Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:Essay: Abnormality of the atheist religion

2011-06-01T19:10:16Z

FrederickT2: Created page with "== Typos == I don't think I should edit this essay, but I found a few typos in paragraph 3: Universes -> Universe's. than -> then (three times). --~~~~"

== Typos ==
I don't think I should edit this essay, but I found a few typos in paragraph 3: Universes -> Universe's. than -> then (three times). --[[User:FrederickT2|FrederickT2]] 15:10, 1 June 2011 (EDT)

Alnwick

2011-06-01T19:02:06Z

FrederickT2: 2 minor typos

'''Alnwick''' (pronounced ''Annick'') is a historic town in [[Northumberland]], north-east [[England]]. Although it has Anglo-Saxon origins, it came to prominence in the middle ages as the main power base of the Percy family, Earls (later Dukes) of Northumberland; Alnwick Castle, which was heavily restored in the 18th and 19th centuries (and its grounds recreated by [[Capability Brown]]), is still the family seat; and has been used in various movies, including ''Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves'', ''Elizabeth'' and as parts of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. Alnwick is a popular tourist centre and boasts what is probably Britain's largest second-hand bookshop in its former railway terminus.

It has been voted the best country town in Britain by readers of ''Country Life'' magazine - whether because of or despite the annual ''melee'' is not clear. Each Shrove Tuesday (the day before the start of Lent) an all-in, all welcome, no holds barred sort of proto-football match, called the ''melee'', is played by the River Aln. The goals are quarter of a mile apart. Players have been known to end up in the river.

Its name means "''dwelling by the River Aln''" and the pronunciation once engendered the anonymous limerick:
:There was a mechalnwick from Alnwick
:Whose opinions were very Germalnwick.
::So when war was begun
::He went off with a gun
:The proportions of which were Titalnwick.

[[Category:United Kingdom Cities and Towns]]

Talk:Atheist blogger PZ Myers, excess weight and study on internet usage

2011-06-01T18:51:54Z

FrederickT2: Created page with "I meant the sentence "There has been a significant problems..." --~~~~"

I meant the sentence "There has been a significant problems..." --[[User:FrederickT2|FrederickT2]] 14:51, 1 June 2011 (EDT)

Essay:Greatest Conservative TV Shows

2011-06-01T18:46:34Z

FrederickT2: added Walker, Texas Ranger

Here are some of the greatest conservative television shows:
# ''Family Ties'': a [[conservative]] teenager (played by Michael J. Fox) tries to enlighten his [[liberal]], ex-hippie, underachieving<ref>The father would be criticized by the son for working for less money at a public television station, rather than in free enterprise.</ref> parents
# ''The Office'': mockery of liberal [[political correctness]] and corporate [[socialism]] in an office setting. The character of Ryan in particular is a lampoon of [[liberal arrogance]] and immorality. While the show mocks all types, this show is unusual in its willingness to mock liberals.
# ''The Apprentice'': liberals stopped watching when they realized that [[Donald Trump]] might be conservative.
# The ''Six Million Dollar Man'': capitalism at its finest - a government program improving health with technological advances.
# ''The Cosby Show'': promoting good family values
# ''American Idol'': allowing the best of the public to come to the fore, musically.
# ''24'': Jack Bauer shows us how to beat Islamic terrorists.
# ''Star Trek'': emphasized morality, honor, abiding by a strict code of conduct, and problem solving in a science fiction setting that inspired real world innovations. Portrayed the Cold War struggle as a conflict between the democratic Federation (USA) and the authoritarian, collectivist Klingons (the Soviet Union), correctly forecast the eventual winner.
# ''The Waltons'': a family struggles in rural America but promotes Christian morality and charity to strangers, and honors military service.
# ''The Lawrence Welk Show'': a clean, family oriented variety show that appealed to Midwestern values.
# ''Chuck'': emphasizes family values, honor, and a respect for our nation's servicemen.
# ''Little House on the Prairie'': A show that celebrates family values and the courage of the pioneers who made our country what it is today.
# ''Touched by an Angel'': a popular drama about an angel in human form who visited troubled people in crisis, it was a highly ranked series for four seasons and ran for a remarkable nine seasons.
# ''Life is Worth Living'': Emmy Award winning show hosted by Archbishop [[Fulton Sheen]]. Between 10 & 30 million people watched the show weekly on moral issues of the day.
# ''7<sup>th</sup> Heaven'': Show about a Christian minister's family, that dealt with moral and controversial themes, which are approached from a socially and politically conservative Protestant Christian point of view. It was the longest-running family drama in U.S. television history.<ref>[http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1028153,00.html]</ref>
# ''Life Goes On'': Follows the experiences of a young man with Down Syndrome and recognizes the dignity of people with developmental disabilities and the joy and love they give to their families and others.
# ''Dragnet'': starring Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday and his partner(s) solving actual cases from the files of the Los Angeles Police Department. Great use of law enforcement jargon by the officers while educating the public on the Rule of Law. Showed fine examples of moral conduct, honor of self/others and sacrifice for the good of the public.
# ''Parking Wars'': Demonstrates the offensiveness of overbearing government bureaucracy while maintaining a respect for law officers.
# ''Pawn Stars'': Shows how two parties can **mutually and fairly benefit** from a negotiated free-market transaction, independent of any government "assistance"
# ''The Bob Newhart Show'': a mockery of how crazy people become in a secular world.
# ''Hawaii-Five-O'': Even in what might be expected to be a lazy, hazy paradise, the law is still the law.
# ''Daniel Boone'': As the famous title music sang, "he fought for America, to make all Americans free".
# ''MacGyver'': Show wherein the main character uses Yankee ingenuity to solve various problems and escape the clutches of his enemies. Eschews violence until absolutely necessary.
# ''Antiques Roadshow'': shows the very real (financial and historical) value of handcrafts and traditional, old-fashioned things and memorabilia.
# ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', starring [[Chuck Norris]]

