Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Greenman on March 18, 2008 at 4:06am

Do you have any context?

Permalink Reply by Mary Ellen Shea on March 18, 2008 at 8:52am

It's Latin...but butchered Latin....

Something about keeping your father safe, or your father keeping you safe....but the grammar/word usage is wrong.

Permalink Reply by Greenman on March 18, 2008 at 5:41pm

From talking with some of the Linguists and Linguiphiles I work with the closest we came up with is:

"Our Father keep you safe."


nos: Us, we, our
Patre: (Pater Patris): Father
Tutus: (tutis): protected, safe, secure
Vos: you

It does seem to be a mix of maybe French and Latin...maybe a saying that was remembered and passed-down over time? Sort of an old-fashioned type of "Spanglish," ...call it "Fratin."

GM

Permalink Reply by Mary Ellen Shea on March 18, 2008 at 6:09pm

I'm thinking some bastardized cajun version...that's what it sounds like.

Permalink Reply by Greenman on March 18, 2008 at 6:16pm

There's a lot of mis-remembered French in New England too...New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine especially among the second- and third-generation Americans of French-Canadian descent. You know places where family names like "Ouellette" out-number "Smith" in the phonebook, but nobody speaks French anymore.

Permalink Reply by Chad on March 18, 2008 at 6:42pm

Hey I checked the phone book, looks like more Bouchers then Ouellettes. I think the translation is "Our Father keep us safe."

Permalink Reply by Greenman on March 18, 2008 at 8:36pm

Sounds like we all get about the same general idea of the phrase. I still bet Bouchers and Ouellettes outnumber Smiths up there!

GM

Permalink Reply by Chad on March 18, 2008 at 10:27pm

Pretty close but I think Brewers outnumber everybody!

Permalink Reply by John on August 17, 2008 at 1:09am

Thank you All