o tempora o mores

A reader of this blog asks me what I think about councils banning the use of Latin. I cannot compete with the brilliant Dr Peter Jones' eloquence on the subject in his spoof letter to Hazel Blears:

Dear Mrs Blears,
You will be aware that a number of councils has decided that all Latin words and phrases should be subject to a veto from their communications with the public eg "eg" et cetera. As a spokesman from the Plain English Campaign said, "Often people in power are using words because they want to feel self-important. Voters should not suffer because of an official's ego." Precisely. Ergo you must take action at once. Put this on your agenda and produce a memo, or vice versa, on the topic, because the list is not nearly long enough ie they have left out too many words that are absolutely incomprehensible to any compos mentis Englishman. Via the internet, I have identified inter alia, alibi, alius, annus horribilis, apparatus, exit, facsimile, habeas corpus, ignoramus, insignia, omnibus, par, propaganda, per cent, RIP and terminus, to name but a few. Some will think this hocus pocus but I say you cannot allow the status quo to remain as it is. If you were to have a referendum on the subject, Latinists versus Plain Speaking Anglos, the decision to reject all Latin from our language would be carried nem.con. NB I do not demand a requiem for Latin in toto, let alone an in memoriam. Without Latin of course, you could not call yourself Secretary (a Latin word) of State (Latin) for Communities (Latin) and Local (Latin) Government (Latin, derived from Greek). That would of course be a complete non sequitur. QED