(please add to list)

== Debatable Whether Conservative ==

# ''The Twilight Zone'': a recurring theme is that the selfish and the self-centered eventually lose what they sought to gain.
# ''The Beverly Hillbillies'': though silly, the show is powerful in illustrating how material possessions are not what define a person.
# ''King of the Hill'': despite cartoonish nature, shows the struggle of a hardworking, traditional American family against "alternative" modern cultural movements
== See also ==

*[[Essay:Greatest Conservative Movies]]
*[[Essay:Greatest Conservative Songs]]

== References ==

<references/>

Cold War

2011-06-01T18:42:35Z

FrederickT2: corrected two embarassing typos

The '''Cold War''' was a period of suspicion and distrust between the US and its alliances and the Soviet Union and its more or less puppet allies, and was started by [[Josef Stalin]].<ref> [http://cnsnews.com/commentary/article/59591 CNSNews.com - U.S. Honors Stalin on Hallowed Ground – Will Saddam Hussein Be Next?
] </ref>,the natural enmity between communism and most other forms of government and the incompatible goals the two sides held.

The Cold War was marked by a nuclear [[arms race]] between the two super-powers, and the unchecked [[proliferation]] of [[nuclear weapons]] was a cause for concern in many quarters. The Cold War also was marked by high levels of [[espionage]].

Although there was no direct fighting between the superpowers, each country was involved in medium-scale proxy wars, most notably in [[Vietnam]], [[Korea]] and [[Afghanistan]]. The most tense moment between the two main powers came in October 1962 during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], which ended without escalation into warfare.

It was a political, economic and psychological conflict, together with regional hot wars, between the [[United States]], [[NATO]] and other allies, and the [[USSR]], [[China]] and their allies between 1947 and 1989. After 1960, China split with the Soviet Union and set up its own alliances as part of its Cold War with the U.S and it's attempt to overtake the USSR as leader of the communist movement. <ref> [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter98_99/art05.html] </ref>

The tension during the Cold War fluctuated, with the super powers going through periods of heightened conflict and also periods of improved relations. It ended on November 11, 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet overseas empire. History closed the books on the Soviet Union itself on December 25, 1991. It was replaced by 15 smaller countries, especially [[Russia]], which all rejected Communism and the Cold War.
==Causes==
The success of the wartime alliance with Britain, China and the Soviet Union led Americans to reject the isolationism of the interwar years. Victory in 1945 and the demobilization of the world’s armies and navies brought a general sense of confidence that the wartime alliance would continue and form the leadership of the new [[United Nations]], Hopefully the UN would provide the basis for international law and the solution of all serious problems, but it never lived up to expectations. Instead by 1947 the wartime alliance collapsed; The basic reason being an incompatibility in the two systems that each sought to remold the world too, either in American terms of democracy, liberal government, and capitalism, or else the Soviet goals of dictatorship of the Communist party as the mechanism to destroy capitalism. In immediate terms the issue was the independence of Poland, Czechoslovakia and other central European countries that had been taken over first by the Nazis, and after 1945 by the Soviet army.

