Me at the french fuel station.
this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2025
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Rough Roman Memes
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me talking to le chat and qwant
I'm actually an expert in Italian history^[citation needed]^ so I can chime in here: the ruins that archeologists are excavating are called Pompe2, but the original city was named Pompe1
Hah, neat. That reminds me of how the biosphere project is called "Biosphere 2" because the first biosphere is Earth.
Woah this is awesome
Explanation: 'I' is both a Latin letter and a numeral. In Roman numerals, two numbers next to each other add together - as in, 'II' is '2'. This joke is making fun of the fact that ii is both a very common ending for Latin words (something to do with grammar, Latin grammar is a nightmare), and the number 2 (as in, a sequel and not an original).
THEY GAVE US POMPE II, BUT NOT POMPE I
Latin grammar is a nightmare
YOU TAKE THAT BACK
I was a Latin tutor for a while, grammar was actually my favourite part. I used quizzing my students on the meaning of words to conceal when I wasn't sure myself because I never did get along with memorising vocabulary (though seeing words used does help remember them).
something to do with grammar
It's mostly because of the suffix -ius /jus/, added to nouns to form adjectives. Both the nominative plural and genitive singular of that suffix are -iī /ji:/, so if you're talking about multiple of that thing or something belonging to that thing, it gets the -iī.
Here's a totally serious video representing the true pronunciation of the suffix and totally not some internet meme. (Yup, it's like that "yee".)
It gets worse in this word though. Classical pronunciation was likely /pom.pej.ji:/, both the first and second "i" were long, or like you had three "i" in a row. And this mess wasn't even originated in Latin, but a Southern relative called Oscan.