The letter "K" in Latin

While discussing the "Kalends" in chapter 36 in class, we wondered why the word began with "K," since we thought that the Roman alphabet did not include a "K."

Follow this link to learn more about the letter "K." 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K
The two paragraphs below are most relevant:

"In the earliest Latin inscriptions, the letters C, K and Q were all used to represent the sounds /k/ and /g/ (which were not differentiated in writing). Of these, Q was used to represent /k/ or /g/ before a rounded vowel, K before /a/, and C elsewhere. Later, the use of C (and its variant G) replaced most usages of K and Q. K survived only in a few fossilized forms such as Kalendae, "the calends".^[5]
When Greek words were taken into Latin, the Kappa was changed to C, with a few exceptions such as the praenomen 'Kaeso'.^[2] Some words from other alphabets were also transliterated with C. Hence, the Romance languages have 'K' only in words from other language groups. The Celtic languages also chose 'C' over 'K', and this influence carried over into Old English. Today, English is the only Germanic language to productively use hard C in addition to K (although Dutch uses it in learned words of Latin origin and follows the same hard/soft distinction in such words)."

You may also wish to follow this link to learn more about the "Kalends."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calends

Adjectives and Adverbs - Proper Uses

We have been discussing Adjectives and Adverbs quite a bit in class.  Recently, we wondered whether it is okay to use "quicker" as an adverb.  i.e. "Joe ran quicker than Bill."

The following link provides several excellent guidelines about adjectives and adverbs.  Rule #6 applies directly to our discussion, indicating that it is NOT okay to use "quicker" as an adverb.

http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/adjAdv.asp

Farther and Further

We recently discussed "farther" vs. "further" in class.  Follow this link for a nice, concise description of when to use which one.
http://grammarist.com/usage/farther-further/

The Argiletum

Here is a brief description of the Argiletum, a Roman street that Eucleides went to in Chapter 25.

Argiletum

rgiletum was the paved road on the far northwesterly end of the Basilica Aemilia. The road led from the original Roman Forum to the busy quarter of Subura. It was the place where you could find the booksellers and copyists. However, it was a road of ill fame. Large was the number of passengers there, robbed by skilful pickpockets.
In his Aeneid Virgil explains the name Argiletum. "Argi letum" means "the violent death of Argus". The mythical king Euander, king of Pallanteum, would have received Argus, a stranger to him, very hospitably. However, Euander found out that Argus wanted to kill him to take over his empire. This insidious plan was not quite to Euander's liking so he killed Argus when he had arrived at his palace.
Because of the hospitality that bound him to Argus the king gave him a grave at a site that ever since reminds of the death of Argus.
Another explanation is the following: "Argile" means clay, in other words, "Argiletum" would mean something like "place where clay is found or processed into ceramics". (http://intranet.grundel.nl/thinkquest/argiletum.html)

The web site that the text above comes from describes the entire Roman Forum.  The site was created by students after a visit to Rome.  It is well worth a look. Here is a link to the home page: http://intranet.grundel.nl/thinkquest/

Here is a map showing the location of the Argiletum:
In the center, you can see the word "Subura," and on the left end of the red line, you can see the FORUM.  You can also see the Esquiline Hill labeled on the far right.



Suburra (usually spelled Subura in antiquity) is an area of the city of Rome, Italy. In ancient Roman times, it was a crowded lower-class area that was also notorious as a red-light district. It lies in the dip between the southern end of the Viminal and the western end of the Esquiline hills. Most of its inhabitants lived in insulae, tall apartment buildings with tabernae on the ground floor.
Julius Caesar grew up in a family home (domus) in the Subura district, as the Subura had grown up around the property many years before his birth. (From Wikipedia)

Comp Review for Latin I

Here is a helpful verb review for Latin I.
Latin I Verb Review

Comprehensive Exam Review

Below are the links to two documents that should help you prepare for the Latin II comprehensive exam.

One is a review of the verb forms and their English translations that we have learned this year.  This would be a very good review to prepare for the first 30 questions of the comprehensive exam.
Verb Review Notes


The second document lists in parallel format all the Demonstrative and Indefinite Adjectives/Pronouns we learned this year.  A good way to study this sheet would be to cover one column and see if you can remember the forms.Demonstrative & Indefinite Pronouns/Adjectives

Roman Numerals Explained

In Chapter 38, we learned more about Roman numerals.
Here are two helpful videos to understand the Roman system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDCv4phngm8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROns8oPLH_4