[[Harry S. Truman]] had no knowledge or interest in foreign policy before becoming president in April 1945, and depended on the State Department for foreign policy advice. In 1946, George Kennan, an American diplomat wrote the ''Long Telegram'', in which argued for the necessity of [[Containment|containing]] the Soviet Union. His cable resonated with President [[Harry Truman]]'s administration and Truman shifted from FDR's détente to [[containment]] as soon as [[Dean Acheson]] convinced him the Soviet Union was a long-term threat to American interests. They viewed communism as a secular, millennial religion that informed the Kremlin's worldview and actions and made it the chief threat to American security, liberty, and world peace. They rejected the moral equivalence of democratic and Communist governments and concluded that until the regime in Moscow changed only American and Allied strength could curb the Soviets.

Following Acheson's advice, Truman in 1947 announced the [[Truman Doctrine]] of containing Communist expansion by furnishing military and economic American aid to Europe and Asia, and particularly to Greece and Turkey. He followed up with the [[Marshall Plan]], which was enacted into law as the European Recovery Program (ERP) and pumped $12.4 into the European economy, forcing the breakdown of old barriers and encouraging modernization along American lines. The State Department later promoted the Point Four program of "foreign aid" (grants with no repayment) to underdeveloped or "[[Third World]]" countries. In general. the money went to corrupt local officials and little moderization took place. The main success stories came in [[Taiwan]] and [[South Korea]].

====Containment====
In 1947 Truman, a Democrat, convinced the Republican-controlled Congress to support the [[Truman Doctrine]] by sending massive aid to the small country of Greece, threatened by a Communist takeover. The rest of Europe was still in economic ruin, which Washington feared would help the spread of Communism, so the [[Marshall Plan]] was proposed to help restore the European economies. When Stalin engineered a Communist takeover of democratic Czechoslovakia in early 1948, and forbade his satellites to accept Marshall plan moneys, Americans realized that Winston Churchill’s warnings about an “iron curtain” had come true.

The strategy of isolationism had failed by 1941; the strategy of détente(or friendship) with Communism had failed by 1948. Some argued for a strategy of direct confrontation or "[[Rollback]]"—but this was considered too dangerous, especially when the Soviets tested their first nuclear weapon in 1950.

Washington decided on a strategy of containment, as embodied in the the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] ('''NATO''') military alliance set up in 1949. The [[NSC-68]] was a secret 1950 plan adopted at the highest levels of the American government to set the overall strategy, and a further step was taken in 1951 with the establishment of the Mutual Security Agency to coordinate U.S. economic, technical and military aid abroad.

The basic goal of containment was to prevent further Communist expansion, hoping that the internal weaknesses of the Soviet system would soon lead to its collapse. The problem with containment was that it meant fighting wars against Communist expansion, especially in Korea in 1950-53, and in Vietnam 1963-73; and had the basic flaw that the enemy could choose the time and place of movement, while America and its allies had to defend everywhere at all times. In 1949 [[Mao Zedong]] and his Communists won the civil war in China which would make the objective of containment even more unobtainable(as seen in the Chinese intervention in korea).

===Korean War: 1950-1953===
The [[Korean War]] began at the end of June 1950 when North Korea, a Communist country, invaded South Korea, which was not under explicit American protection. Without consulting Congress Truman ordered General [[Douglas MacArthur]] to use all American forces to resist the invasion. Truman then received approval from the United Nations, which the Soviets were boycotting. UN forces managed to cling to a toehold in Korea, as the North Koreans outran their supply system. A counterattack at Inchon destroyed the invasion army, and the UN forces captured most of North Korea on their way to the Yalu River, Korea's northern border with China. Truman defined the war goal as [[rollback]] of Communism and reunification of the country under UN auspices.

In late 1950 China intervened unexpectedly, driving the UN forces all the way back to South Korea. The fighting stabilized close to the original 38th parallel that had divided North and South. MacArthur wanted to continue the rollback strategy but Truman had decided on a new policy of containment, allowing North Korea to persist. Truman's dismissal of MacArthur in April 1951 sparked a vehement debate on American Far Eastern policy, as Truman was blamed for a high-cost stalemate with 37,000 Americans killed and over 100,000 wounded.

