Conspectus Rerum Latinus in Press - Part 1
As I warned yesterday, here comes the first part of the review of the commentaries that Finland's EU Precidency site's Latin language news report has received in international press and blogsphere. Let's see what the press reported in early July.
Guardian Special report: Finns turn jargon of Unio Europaea into poetry with weekly news bulletin - in Latin
The rather long report by Nicholas Watt on 4 July presents the news service as a dream-come-true for all hard-line classicists. Written in positive, humorous tone, the article gives examples that prove how much better the EU sounds in Latin and urges eurocrats to get their dictionaries ready. Due credit is given to the distinguished Finnish tradition of classical scholarship, and reference is also made to Nuntii Latinii weekly radio broadcast. Several people, including author Dr Reijo Pitkäranta and British a classics scholar Dr Bruce Gibson had been interviewed. The report suggests that this initiative can turn opinions more favourable towards the Union, as demonstrated through the example of British Conservative MP and ardent EU-critic Boris Johnson, also interviewed for the article, who was truly impressed and hopes everybody will read the Latin news report.
Reuters: Finland opts for Latin in EU communications
This is a short news item telling that New EU president Finland is having some fun and publishing news in Latin to remind Europeans of their roots stretching back to ancient times. The Reuters and Guardian reports spread to several publications all over the world, including Taipei Times, Sydney Morning Herald, Qatar-based Gulf Times, and Turkish Daily News.
Les Echos: Quand l'Europe renoue avec le latin
This is a fairly recent article by Karl de Meyer, published in the French business daily Les Echos on 11 August. The article 'When Europe revives Latin' presents Finland as a delight for all nostalgics of Gaffiot (French distinguished Latin scholar), Petronius fans, and opponents of the English linguistic hegemony. Flavoured with a number of Latin expressions, the news story makes reference to Nuntii Latinii, the previous conspectus in 1999 and the German language dispute. Subsequently, the continuing demands of Germans for they language are discussed in the more general setting of the EU working language policy and its complications.
Labels: English, Finland, Latin, Lingua latina, Nuntii latini
