The Telegraph invites me to write about English. But I spent years as a boy studying Latin. So I invite you to ten minutes doing so too. You'll find I haven't exceeded my brief after all.
English not only is partly based on Latin. It also uses actual fragments of Latin. Uses, sic - which was Latin for "thus", and for us means "yes, that's what I said": we use the words, yet don't think them English.
For instance eg, as I write it, short for exempli gratia, Latin for "for the sake of example". Or ie, short for id est, "that is". Purists write e.g. and i.e., since these are abbreviations. But the full stops can look messy; so, not alone, I omit them.
Spreading wide
Abbreviations abound: from DV, Deo volente, "God willing", down to etc, short for et cetera, "and the rest". Or et seq in lists, from et sequentia, "and the following things". Or viz, short for the old videlicet, which in turn was short for videre licet, "to see (this) is allowed", ie, "what I'm talking about is...". The secretary's pp as she signs for the boss began as per procurationem, "by proxy", but was later thought of as per pro, "by, on behalf of", so no one is sure whose name to put first.
The law's many Latin tags, such as amicus curiae, "a friend of the court", or ad litem, "for the purposes of (this) case", are mostly used only by lawyers. But some have spread widely, such as sine qua non, "without which not". That qua, oddly, is a feminine form of Latin's "which"; the phrase began as causa, sine qua non, and causa, "a cause", was feminine. Legalese also gave us in absentia, "in (his) absence"; ad rem, "to the point", rem being the accusative case of res, "a thing"; pro bono, originally pro bono publico, "for the public good"; and sub judice, "under a judge".
Ante-bellum, "before the (ie, America's civil) war", is rare except for events - or, often, southern mansions - of that period. But compos mentis, "in control of one's mind", has gone beyond medicine, as has persona non grata, "a person unwelcome", beyond diplomatese.
Old style
In general use are: a priori, "from what came before"; ab initio, "from the start"; ad hoc, "toward this"; ad nauseam; ad infinitum; ad hominem, "toward the man" - usually one easier to bash than is his argument. So too bona fide, "in good faith"; cui bono?, "to whom for a benefit?", ie, "who profited?"; de facto, "from what's been done"; ex post facto, now often slimmed to ex post, "from something done later"; in situ, "in its (original) place". And pro rata, once pro rata parte, "according to the calculated share".
Ceteris paribus has now largely yielded to its translation, "other things being equal". But mutatis mutandis, "those things changed that had to be changed", is still often used. Per diem, "per day", makes (as English does) a mediaeval rather than Roman use of per. Quid pro quo - "what for what?" - is now almost English; so too status quo, "the state in which".
Some phrases raise issues of pronunciation. I say prima facie - "at first face", ie, "at first sight"- as the Victorians did, "pry-mer fay-sh-i-ee". But "pree-maa fak-i-ay" is taking over. We say "non grah-ter" and "pro rah-ter"; but in ex gratia, "from kindness", or Deo gratias, "thanks (be) to God" the grati- is old-style "gray-shi-..."
A last fragment from my early schooldays. Anyone wants it? Quiz?- the Latin quis?, "who?". Your answer, I hope: ego.
thewordcage@yahoo.co.uk