==Conflicts==

===Major Cold War Fronts===
====Strategic====
* [[Central Intelligence Agency]], chief US spy agency
* [[Containment]], stopping the expansion of Communism
* [[Détente]], trade and friendly relations with Soviets
* [[Rollback]], destruction of Communism
* [[NSC-68]], key planning document for Cold War 1950
* [[Space Race]], [[Sputnik]] 1957
* [[INF Treaty]]
* [[Nonalignment]]
* [[Strategic Defense Initiative]]

====In Europe====
* [[Truman Doctrine]], 1947
* [[History of Poland]]
* [[Berlin Airlift]], 1948-49
* [[Marshall Plan]], 1948-51
* [[NATO]], 1949- present
* [[Tito]]
* [[Berlin Wall]] 1961-89

====In Asia====
* [[Korean War]] (1950-53)
* [[Vietnam War]] (1965-75)
* [[Domino theory]]
* [[Soviet-Afghan War]], (1978-92)
* [[CENTO]]

====Third World====
* [[Peace Corps]], 1961-present
* [[Cuban Revolution]]
* [[Cuban Missile Crisis]]
* [[Nicaraguan Revolution]], [[Contras]]
* [[Salvadorian Civil War]]
* [[Angolan Civil War]]

===The Shootdown of Korean Airlines Flight 007===

Considered by many as the second or third most critical single incident of the Cold War, after the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] of 1962 and [[Able Archer 83]], the shooting down of [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]], including 269 passengers and crew (among which was Georgia Congressman, [[Larry McDonald]]), on Sept. 1, 1983 signal an escalation in tension during the "Second Cold War."

==Breakup of the Soviet Union and Wars End==

The Western democracies, under the leadership of the United States under President [[Ronald Reagan]] won the Cold War with a policy that rejected detente and containment and instead relied on [[Rollback]]. An important element of this victory was Reagan's decision to commit to increased military spending, such as the "[[Strategic Defense Initiative|Star Wars]]" program. Reagan's decisions to intervene in Afghanistan while pursuing an arms race exacerbated structural weaknesses in the Soviet economy and pushed the USSR into an early decline.

In 1985, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] become General Secretary of the Communist Party.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/11/newsid_2538000/2538327.stm Gorbachev Becomes Soviet Leader], ''BBC'', 11 March, 1985.</ref> Recognizing the systemic problems faced by Soviet society, he attempted the twin reform programs of [[Glasnost]] (openness) and [[Perestroika]] (restructuring). Combined with the disaster at Chernobyl and losses in the war in Afghanistan, the effects of Gorbachev's reforms quickly spun out of control. Glasnost allowed media attention to focus on problems which had long been buried by the state's propaganda regime, causing widespread dissatisfaction among Soviet citizens. In 1989, a wave of constituent republics began to seek autonomy from the Soviet Union. Most attempts at succession (with the exception of Lithuania) were met with no Soviet resistance.

==Further reading==

The Cold War is well documented by political scientists and historians--especially since 1991 when archives were opened in ex-Communist countries. Following are selected major scholarly books and articles in English, and some major memoirs.

for a much longer guide see [[Cold War Bibliography]]

