Annus Horribilis: Latin for Everyday Life [Paperback]

Everyone remembers the Queen's 'Annus Horribilis', but what do 'quid pro quo' and 'habeas corpus' mean? Why do plants have Latin names? Why do families, towns, countries and even football teams have Latin mottoes? What do the Latin epitaphs in churches say? What are the words of Mozart's 'Requiem'? These are just a few of the topics covered in this book. As Mark Walker makes clear, present-day English is still steeped in its Roman and Latin origins. As a result English still has many thousands of Latin words in everyday use.

This book has been thoroughly "road-tested" on my adult Latin students, and they have all really enjoyed learning the joys of Latin via "everyday" examples: quotations, abbreviations, familiar phrases, epitaphs, inscriptions, and music texts from the Latin Mass to Christmas Carols and Carmina Burana.

This is the hardback, commerically produced edition of the book I originally self-published as plain old "Latin for Everyday Life" under my own Pineapple Publications imprint. I'm thrilled that Tempus have picked it up and produced such a fine (and affordable!) edition for the general reader. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Everybody remembers the Queen's `Annus Horribilis', but what do 'quid pro quo' and 'habeas corpus' mean? Why do plants have Latin names? Why do families, towns, countries and even football teams have Latin mottoes? What do the Latin epitaphs in churches say? What are the words of Mozart's 'Requiem'?

These are just a few of the topics covered in this book. As Mark Walker makes clear, present-day English is still steeped in its Roman and Latin origins. As a result English still has many thousands of Latin words in everyday use.

Caveat emptor! --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Mark Walker is also the author of Annus Mirabilis: More Latin for Everyday Life and Britannica Latina: 2000 Years of British Latin, both published by The History Press.