In one of the pieces I read yesterday I stumbled across the following phrase: in media res. I reached out to the author backchannel, offering a correction. The correct phrase is in mediÄs rÄ“s.
Rēs (rērum) is a fifth declension Latin noun meaning “thing, matter”. The accusative singular of rēs is rem, the accusative plural is rēs. Media is a Latin adjective in feminine form (nearly all fifth declension nouns are feminine) meaning “middle”.
There is no circumstance under which in media res would be good grammar. If in is being used in the sense of “in” it takes the ablative which would be in media rē if singular and in mediis rēbus if plural. If in is being used in the sense of “into” which takes the accusative it would be in mediam rem if singular and if plural it would be in mediÄs rÄ“s.
The phrase is a quotation from the poet Horace. In describing the art of epic poetry he wrote that epics should begin in mediÄs rÄ“s—into the midst of things.
IMO you should avoid using a foreign language if you don’t know the language. If you know the language, sometimes using a phrase from a foreign language is le bon mot, clever, apt, the right word. If you don’t and use the phrase inappropriately or incorrectly it has the opposite effect.
Most Americans know only English. There’s nothing wrong with English. Use it.
Caveat actor.
This either means let the doer beware, or be on guard of the theatre or Hollywood.
I’m, like, down with that………..
Or, everyone misuses it so often in the same way, it becomes a part of the language. (When we travel we listen to, among others, McWhorter, since linguistics is kind of fun.)
Steve
I have pet peeves about foreign languages. One of them is pronouncing every foreign language as though it were French, a remarkably common practice among Americans. Another is incorrect conjugation/declension.
The meaning of words changes, obviously. ‘Nonplussed’ means two different things: a) surprised and confused and b) indifferent. The first is the ‘correct’ definition and the second is the way the word is used almost 99% of the time.
‘In media res’ means the same thing as ‘in medias res’ to the person using it. Whereas ‘in lieu of’ is often misused as an annoying way to say ‘because of’.
I used “nonplussed” (in an earlier post’s title) in the sense of surprised and confused. I was unaware there was another definition.
Yes, living languages change and evolve. Any word can, ultimately, come to mean any thing, depending on usage. That’s why there are so many auto-antonyms.
However, dead languages are different. They don’t evolve. They’re just used properly or improperly.
Lots of folks write “without further adieu.” And you almost always hear Beijing wrongly pronounced as if it were French. Here in the Midwest, we have to deal with Des Plaines and Des Moines.
That’s the perfect example. For those of you who don’t know, the “j” in “Beijing” is pronounced like the “j” in “judge” (sort of) not like the “z” in “azure”. “Pee-king” is defensible; “bay-zhing” isn’t.
And “without further ado” is English not French. Adieu means “farewell”. “Without further adieu” doesn’t really make much sense.