Quidditch explained

in Latin.

I knew when I started Harrius Potter that I wanted to record some passages from the book.

When I came to the part about Quidditch in the story, I knew it would be the selection I would record — the thorough explanation of a new concept in Latin seemed appealing.

In this section, Silvius is explaining to Harry Potter how the game of Quidditch is played. Silvius tells the inexperienced wizard that a Quidditch match requires three SECUTORES, one IANITOR, and two PERCUSSORES per team.

Remarks about the pronunciation

The pronunciation used follows the Classical model, the same one I have described and used in other recordings. This pronunciation would correspond to the Golden Age of Latin, between the years of 80 B.C. and 14 A.D. It would've been the way Cicero or Caesar pronounced Latin in formal situations.

In Harrius Potter, most proper nouns are left untouched in their original English form. Following the Classical model closely, I replace certain phonemes which were not present in Latin with those native to the language. One example is the word Quidditch — the sound [tʃ] did not exist at the time in Latin, and so, is replaced in my reading with [ts]: ['kwiddits].

At first, I retained the genuine Ancient Greek pronunciation for the Greek graphemes found in Latin: <Y>, <TH>, <CH>and <PH> which corresponded to the Greek sounds [y], [tʰ], [kʰ], and [pʰ] , none of which existed natively in Latin. While the Romans may have preserved the "correct" Greek pronunciation in very formal settings, and only by the educated, in other situations, these sounds were generally replaced by [i], [t], [k], and [p], sounds found in Latin already. Being that this is a fictional narrative, and not a persuasive political speech, I chose to forgo the Greek pronunciation of these letters. So, for example, GRYFFINDORENSIS and SLYTHERINI are pronounced with [i], not [y].

The Reading -  The Rules of Quidditch

'AGEDUM' INQUIT SILVIUS. 'LUDUM QUIDDITCH NON DIFFICILE EST INTELLEGERE, DIFFICILIUS AUTEM EST LUDERE. PARS UTRAQUE SEPTEM HABET LUSORES. TRES APPELLANTUR SECUTORES.'

'TRES SECUTORES,' ITERAVIT HARRIUS, DUM SILVIUS PILAM SPLENDIDAM ET RUBRAM PLUS MINUS INSTAR FOLLIS LUSORII DEPROMSIT.

HAEC PILA APPELLATUR QUAFFLE?,' INQUIT SILVIUS. SECUTORES QUAFFLE ALII AD ALIOS IACTANT ET CONANTUR EAM PER UNUM CIRCULORUM PROPELLERE UT AD CALCEM PERVENIANT. QUISQUIS QUAFFLE PER UNUM CIRCULORUM PROPELLIT DECEM PUNCTA ACCIPIT. AN SATIS LIQUET?'

'SECUTORES QUAFFLE IACTANT ET PER CIRCULOS MITTUNT UT PUNCTA ACCIPIANT,' RECITAVIT HARRIUS. 'NONNE EST NESCIO QUO MODO SIMILIS FOLLICULI CANISTRIQUE LUDI IN QUO MANUBRIIS SCOPARUM ET SEX CIRCULIS LUSORES UTUNTUR?'

'QUID EST FOLLICULI CANISTRIQUE LUDUS?' INQUIT SILVIUS CURIOSE.
'NULLIUS EST MOMENTI', INQUIT HARRIUS CELERITER.
'LUSOREM AUTEM ALIUM HABET UTRAQUE PARS QUI APPELLATUR IANITOR — EGO SUM IANITOR GRYFFINDORENSIS. CIRCULOS NOSTROS CIRCUMVOLARE DEBEO ET TURMAM ALTERAM PROHIBERE QUOMINUS AD CALCEM PERVENIAT.'
'TRES SECUTORES, UNUS IANITOR,' INQUIT HARRIUS, CUI CERTUM ERAT OMNIA MEMINISSE. 'ET LUDUNT PILA QUAFFLE APPELLATA. SIT ITA, REM INTELLEGO. AD QUEM USUM TANDEM SUNT ILLAE?' DIGITO PILAS TRES IN CISTA RELICTAS OSTENDIT.
'NUNC TE DOCEBO,' INQUIT SILVIUS. 'HOC CAPE'.
FUSTICULUM HARRIO TRADIDIT ALIQUO MODO SIMILEM CLAVAE QUA HOMINES IN LUDO CIRCUMCURSIO UTUNTUR.
'TE DOCEBO QUID FACIANT BLUDGERI,' INQUIT SILVIUS. 'HI DUO SUNT BLUDGERI.'
HARRIO DUAS EIUSDEM FORMAE PILAS OSTENDIT NIGERRIMAS ET PAULO MINORES QUAM QUAFFLE RUBRUM. HARRIUS ANIMADVERTIT EAS VIDERI CONTENDERE UT LORIS EFFUGERENT QUAE EAS IN CISTA RETINERENT.
'CEDE LOCO,' SILVIUS HARRIUM ADMONUIT. INCLINATUS UNUM BLUDGERORUM LIBERAVIT.
STATIM, PILA NIGRA ALTE IN AERA SURREXIT ET TUM RECTA IN FACIEM HARRII RUIT. HARRIUS FUSTICULO IACTANDO EAM PROHIBUIT QUOMINUS NASUM FRANGERET ET CURSU ANFRACTO PROCUL IN AERA EMISIT — CAPITA CIRCUMVOLAVIT ET TUM IRRUIT IN SILVIUM, QUI SE SUPRA EAM IECIT ET IN TERRA RETINERE POTERAT.
[...]
'TRES SECUTORES CONANTUR QUAFFLE PER CIRCULUM PROPELLERE; IANITOR POSTES SERVAT; PERCUSSORES BLUDGEROS A TURMA SUA ARCENT,' RECITAVIT HARRIUS.
'OPTIME FACTUM,' INQUIT SILVIUS.

Excerpt from Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis. Read by Filius Lunae.
Translation by Peter Needham. Original English text by J.K. Rowling. Published by Bloomsbury.