi. Alicui quidem fideliter et fecunde coniungi iucundum est."
People with a bit of Latin often re-post it in their own lingo, e.g.
In English: "Young people, let you not be afraid to marry. A faithful and fruitful marriage will bring you happiness."
In Irish: "A dhaoine óga! Ná bíodh eagla oraibh pósadh. Bronnfaidh pósadh dílis agus torthúil sonas oraibh."
Yesterday' message was: "Deum precemur pacem in Africa, praesertim in Republica Africae Mediae atque Sudania Australi."
Maybe you would like to try your hand at it and re-post it yourself?
I barely made it through a year of high school German. LOL.........
*hangs head in shame*
Typical American. :p
Hugs, Jon
I've also noticed that the Pope's tweets seem to appear on a regular schedule, which makes me think that they must be written ahead of time and set to release at a certain time.
The way I noticed was that Pope Francis' tweets often appear within minutes of the Dalai Lama's tweets (@DalaiLama). It's amusing how often they touch on the same theme.
I wonder if they mean he doesn't do the physical tweeting, but does write what is put on there.
The Finnish government, when it had the presidency of the European Union in 2006, sent newsletters in Latin:-) There's life in the old lingo yet...
We pray God for peace in Africa, especially in the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
"Deum precemur pacem in Africa, praesertim in Republica Africae Mediae atque Sudania Australi."
Republica Africae Mediae: Central African Republic
Sudania Australi: Southern Sudan
Deum: extremely obvious - 'to God'
pacem: peace
precemur: going by my knowledge of sung masses, it's part of the verb 'to pray'
praesertim: it's an adverb and I'm not sure of the exact appropriate meaning, but it'd be something like 'principally'
atque: can be 'and' but it's more or a 'not only, but also' in its meaning - remember that Hail And Farewell is 'Ave atque vale'.
So...bit stilted, but:
"Let us pray to God for peace in Africa, principally in the Central African Republic, also in southern Sudan."
Edited at 2014-02-16 13:31 (UTC)
I shall feel smug for about as long as it takes me to type this sentence.