Nope.
Stop using B.C.E. and C.E. you cretins!
- Thread starter AlpsStranger
- Start date
I know I sound like a Latin teacher advertising his subject now, but Latin is everywhere. All major European languages are influenced by it, and so it helped me a great deal in my later efforts to learn other Romanic languages (not that I want to claim I'm actually able to speak those). Also both English and German, languages I could speak before I picked up Latin, use Latin loanwords to great extent and it's really useful to know the meaning of an unfamiliar word just by identifying its Latin roots.
I also think that the analytical nature of Latin translation (which works quite differently than working with living languages) helps you train your analytical skills overall.
Also, and this is more a personal preference, I found it more interesting to read Caesar, Cicero, Livy and Pliny instead of, I don't know, some contemporary or 19th century French author. Later classes (12th and 13th grade) in French, judging by what my friends were doing, were mainly concerned with boring literary analysis which already annoyed me enough in German classes and made me drop English; in Latin, we discussed history and philosophy instead.
And what would French get me? Nothing really unique. I had no inclination to live in France, the only relevant country where it is spoken (no offense Africa). Even Spanish is more useful than that.
I also think that the analytical nature of Latin translation (which works quite differently than working with living languages) helps you train your analytical skills overall.
Also, and this is more a personal preference, I found it more interesting to read Caesar, Cicero, Livy and Pliny instead of, I don't know, some contemporary or 19th century French author. Later classes (12th and 13th grade) in French, judging by what my friends were doing, were mainly concerned with boring literary analysis which already annoyed me enough in German classes and made me drop English; in Latin, we discussed history and philosophy instead.
And what would French get me? Nothing really unique. I had no inclination to live in France, the only relevant country where it is spoken (no offense Africa). Even Spanish is more useful than that.
GhostWriter16
Deity
@The OP- Yeah, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I honestly don't have the will to learn a new system and I don't think most other people do either. Nothing personal against other faiths, but I just don't want to have to think about what 1865AD or whatever is in another system.
@Whoever said before Obama- Before Obama would be stupid . Make much more sense to use Franklin Delano Roosevelt's inauguration. We could do "BT" (Before Tyranny) and "AT" (After tyranny.)
@Whoever said before Obama- Before Obama would be stupid . Make much more sense to use Franklin Delano Roosevelt's inauguration. We could do "BT" (Before Tyranny) and "AT" (After tyranny.)
GoodGame
Red, White, & Blue, baby!
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2004
- Messages
- 13,725
People with an actual education
(And in the case of Germany, everyone who dislikes French.)
Since the zero has been "invented" after Jesus' life, I suppose notAnd even Indians start counting things with one anyways.
Hmm...point one is a bit snide. Sorry if you are offended as a linquist/classicalist, but really, how does Latin survive in non-classical topics except as an alternative means of footnoting and as bits and pieces in scientific nomenclature?
Some allege that the zero is as old as Babylon and was used in India before 1 CE.
Fixed.
GhostWriter16
Deity
Surely it'd be AD 1, not 1 AD.
/me still thinks we should adopt the Seleukid Era or use yearly eponymous politicians
Graceheart the Leopard
Resident Amur leopard
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2007
- Messages
- 3,476
I say we switch to the Yuanshi Era. For example, 2012 CE would be 2012 YE.
Use the system in use before the Gregorian calendar. We're in the fourth year of Obama.
Ooohhh
Luckymoose
The World is Mine
anandus
Errorist
2012 AD, 1433 AH or 5772 AM (on monday it's 5773, so happy new year) is nice for those people that need to use it for their respective temple worshipping and such.
But for most (secular) people a calendar without a religious reference would be a lot better.
Personally, it would make sense to start counting at the beginning of human kind.
Such as the Omo remains, the oldest (known) human remains, 175.000 years ago.
Unfortunately one can never be sure if those will stay the oldest remains (and humans didn't instantly appear of course), secondly at such an age there's a margin of error upwards and downwards.
A second option is to maybe look at the beginning of civilization, but this is marred with uncertainty and there's absolutely no set date.
And as such is an impossibility we're better off to make do with the current system of BCE/CE.
And to be honest, maybe we should us the AM-count for the Common Era instead of the AD-count.
It's older and overlaps for a great deal with the history of writing. Maybe a thousand years off, but a lot more accurate than both the AD- and the AH-count.
But for most (secular) people a calendar without a religious reference would be a lot better.
Personally, it would make sense to start counting at the beginning of human kind.
Such as the Omo remains, the oldest (known) human remains, 175.000 years ago.
Unfortunately one can never be sure if those will stay the oldest remains (and humans didn't instantly appear of course), secondly at such an age there's a margin of error upwards and downwards.
A second option is to maybe look at the beginning of civilization, but this is marred with uncertainty and there's absolutely no set date.
And as such is an impossibility we're better off to make do with the current system of BCE/CE.
And to be honest, maybe we should us the AM-count for the Common Era instead of the AD-count.
It's older and overlaps for a great deal with the history of writing. Maybe a thousand years off, but a lot more accurate than both the AD- and the AH-count.
Fixed again in case anyone didn't notice the first time
If the terms BC/AD have theological, ecclesiastical significance, then how do the terms "Thursday", "Friday", or "Saturday" influence you? Big 'B' Blasphemy or just little 'b' blasphemy?
I think I'm being misinterpreted here. I didn't want to imply that you don't a have an actual education if you don't study Latin. That would be ridiculous. But it's as ridiculous to imply that it's a useless thing to learn.
And I'm not a linguist or classicalist. I really don't have any particular affection for Latin or the topics associated with its era (I know I sounded a bit like that in my defense of it). I only reject the widespread idea that it's a useless thing to learn Latin because it's a dead language. Therefore I don't think your point that Latin doesn't "survive" except in some select fields is all that relevant. I've mentioned several advantages that come with it that don't have anything to do with actually "using" the Latin language.
By the way, yesterday, after I've made the above post, I've come across the word "pecuniary". I've never heard it before, and there wasn't much context, but I knew immediately what it meant. That's useful.
Sorry, but your smug one liner posts don't impress me. I've laid out my argument, if you don't want to do the same your position is worthless to me.The same thing Latin did, only with a head start on a useful language.
[It is far from obvious why French would do the same, especially because most aspects of my posts addressed the specific differences between learning Latin and French.]
Hail Thor!
Ah, well that example is one of the abominations that fall under the Sins of Sodom!
GhostWriter16
Deity
Using the "Oldest known human remains" would still be a religious calender. Somewhere between 10 and 45 percent of Americans are YECs and would be offended
Not at all. I'm kind of kidding.
The thing is, if you are going to keep the exact same dates that were used for BC/AD yet take the Christian references out, that's kind of a slap in the face to the Christian religion.
If they changed the dates altogether to a secular system, it would be fine, but then I'd have to relearn all of the dates I know, and so would everyone else. So its not worth it.
Nobody freaking cares except the rabid anti-religion types, so leave it
Similar threads
