[Re:] Re[2]: Dump Latin

[Thomas Schlemmermeyer]

Dear All, I don't think that the discussion is completely absurd from
a zoologist's point of view, although there really may be conceptually
more exciting problems than latin (for example biogeography).

I appreciated very much Peter's hint to the latin Asterix and will try to get
some.
Refreshing one's latin may not only help in taxonomy, but may result as
well in a better, more deeply founded understanding of Roman Languages like
French, Italian, Portuguese and so on.

On (    Mon, 1 Mar 1999 17:11:27 +0200), Peter Schuchert
<peter.schuchert at MHN.VILLE-GE.CH> wrote:

> Taxonomic diagnoses for new animals
>have luckily been abandoned more than 100 years ago!

Even if, maybe, species descriptions are not necessarily accompanied anymore
by diagnoses, they are, necessarily, accompanied by comparisons.
And how should one compare, if one does not understand the other, maybe elder
descriptions which could be in latin?

I always consider it exciting to follow the history of well known animal
names.
Not seldomly, the search ends up in a short latin phrase in Linne's "Systema
Naturae".

            Thomas
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Thomas Schlemmermeyer
Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de Sco Paulo
Caixa Postal 42694
CEP 04299-970
Sco Paulo, SP, Brasil