Re:Can Italians Understand Latin?
by jaclaz on Friday June 16, 2023 @08:36AM
(#36355546)
Yes, but we almost always have the latin derived form in close meaning other uses.
In your example, "caseum" is not transferred in common italian, but the "cheese industry" is "industria casearia", so - generally speaking - you can get most times the meaning.
The real issues come when there are "false friends", in the old times there was the famous (I believe fabricated) example "I VITELLI DEI ROMANI SONO BELLI", which is valid both in Italian and in Latin, but in the former language it means "Romans' calves are beautiful" while in the latter one it means "Go, Vitellio, to the sound of the Roman god's war".
In your example, "caseum" is not transferred in common italian, but the "cheese industry" is "industria casearia", so - generally speaking - you can get most times the meaning.
The real issues come when there are "false friends", in the old times there was the famous (I believe fabricated) example "I VITELLI DEI ROMANI SONO BELLI", which is valid both in Italian and in Latin, but in the former language it means "Romans' calves are beautiful" while in the latter one it means "Go, Vitellio, to the sound of the Roman god's war".