Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 21 to 35 of 35

Thread: Please translate or explain the phrase

  1. #21
    Почтенный гражданин
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Toto, we're back in Kansas! Oh, Crap!!!
    Posts
    663
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Please translate or explain the phrase

    Quote Originally Posted by translations.nm.ru
    Quote Originally Posted by Dogboy182
    Then it should have been "was the homo sapien". No 'S'.
    "Homo sapiens" is a Latin phrase meaning "sentient man". It's singular. In English, when it refers to humans as a species, it is often used with plural verbs, but it is singular nevertheless.
    I'm no expert on Latin, so please excuse my ignorance. I just remember seeing it used in a plural form, to refer to humans in plural, as a species. If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong.

    Can you point to a Latin reference showing it as singular? Not that I'm doubting, just curious, because I remember hearing "sapien" being used as singular by university lecturers, and "sapiens" being used as plural. And unfortunately I'm traveling now, without a handy-dandy authoritative dictionary to check.

  2. #22
    Новичок
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    ФЕРРАРА-ИТА
    Posts
    8
    Rep Power
    13
    In Latin Homo is the nominative singular for human being.
    (in Latin "men" and "women" were both "homines", as opposed to other animals; in Latin man as in male human was "vir")

    Sing.
    Nom: Homo
    Gen: Hominis
    Dat: Homini
    Acc: Hominem
    Voc: Homo
    Abl: Homine

    Plur.
    Homines
    Hominum
    Hominibus
    Homines
    Homines
    Hominibus

    Likewise Sapiens is the present participle of Sapio (To Know) used as an adjective and declined as such. (2nd class adjective)

    Sapiens
    Sapientis
    Sapienti
    Sapientem
    Sapiens
    Sapienti

    Sapientes
    Sapientium
    Sapientibus
    Sapientes
    Sapientes
    Sapientibus

    There is just no way that a Latin noun ending in -o can be a nominative plural (or any plural case at all, regardless of the declension it belongs to)

    See http://www.discipulus.it/art.asp?Art=111
    for example. (Sorry, the page is in Italian)

    Homo is in the first group of the 3rd declension: "nomi maschili, femminili e neutri imparisillabi, con il tema terminante in una sola consonante", meaning that the noun (be it masculine, feminine or neuter) has a change in the number of syllables going from the nominative to the genitive (homo->hominis) and its root ends in one consonant (the root being <homin> for homo).

    Hope it's clear enough

  3. #23
    Почтенный гражданин
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Toto, we're back in Kansas! Oh, Crap!!!
    Posts
    663
    Rep Power
    13

    woof-woof!!!



    Thanks midnight, for clearing that up.


  4. #24
    Завсегдатай kalinka_vinnie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Sunnyvale, Cali
    Posts
    5,771
    Rep Power
    19
    You guys are such a bunch of homines sapientis!
    Hei, rett norsken min og du er død.
    I am a notourriouse misspeller. Be easy on me.
    Пожалуйста! Исправляйте мои глупые ошибки (но оставьте умные)!
    Yo hablo español mejor que tú.
    Trusnse kal'rt eturule sikay!!! ))

  5. #25
    Подающий надежды оратор
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Baltimore, MD, USA
    Posts
    12
    Rep Power
    13
    According to Webster's and the Oxford Dictionary; "Homo sapiens" only exists only in the plural and cannot be a reference to an individual by him/herself.

  6. #26
    Почтенный гражданин
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Toto, we're back in Kansas! Oh, Crap!!!
    Posts
    663
    Rep Power
    13
    Quote Originally Posted by samba
    According to Webster's and the Oxford Dictionary; "Homo sapiens" only exists only in the plural and cannot be a reference to an individual by him/herself.
    ah-HA!!!

    I thought so!
    Tak..."Was the homo sapiens..." is bad grammar!!!

    On a side note, just yesterday as I was searching through the highly respected British magazine "Speak Up" (very popular here in Spain, and written specifically for teaching educated, grammatically correct "BBC English")...there was an article in advanced English which referred to "Sapiens" as a plural form.

    I rest my case.

  7. #27
    Подающий надежды оратор
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Baltimore, MD, USA
    Posts
    12
    Rep Power
    13
    Sapiens is defined a word by itself, but it's meaning is "Homo Sapiens". Same rules apply.