* Bacevich, Andrew J., ed. ''The Long War: A New History of U.S. National Security Policy Since World War II'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0231131585/ref=sib_dp_bod_ex?ie=UTF8&p=S00D#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Ball, S. J. ''The Cold War: An International History, 1947–1991'' (1998), British perspective; short summary; [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-cold-war-an-international-history-1947-1991-by-s-j-ball.jsp online edition]
* Boyle Peter G. ''American-Soviet Relations: From the Russian Revolution to the Fall of Communism.'' (1993).
* Brzezinski, Zbigniew. ''The Grand Failure: The Birth and Death of Communism in the Twentieth Century'' (1989)
* Crockatt Richard. ''The Fifty Years War: The United States and the Soviet Union in World Politics, 1941-1991.'' (1995), popular. [http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Years-War-United-Politics/dp/0415135540/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193967506&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Friedman, Norman. ''The Fifty Year War: Conflict and Strategy in the Cold War''. (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Year-War-Conflict-Strategy-Cold/dp/1591142873/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193967539&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Gaddis, John Lewis, ''The Cold War. A New History'', 2005. [http://www.amazon.com/Cold-War-New-History/dp/B000GUJH8A/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_0_0/103-4827826-5463040 excerpt and text search]
* Gaddis, John Lewis. ''Russia, the Soviet Union and the United States. An Interpretative History'' 2nd ed. (1990)
* Gaddis, John Lewis. ''Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War'' (1987) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=100560159 online edition]
* Kegley Jr., Charles W. ed., ''The Long Postwar Peace.'' 1991
* Kort, Michael. ''The Columbia Guide to the Cold War'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Guide-Cold-War/dp/0231107730/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193967647&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* LaFeber, Walter. ''America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945–1992'' 9th ed. (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/America-Russia-Cold-1945-2002-Updated/dp/0072849037/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_2_1/103-4827826-5463040 excerpt and text search], liberal
* Leffler, Melvyn P. ''For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Mankind-United-States-Soviet/dp/0809097176/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191567573&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search], liberal
* Lundestad, Geir. ''East, West, North, South: Major Developments in International Politics since 1945'' (1999). [http://www.amazon.com/East-West-North-South-International/dp/1412907489/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193964045&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* McCauley, Martin. ''Russia, America and the Cold War: 1949-1991'' (2nd ed. 2008); short textbook [http://www.amazon.com/Russia-America-Cold-War-1949-1991/dp/1405874309/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252833741&sr=1-24 excerpt and text search]
* Mann, James. ''The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Rebellion-Ronald-Reagan-History-Cold/dp/0670020540/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252833311&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* Paterson, Thomas G. ''On Every Front: The Making and Unmaking of the Cold War.'' 1992. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98945969&oplinknum=8 online edition]; [http://www.amazon.com/Every-Front-Making-Unmaking-Cold/dp/0393030601/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193967604&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]; liberal
* Powaski, Ronald E. ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917–1991'' (1998) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=78888203 online edition]
* Westad, Odd Arne ''The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of our Times'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/052170314X/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Zubok, Vladislav M. ''A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Failed-Empire-Soviet-Gorbachev-History/dp/0807859583/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252833311&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]

==External Links==
*[http://home.att.net/~rw.rynerson/index2.htm Berlin 1969 - midpoint of the Cold War]

== See Also==
*[[Joseph McCarthy]]
*[[Iron Curtain]]
*[[Containment]]
* [[Rollback]]
*[[The Soviet/ U.S naval confrontation]]: incidences during 1983 [[KAL 007]] search

[[category:wars]]
[[category:Cold War]]
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[category:Military History]]
[[category:diplomacy]]
[[Category:Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Russian History]]
[[Category:European History]]
[[Category:Chinese History]]

Latin

2011-06-01T18:41:00Z

FrederickT2: /* Nouns */ typo

'''Latin''' is an [[Indo-European language]] of the [[Italic language]] family. Its closest relative was [[Umbric]], which is now extinct. Latin was the most widely spoken language in the [[Roman Empire]], and is the language from which all the [[Romance languages]] are derived. These languages include [[Spanish]], [[Romanian]], [[Portuguese]], [[Italian]], [[French]] and [[Catalan]], among others. '''Latin''' may also refer to people who speak Romance languages (most commonly Spanish or Portuguese) live in the Carribean and Central or South America.

See also [[Latino]] about [[Americans]] of Hispanic or Latin American (usually Spanish-speaking) descent in the United States.

== Latin Grammar ==

Latin [[grammar]] is marked by an extensive system of [[noun]] [[Grammatical case|cases]] and [[verb]]al inflection. Like nouns, [[adjective]]s also decline and must agree with the nouns they modify in terms of gender, [[number (grammar)|number]] and case. In addition, Latin also has the full range of other parts of speech, including [[adverb]]s and [[pronoun]]s.

=== Nouns ===

In Latin, noun cases are used to indicate the grammatical function of the noun within the sentence. By contrast, English and most modern Romance languages use the noun's position within the sentence to denote its grammatical function.

Nouns all have grammatical [[grammar|gender]] (either masculine, feminine or neuter). While nouns that correspond to people will generally match the logical gender (for example, ''puella'', meaning "girl" is feminine, while ''puer'', meaning "boy" is masculine), other nouns which do not have a natural gender will still have a grammatical gender (for example, ''arbor'', meaning "tree" is feminine, ''portus'', "harbor" is masculine, and ''bellum'', "war" is neuter). Most neuter words end in -um in the nominative case.

