by Aldus Marius on Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:46 am
Salvete omnes...
..Oh, dear. And I just up and told the newbie that our only Provincia so far was/is based on residence and willingness/ability to meet in RL from time to time. >({(:-)
I wouldn't be against an Italian (or Spanish, or Polish...or Chinese, if Mencius can swing it! <g>) forum (section of the Board) based on heritage and language. I think we'd want to sound out the Sodales for their interest in such a thing, however. If only three people want it, and we set it up (not hard to do), and two of them go on final exams and forget to come back, where are we then?
The Collegium Linguarum Antiquarum, and before it the Collegium Latinum, have tried several times to set up a Latin-only thread. Indeed, nothing's keeping anyone who wants to from starting one now. But every single time we've tried it, it has petered out after just a few exchanges, mostly amongst our two or three actual Latin-proficient people and another half-dozen or so who only post (in English) to say their Latin isn't strong enough to carry a conversation.
It's not just the SVR. The same has happened in every other Roman- or Latin-flavored group I've ever been in. A lot of it is simple shyness and awkwardness; but a measure of blame must be placed on the educational system, most places. Universities teach people how to read Latin, not speak it or compose in it. So when a third-year Latin student joins us, he often realizes that, while he can quote Horace an epistle at a time, he can't give directions to the bus stop. Feh, as Curio might say...but I reckon that's why we don't have a Latin thread.
The new Regula does not mention provinciae at all; but Hey, it doesn't mention Collegia either, yet we have them--indeed, we would not have an SVR without them. This being the case, I see no reason why we should not be able to redefine the idea of the provincia in the SVR any way that we'd like to.
In amicitia et fide,
Aldus Marius Peregrinus.