Dog Latin or mock-Latin refers to the creation of a phrase or jargon in imitation of Latin, often by directly translating English words (or those of other European languages) into Latin without conjugation or declension. Unlike the similarly-named language gamePig Latin (a form of spoken code popular among young children), Dog Latin is more of a humorous device for invoking scholarly seriousness, especially when creatively used in nomenclature and naming conventions. Sometimes "dog Latin" can mean a poor-quality genuine attempt at writing in Latin.
Dog Latin is rarely put to a serious purpose, but it is used in the temporary naming of undiscovered (or not yet officially named) chemical elements. For example, the name given to element 118 is "ununoctium", the IUPACsystematic element name, from unum, unum, octo, the Latin words for "one, one, eight".
More often, correct Latin is mixed with English words for humorous effect or in an attempt to update Latin by providing words for modern items.
Examples include the following spoof of legal Latin, in the fictional case of Daniel v Dishclout ("Sam Weller's Budget of Recitations", The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens, 1838), describing a kitchen:
camera necessaria pro usus cookoree, cum sauce pannis, scullero, dressero, coalholo, stovis, smoakjacko; pro roastandum, pro rastandum, boilandum, fryandum, et plum puddings mixandum, pro turtle soupes, calves head hashibus, cum calipee et calipashibus.
Names of species in zoology and botany; e.g., some of the Warner Brothers cartoons featuring the Road Runner and Coyote open by presenting them with such titles as Accelerati Incredibus and Carnivorous Vulgaris.
Mottos, e.g. Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc translated as "We gladly feast on those who would subdue us," motto of The Addams Family in the first movie, or De Oppresso Liber, the motto of the United States Army Special Forces. Magic spells in Buffy the Vampire Slayer are usually in accurate Latin (and occasionally other languages), but the motto of Sunnydale High School is given as Formatia trans sicere educatorum ("Enter all you who seek knowledge"). In The Red Green Show, the motto of Possum Lodge is given as Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati, which according to the show means "When all else fails, play dead." A motto on an unofficial military patch of the U.S. Air Force 509th Bomb Wing reads Gustatus similis pullus, Dog Latin for "Tastes like chicken."[1]
A notable instance of this is variations on the phrase Cogito ergo sum, such as "Regato ergo sum" ("I row therefore I am", popular motto of university boat teams), and "Tesco ergo sum" ("I shop therefore I am").
Mottos, legal and scientific terminology in the Discworld series of books.
Specific examples
The motto of the Harvard Band is 'Illegitimum non carborundum est", widely understood to be Dog Latin for "Don't let the bastards wear you down".
The filler text known as lorem ipsum began as a passage by Cicero, but has been mutated and extended to become Dog Latin.
The British satirical magazine Private Eye often features a mock Latin oration in the style still used at Oxford University for honorary degrees.
On the other hand, the following verses contain only Latin words, but are in fact disguised English:
Brutus ad sum iam forte / Caesar aderat / Brutus sic in omnibus / Caesar sic in at. ("Brutus had some jam for tea / Caesar had a rat / Brutus sick in omnibus / Caesar sick in hat.")[3].
A variant is:
Brutus et erat forti / Caesar et sum iam / Brutus sic in omnibus / Caesar sic intram. ("Brutus ate a rat for tea / Caesar ate some jam / Brutus sick in omnibus / Caesar sick in tram.")
Germans have the Dog Latin phrase:
Rex equus ad Germaniam et multo in plus. (Literally "King horse to Germany and much in more." In German: "Der König Pferd nach Deutschland und viel ins mehr." Read aloud, it may sound like "Der König fährt nach Deutschland und fiel ins Meer," or "The king is going to Germany and [he] fell into the ocean.")
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