  8. #28
    Новичок
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    ФЕРРАРА-ИТА
    Posts
    8
    Rep Power
    13
    Quote Originally Posted by samba
    According to Webster's and the Oxford Dictionary; "Homo sapiens" only exists only in the plural and cannot be a reference to an individual by him/herself.
    Big deal, if that's the case English borrowed it from Latin incorrectly.

  9. #29
    Почтенный гражданин Volk's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    302
    Rep Power
    13
    Quote Originally Posted by midnightsun
    Quote Originally Posted by samba
    According to Webster's and the Oxford Dictionary; "Homo sapiens" only exists only in the plural and cannot be a reference to an individual by him/herself.
    Big deal, if that's the case English borrowed it from Latin incorrectly.
    Isn't borrowed incorrect Latin basically what the English language is about?
    Please correct any Russian language mistakes I make.

  10. #30
    Властелин
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    french camp
    Posts
    1,234
    Rep Power
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by samba
    According to Webster's and the Oxford Dictionary; "Homo sapiens" only exists only in the plural and cannot be a reference to an individual by him/herself.
    I find this rather doubtful, Homo sapiens is a species, and is used in "Encyclopaedia Britannica online" in a singular form.

    http://www.britannica.com/eb/article...%20sapiens&ct=
    I've got a TV, and I'm not afraid to use it

  11. #31
    Почтенный гражданин Spiderkat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    504
    Rep Power
    13
    Quote Originally Posted by adoc
    I find this rather doubtful, Homo sapiens is a species, and is used in "Encyclopaedia Britannica online" in a singular form.

    http://www.britannica.com/eb/article...%20sapiens&ct=
    Because they're talking about them as one species and not about a few of them physically. You can use Homo Sapiens either in plural or singular depending on what I just wrote in the prior sentence.
    De gustibus et coloribus non disputandum.

  12. #32
    Властелин
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    french camp
    Posts
    1,234
    Rep Power
    14
    I hate to be anal about this, but this is related to my work, so here it is. Noone would write "twenty Homo sapiens were blah-blah" in a scientific article. It'll be rephrased as "twenty human subjects were..." or "twenty adults (Homo sapiens) were...". Colloquailly, anything goes, I have no problem with that. My point was that using Homo sapiens in singular is at least not incorrect in English, not to mention Latin where it, in fact, is singular as explained by midnightsun.
    I've got a TV, and I'm not afraid to use it

  13. #33
    Завсегдатай
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    las vegas
    Posts
    1,687
    Rep Power
    15
    Can somebody start a new thread?
    This topic is too old. I am tired of reading about "Homo sapiens". Who cares
    Какая разница, умереть богатым или бедным?

    Какой толк от богатства если ты не счастлив.

  14. #34
    Почтенный гражданин Volk's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    302
    Rep Power
    13
    There has to be someone wanting to clear something up in the English language. That's basicaly where I shine...
    Please correct any Russian language mistakes I make.

  15. #35
    Почтенный гражданин
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    South Texas, US
    Posts
    389
    Rep Power
    0
    3 entries found for Homo sapiens.

    Homo sa·pi·ens n.
    The modern species of humans, the only extant species of the primate family Hominidae.
    [New Latin Hom sapins, species name : Latin hom, man + Latin sapins, wise, rational, present participle of sapere, to be wise.]


    Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
    Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

    Homo sapiens
    n : the only surviving hominid; species to which modern man belongs; bipedal primate having language and ability to make and use complex tools; brain 1400 cc [syn: Homo sapiens]


    Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
    Main Entry: Ho·mo sa·pi·ensPronunciation: "hO-(")mO-'sap-E-&nz, -'sA-pE-, -"enz
    Function: noun
    : MANKIND : HUMANKIND


    Source: Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Similar Threads

  1. Please, help to translate the phrase.
    By gRomoZeka in forum Learn English - Грамматика, переводы, словарный запас
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: September 19th, 2006, 12:06 AM
  2. Can some explain or translate these words:
    By sperk in forum Grammar and Vocabulary
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: August 4th, 2006, 05:05 PM
  3. Translate brief Russian phrase
    By BethThomlinson in forum Translate This!
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: May 8th, 2006, 04:48 PM
  4. 2 words and 1 phrase for you to translate !
    By wilco000 in forum Translate This!
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: December 21st, 2005, 05:17 AM
  5. Translate phrase
    By shalacey in forum Translate This!
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: February 6th, 2005, 06:17 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


Russian Lessons                           

Russian Tests and Quizzes            

Russian Vocabulary