Ch 2 · Lesson 32Latin · Chapter 2 · Lesson 32 · Grammar primer
Roman slang: heus, st, eugepae
The Latin of the street, not the podium: the noises Plautus' characters actually made, to hail someone, hush them, cheer and scoff.
The short version
, !
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Plautus' characters hail each other with , hey or oi, and hush each other with st, the Roman shh. They react with babae and for wow, eugepae for brilliant, and nugae for rubbish. Several are Greek loans, borrowed the way English borrowed voilà.
Latin was taught for two thousand years from Cicero's speeches and Virgil's , so it sounds as if nobody ever used it to heckle a bad play. They did. Plautus' comedies and the Pompeii walls preserve the Latin of the street, and it is fast, rude and full of noises.
The street words on one screen
| Latin | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
! | Hey! Oi! | , ! Hey, you! |
St! | Shh! | St! Tace. Shh! Quiet. |
Babae! | Wow! | Babae! Wow! |
Eugepae! | Brilliant! | Eugepae! Hooray! |
Nugae! | Rubbish! | Nugae! Nonsense! |
! | Come on! | , ! Come on, come here! |
| please (casual) | , . Tell me, please. |
furcifer | gallows-rogue | , furcifer! Clear off, you rogue! |
bellus | nice, pretty | bella . The girl is pretty. |
Plautus' characters are slaves, soldiers, pimps and lovesick sons, and they talk like people in a farce. Below, each group with what it is for.
Getting attention, and silence
| Latin | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
! | hails someone | , Marce! Hey, Marcus! |
St! | demands silence, now | St! Tace. Shh! Be quiet. |
does the job of oi: rude to a stranger, normal between friends. St is barely a word, and your shh is doing the same job twenty centuries on.
Reactions
| Latin | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
Babae! ! | Wow! | surprise or admiration |
Eugepae! | Brilliant! Hooray! | Greek |
Nugae! | Rubbish! | properly a noun: trifles, nonsense |
Several are Greek loanwords ( is Greek papai, babae is babai). Romans borrowed them the way English borrowed voilà. Both are stock noises in Roman comedy.
Nugae! .- Rubbish! I did not say that.
Going further: Hurry up, and please and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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Lesson 32 of 39 in this chapter