Each Latin noun falls into one of five declensions, which will determine the endings used to indicate case. Latin has six major grammatical cases as indicated below:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Case
! Grammatical Function
! Example Paradigm (1st Declension Singular)
|-
| '''Nominative'''
| Subject
| Puella
|-
| '''Vocative'''
| Object of Direct Address
| Puella
|-

| '''Accusative'''
| Direct Object; also used with certain prepositions, mostly concerning motion
| Puellam
|-
| '''Genitive'''
| Possessive; also used with certain prepositions; translated 'of the ...'
| Puellae
|-
| '''Dative'''
| Indirect Object; also used with certain prepositions; translated 'to/for the...'
| Puellae
|-
| '''Ablative'''
| Used with certain prepositions, mostly concerning location; also indicates agency in passive constructions; translated 'by/with/from the...'
| Puellā
|-
|}

Note that certain cases are identical to others (they may vary in other declensions); in situations where there is more than one possible case for a particular noun, the case must be determined from the context of the sentence. In Latin dictionaries, nouns listed will indicate the nominative and the genitive singular forms of the noun; this enables an experienced reader to determine the rest of that noun's declension, even if he or she has not encountered it before. Thus the verb in the example above would be listed ''puella, -ae'' in a Latin dictionary.

=== Verbs ===

Verbal morphology distinguishes [[voice]] (active and passive), time (past, present, future), [[mood (grammar)|mood]] (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, infinitive), [[aspect (grammar)|aspect]] (simple, perfective, imperfective), and [[person (grammar)|person]] (first, second, and third person in singular and plural numbers). Time and aspect are normally combined into the verb's tense. Unlike English, which uses auxiliary verbs to create a wide variety of tenses, Latin just has six (four in the subjunctive mood).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Tense
! Time
! Aspect
! Grammatical Function
! Example Paradigm (3rd Conjugation, first person singular active indicative)
|-
| Present
| Present
| Simple or Imperfective
| Used to indicate both the present simple and present progressive.
| dico
|-
| Imperfect
| Past
| Imperfective
| Used to indicate ongoing actions in the past (which may or may not continue to the present).
| dicebam
|-
| Perfect
| Past
| Simple or Perfective
| Used to indicate both the past simple and specifically completed actions in the past.
| dixi
|-
| Pluperfect
| Past
| Perfective
| Used to indicate actions completed prior to other actions in the past.
| dixeram
|-
| Future
| Future
| Simple
| Used to indicate actions that will occur in the future.
| dicam
|-
| Future Perfect
| Future
| Perfective
| Used to indicate actions that are not complete now, but will be in the future. Usually this means actions that occur after the present but prior to other actions in the future tense.
| dixero
|}

Like nouns, the morphology of verbs in Latin is mostly indicated by regular changes in how the verb is formed, rather than through the use of auxiliary verbs, as is common in English. Most verbs fall into one of four conjugations which determine the form and the endings used to indicate the various aspects of morphology. Unlike nouns however, there are a number of irregular verbs that do not fall into any conjugation.

Latin verbs in the dictionary customarily show their four principal parts, the first person singular present active, the infinitive, the first person singular perfect active, and the supine (a form of verbal noun). Thus, the verb meaning "to say" would be listed in the dictionary as ''dico, dicere, dixi, dictum''. Using this information, an experienced Latinist can derive all of the other forms of the verb.

Latin verbs also have specialized forms including [[gerund]]s (verbal nouns mostly found only in earlier Latin), gerundives (verbal adjectives used to express necessity or obligation), [[participle]]s, and others.

== Syntax ==

Because Latin is so highly inflected, in simple sentences, [[Grammar#Syntax|word order]] is irrelevant. Thus ''Canis puerum mordet'' (The dog bites the boy) has exactly the same meaning as ''Mordet canis puerum'' or ''Puerum mordet canis''. Nevertheless, Latin did have the tendency to settle into customary word orders, generally with the verb at the end of the sentence. It was this tendency that led to the change from an inflected language to a more analytic one in the case of the Romance languages.

When translating, it is always important to pay close attention to the words at the beginning and end of a sentence. This position connotes the importance of the word to the writer's thought, if not the actual meaning as in English.

