Latinus

High-Clip’s most recent post is one of the funniest things I have read in a long time.  If you haven’t read it, my advice is to stop reading this piece and go read her article HERE.

One of the interesting things that High-Clip noted is the use and overuse of et al.¹  Most writers make use of the ‘et al.’ to note the team they conducted their research with, but I wanted to look deeper into the meaning of the ‘et al.’ along with a few additional Latin notations and expressions still floating around in academic circles.

‘Et al.’ is actually an abbreviation for et alia (feminine) and et alii (masculine).  It’s kind of a lazy move, but we can just leave that 250-word sidebar to our imagination.  Et alia/et alii translate to mean “and others”, but who would ever want to write “and others” when they can just write “et al.”  However, the “and others” is actually kind of a significant thing to leave out, because the others in question are the team that worked side by side to bring the contents of the research into light.  So, while Dr. Frankenstein is getting all this credit, no one even knows poor Igor’s last name, because all of his contributions and his entire existence gets reduced to a footnote.  Et al.  The primary, the director, the lead author is like the front man of an amazing rock band, they get all the glory while the guitarist, the drummer, and the bass player get scraps.  Mick Jagger et al.  Kurt Cobain at al.  Robert Plant et al. poor John Bonham is out here getting no love at all!

While we’re at it, when comes to climbers, the glory always goes to the climber.  The friends who are sharing beta, hauling gear, making lunches, saying “you got this” don’t even get an “et al.”  Can anyone even name the belayer who was with Adam Ondra on his historic first ascent of Silence?  The shoe companies get more credit that the folks on the other end of the rope.

In conclusion, ‘et al’. is better than nothing, and sounds cooler than “and others”, but ultimately isn’t as cool or better than listing the people who worked with and supported the final achievement!

Another Latin abbreviation that I am actually very fond of is ‘e.g.’ I love it and use it all the time, e.g. I’ll use it in philosophy papers, notes to myself and others, classroom examples, and presentations.

‘E.g.’ is an abbreviation for exempli gratia meaning “for example”.  While ‘et al.’ is inclusive to a certain extent, it also feels a little exclusionary.  ‘E.g.’ however, is purely inclusive.  It’s like a neon sign signaling things that are included.  It’s friendly, while ‘et al.’ is kind of dismissive and a little passive aggressive.

Let’s apply the inclusivity of ‘e.g.’ to climbers so we can see just how friendly ‘e.g.’ can be.

There are so many places I want to climb in the coming years, e.g. The Flat Irons, J-Tree, The Red, The New, and Squamish!

What a pal the ol ‘e.g.’ is!

We should also say a little something about the cousin of ‘e.g.’ and talk about ‘i.e.’.  ‘I.e.’ are quite literally other words for “other words”.  ‘I.e.’ is an abbreviation for “id est” meaning “that is” or “in other words”.  I.e. “i.e.” means “in other words”.

In climbing we might say that person x has “topped out” i.e. they have reached the top of a route or that they got the send!  ‘Et al.’ is a lazy way to say “and others” i.e. ‘et al.’ leaves out people of note, e.g. if I want to say I had some help on this article, I could just write “Carrot et al.” or I could be more inclusive and restate that this piece was heavily influenced by the work of High-Clip!

1. I wonder if Latin abbreviations were like the emojis of Ancient Rome.  Roman writers composing great works, while some lazy apprentice teenagers started abbreviating terms like “id est” to “i.e.”  I like to imagine Cicero losing his shit when he sees the notes of his students including all these new-fangled abbreviations. I don’t know who the great writers of today are going to be, but if Walt Whitman saw 👉⚔️😤 = ⚔️😤 in place of “Battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.” he may be kind of disappointed!