Quadraginta

Discussion in 'Language Notes' started by naqshbandijamaati, Nov 3, 2006.

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  1. :s1:

    Ah! The joys of Latin revisited! Having done it for 3 years at school, your post brought back a lot of pleasant memories...

    However: using a title such as Quadraginta would make one appear pompous nowadays to most English speakers! As for those who would read such a book--if it was, e.g., Nawawi's Forty, calling it Nawawi's Quadraginta or, if my memory serves me correctly, Qaudragintae Nawawi, would be unintelligable to most.

    (p.s. have u been getting my emails? jawaab nadaaram, Aagha-ye-man!)
     
  2. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    Quadraginta means 'Forty' in Latin. Just like Arbayin. Writing ‘forty’ in Latin makes it easy to use it as a proper noun; because using ‘forty’ without specifying ‘what’ seems like a hanging sentence. To wit:
    1. The Quadraginta is a magnificent book for beginners.
    2. The Forty is a magnificent book for beginners.
    3. The Forty Ĥadīth is a magnificent book for beginners.
    4. The Collection of Forty is a magnificent book for beginners.
    This also obviates the need to specify forty ‘what’ in other cases – like Arbaýīn of Imām Ghazāli is not just ĥadīth, even though it contains ĥadīth; we can simply say: ‘The Quadraginta’ of Imām Ghazali. It is a mind-trick, but it works.

    If it helps or is easier, we can try French: ‘Quarante.’ This raises the question, why not leave it at ‘Arbaýīn’ in Arabic? Perhaps, it is because English/French are related to Latin and anything said in Latin sounds profound...

    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2006

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