Latin poetry, in particular, takes advantage of the flexibility of the word position in order to create pleasing minglings of grammatically unrelated words as word play or to provide secondary meanings. The flexibility of the word position also made it easier for Latin poets to conform to a particular metre. {{who says}}

== Linguistic Descendants ==

The modern Romance languages are almost entirely descended from Vulgar Latin, which was Latin spoken by the common people in the later centuries of the Roman Empire. Changes from Classical to Vulgar Latin included the merger of long /e:/ and /o:/ with short /i/ and /u/, respectively, the loss of /h/ and the accusative nasalisation, and the replacement of cases, tenses, and voices with periphrastic constructions (this change occurred across western Europe)<ref>[http://www.lrc.columbia.edu/lrc/?q=node/194 Columbia University Language Resource Center]</ref>. Latin has also given us the alphabet used to write most Western European languages, including English.

Direct modern descendants of Latin include French, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Italian and a variety of less well known languages. Collectively, these are known as Romance languages. In addition, many other languages, such as English and German, have large numbers of Latin loanwords that have been absorbed into the language.

Latin was also the language used by educated elites throughout the [[Middle Ages]] and [[the Renaissance]] in Western Europe. Thus a wide variety of medieval literature, ranging from theological works to histories to scientific works to legal records to literature were all written in Latin, not the author's mother tongue. This had the advantage of facilitating communication between educated people throughout Europe.

Until 1962, Latin was the language in which all Roman [[Catholic]] masses were conducted. A number of Roman Catholics still conduct Mass in Latin, and Latin is still the official language of the Roman Catholic Church. Phonologically, Latin is generally similar to other western languages of the Indo-European family.{{who says}}

== Contemporary Latin Use ==

Much of the Latin read nowadays is [[literature]] written during the latter days of the [[Roman Republic]] and during the [[Roman Empire]]. In particular, the first century BC is considered a golden age of Latin literature, with such notable poets as [[Catullus]], [[Horace]] and [[Virgil]], historians such as [[Livy]] and other writers such as [[Cicero]]. Many other Roman writers outside of the first century BC, such as [[Plautus]], [[Seneca]], [[Juvenal]] and [[Tacitus]], are important authors whose works continue to be influential in modern culture and literature. In addition to being enjoyed in their own right, they are also important for the study of Roman history and culture.

In addition, many of the Fathers of the Church, such as [[Augustine]] and [[Gregory the Great]], wrote in Latin. One of the most important translations of the Bible was the Latin [[Vulgate]] by [[Jerome]], which was completed in the fourth century AD and allowed the common people (Lat. ''vulgus'') to understand the Bible in their native language instead of Hebrew or Greek.

Today, Latin remains the official language of the Catholic Church, although the Vatican II council removed the requirement for services to be conducted in Latin. Ecclesiastical Latin (aka "Church Latin"), as it is known, is pronounced similar to modern Italian as opposed to classic Roman pronunciation. In the main, however, Latin is not spoken anymore; and as such oral Latin is not taught in most schools; the emphasis is on translation.

Latin was also highly important in the development of law, both because of the highly influential [[Justinian Code|Civil Code of Justinian]] and because of the use of Latin in the composition of the writs used in English [[Common Law]]. The persistence of Latin may be seen in legal terms such as "[[certiorari|writ of certiorari]]" or "[[Adjournment Sine Die|adjournment sine die]]".

Latin (along with Greek) is also used by scientists of all kinds, from biologists to chemists. Latin is particularly used when naming things such as biological species or chemical elements. Latin terms are also used extensively in medicine, recognizing the significance of medieval medical schools.

For many, however, the attractiveness of learning Latin comes from the fact that it shows intellectual ability; many of those who study the language will not enter a field directly related to it.

== Further reading ==

* John F. Collins, ''A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin'', Catholic University of America Press (1985), ISBN 0-8132-0667-7 An introductory Latin text based mainly on medieval ecclesiastical sources.
* Nicholas Ostler, '' Ad Infinitum: a Biography of Latin'', Walker and Company, New York (2007) ISBN 0-8027-1515-X A history of the Latin language.
* Bob Moore and Maxine Moore, '' Dictionary of Latin and Greek Origins: a Comprehensive Guide to the Classical Origins of English Words'', Barnes and Noble, Inc, New York (2000) ISBN 0-7607-2082-7

== References ==
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[[Category:Latin]]
[[Category:Romance languages]]
[[Category:Latin Phrases]]