- cross-posted to:
- linguistics_humor@sh.itjust.works
- cross-posted to:
- linguistics_humor@sh.itjust.works
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Explanation: In Classical Latin, you generally place the verb at the end of a sentence. Cicero was fond of making long, elaborate sentences filled with nested statements in his speeches, so he is somewhat notorious amongst Latin students for taking forever to get to the damn verb and make it clear what he’s actually talking about.
Makes me wonder if he ever made any garden path speeches to fuck with people.
I wonder how much Beckett was inspired by this while writing Rough for Theatre II:
B: [Hurriedly.] ‘… morbidly sensitive to the opinion of others at the time, I mean as often and for as long as they entered my awareness–’ What kind of Chinese is that? A: [Nervously.] Keep going, keep going! B: ‘… for as long as they entered my awareness, and that in either case, I mean whether such on the one hand as to give me pleasure or on the contrary on the other to cause me pain, and truth to tell–’ Shit! Where’s the verb? A: What verb? B: The main! A: I give up. B: Hold on till I find the verb and to hell with all this drivel in the middle. [Reading.] ‘… were I but … could I but …’ –Jesus!–‘… though it be … be it but…’–Christ!–ah! I have it–‘… I was unfortunately incapable …’ Done it! A: How does it run now? B: [Solemnly.] ‘… morbidly sensitive to the opinion of others at the time …’–drivel drivel drivel–‘… I was unfortunately incapable–’ [The lamp goes out. Long pause.]
