SMBC Comics Forum

"Decimate the dead, not the living" should be the tagline of "Walking Dead: Rome". Well, that or "non omnis moriar".

It's a pun, dagnabit! (dicimus/discimus)

No decimation involved: the verb is dico, to speak (dicimus = we are speaking). Vitae and morti are dative of purpose, as in the original Seneca quote non vitae, sed scholae discimus. (Not for life, but for school are we studying.)

*Sigh.* Pliny the Elder would understand, if he read this comic.

Boy, did this go over my head like a satellite. I was just making a lowly I-recognize-the-roots-but-not-the-words joke.

I didn't get the pun either. I don't even think dicimus and discimus sound that much alike.

dangerkeith300 wrote:I don't even think dicimus and discimus sound that much alike.

You're probably thinking in English phonics, which generally gives the letter C an "s" sound after "i". In classical Latin, the letter C always has a hard "k" pronunciation. Cicero (pronounced "kikero") and Tacitus (pronounced "takitus") would get it.

Gradivus wrote:

dangerkeith300 wrote:I don't even think dicimus and discimus sound that much alike.

You're probably thinking in English phonics, which generally gives the letter C an "s" sound after "i". In classical Latin, the letter C always has a hard "k" pronunciation. Cicero (pronounced "kikero") and Tacitus (pronounced "takitus") would get it.

When I made my first post I was thinking in classical Latin. Dicimus and discimus don't sound the same because discimus has the "k" sound in it and the other doesn't. They only look similar; one having an extra letter.

It would be more of a homophone with English/French/Spanish/etc phonetics. Not Classical. So I am confused by your reply.

I can't really make a decent joke out of it, but someone here must: The word for speaking in Latin is "dico" (pronounced "dick-uh".) So... I don't know, the joke should be Romans are always dicks when they talk to you (because, read a history book, they totally were. That or bad-ass, until about the 2-3rd century AD.)

dangerkeith300 wrote:When I made my first post I was thinking in classical Latin. Dicimus and discimus don't sound the same because discimus has the "k" sound in it and the other doesn't. They only look similar; one having an extra letter.

Once again, in classical Latin the letter C always had a hard "k" pronunciation. It's the "k" sound in both words. Di-ki-mus. Dis-ki-mus. You may be thinking in Vulgate or "Church" (Medieval) Latin.

a1s wrote:The word for speaking in Latin is "dico" (pronounced "dick-uh".)

More like dee-ko.

I have a vewy gweat fwiend in Wome called 'Biggus Dickus.'

dangerkeith300 wrote:When I made my first post I was thinking in classical Latin. Dicimus and discimus don't sound the same because discimus has the "k" sound in it and the other doesn't. They only look similar; one having an extra letter.

Gradivus wrote:Once again, in classical Latin the letter C always had a hard "k" pronunciation. It's the "k" sound in both words. Di-ki-mus. Dis-ki-mus. You may be thinking in Vulgate or "Church" (Medieval) Latin.

I see why you think I think that about the letter "c", which I don't: I wrote above that one had the "k" sound and the other doesn't. I meant the "s" sound. The pun doesn't work, to me, because of the S. (Unless it is silent in Classical Latin???) Anywho, this is turning into one of the geekiest threads ever and not in a good way.

dangerkeith300 wrote:

dangerkeith300 wrote:When I made my first post I was thinking in classical Latin. Dicimus and discimus don't sound the same because discimus has the "k" sound in it and the other doesn't. They only look similar; one having an extra letter.

Gradivus wrote:Once again, in classical Latin the letter C always had a hard "k" pronunciation. It's the "k" sound in both words. Di-ki-mus. Dis-ki-mus. You may be thinking in Vulgate or "Church" (Medieval) Latin.

I see why you think I think that about the letter "c", which I don't: I wrote above that one had the "k" sound and the other doesn't. I meant the "s" sound. The pun doesn't work, to me, because of the S.

It's not that precise of a pun. It's more on the level of "Dawn of the Bread" and "If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal".

This is really beyond my comprehension. A simple I know the ancestry but not the vocabulary joke was all I was trying to do.krunker