![]() Most residents of Ankh-Morkpork speak Morporkian. The language survives in ecclesiastical and legal terminology, and as on Roundworld, several months of the year are derived from Latatian months named in honour of great leaders and emperors: Grune, August, etc. This kind of dog Latin is probably heard more often than real Latin on Roundworld as well. Other phrases are literal translations of each Morporkian/English word so that a common expression takes on a new meaning and intent. Most of the Latatian quoted in the Discworld books is of recent vintage, compiled or composed by people who had little understanding of the real thing so and many of the common expressions bear little resemblance to real Latin and are often simply Morporkian words fitted with Latatian trim, just as some on Roundworld try to speak Spanish by adding an "o" to the end of English words. The languages of Quirm and Brindisi obviously derive from Latatian, suggesting that Latatian was spoken through some of the period of the Morporkian Empire. This may be because Latatian remained the language of educated discourse while the masses spoke some version of Morporkian: a transition point can't be determined accurately. Remaining texts and inscriptions from Ankh-Morpork's early history tend to be in Latatian. The Latatian alphabet is used in most of the languages Hubwards of the Circle Sea. Its primary uses in the Century of the Anchovy are for legal jargon from the Guild of Lawyers and to allow the College of Heralds to make excruciating puns. It corresponds to Roundworld's Latin, just as Morporkian does to English. Latatian is a (presumably) dead language, originating in Sto Lat, from which a great deal of Morporkian is derived.
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