This week, I read quite a startling post on a social media facebook page. A mother had been rummaging through her teenage son's stuff and come across a piece of paper with three words baldly inscribed thereon – error, sox and lancet. No other clues - just these three words. What could it mean? Was it sinister? What did the lad intend to do?
As a parent, I was shocked. Firstly that she was rummaging in such a shameful way, and secondly, that having stumbled across some possibly "incriminating " evidence of her son 's deviancy/criminality/mental health vulnerability, she was asking a bunch of strangers via the internet what to do next. Talk to your child seems the obvious solution. Ask him what it means and apologise most profusely for sticking in a parental nose. Parenting teens is often not easy, but if trust has been built up over childhood, one hopes that one can get through the more awkward years without doing serious damage to the relationship. But you won't if you do not respect their privacy.
But can you guess the relevance of the three words? When I found out I laughed and laughed because it was so far removed from the mother's fears, as to be ridiculous. What do the words error/sox/lancet have in common? They are not random. They are not a warning that your teen is about to commit some atrocity. They are not even an indication that he is questioning his gender identity. But they are a sign of something and I bet none of you can guess what. Unless, of course, you happen to be a Latin teacher.
These three words are a mnemonic to determine the gender of 3rd declension Latin nouns. 1st and 2nd declension nouns have nominative singulars that end in –a ( feminine) or –us/-um (masculine/neuter). You know where you are and how to make them agree (or match) with a qualifying adjective. So far, so simple. Confusingly, 3rd declension Latin nouns have no standard ending. There are a number of options and error/sox/lancet help a scholar to make the correct choice. Words ending –er/-or ( error) are masculine, words ending –s/-o/-x are feminine and, you have guessed it if you did not already know - -l/-a/-n/-c/-e/-t denote neuter nouns. A useful trick but one that might lead to parental suspicion if you jot them down on the back of an envelope with no explanation.
What did the prying mother think they might mean? Perhaps a 3-Word secret location for the trading of illicit substances? Sox sounds a bit kinky and coupled with lancet, some sexual deviancy perhaps? A dastardly code signalling criminal activity?
Instead they indicate a desire to better grasp Latin grammar. I would confront the son immediately and ask for an explanation. Studying Latin behind a parent's back? How very wrong of him. The child is clearly destined for a sticky end.
No comments:
Post a Comment