populus/populi confusion

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oic
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populus/populi confusion

Post by oic »

I'm trying to say "(the) people of the tempest (storm)", though I'm not sure how to do so correctly because the number and use of populus/populi is a little confusing...when exactly should I use populus, and when should I use populi? and how do I then conjugate the number of the verb I pair it with? my initial thought was that it would be "populi tempestatis", under the assumption that populi might have still been considered singular (as opposed to the plural of an individual person), though it could also be "populi tempestatum"...or maybe even "populus tempestatis"? I'm starting to get a bit confused on this matter, any help would be appreciated!

Episteme
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Re: populus/populi confusion

Post by Episteme »

Can you give a fuller context for the phrase?

oic
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Re: populus/populi confusion

Post by oic »

sure, it's meant to be a standalone name for a group of friends for online gaming, particularly World of Warcraft, so that we may refer to ourselves as such (similar in that sense to names such as the burning legion or the left hand of mannicus, in that they aren't referring to the actual left hand of someone or a legion that is physically burning, but the many people that the group consists of)

adrianus
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Re: populus/populi confusion

Post by adrianus »

Just like you say in English: "the people of the storm is a great people" [equally "are" in English, but think of "populus" as a "nation" or "tribe" also],* "the peoples of the storm are..."—if there is more than one people/tribe/nation
Sicut latinè dicas: "tempestatis populus est magnus populus."* et "tempestatis populi sunt...", si sunt plus quàm unus populus seu natio seu gens.

* Etiam latinè ut anglicè, nisi fallor, "tempestatis populus magni piscatores sunt".
* Also in Latin as in English, unless I'm mistaken, "the people/nation/tribe of the storm are great fishermen".
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

oic
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Re: populus/populi confusion

Post by oic »

ok, so from what you're saying, I think what I would want is "populi", as I'm talking about people of multiple races/regions...and furthermore, you're saying that in either case (populus/populi), I want the singular genitive -atis ending for tempestas, not the plural -atum? if so, would that also apply to other modifiers, such as "magnus populi tempestatis" (the great people of the storm)? also, what is the significance (if any) of the order (populi tempestatis vs. tempestatis populi)?

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