Re: Deadwood - Is the dialogue anachronistic?

Paul J Kriha wrote:

Peter T. Daniels <grammatim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:43F88926.6AC4@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Paul J Kriha wrote:

Recently, I watched one of the installments of "Empire".
It's based in Rome of Julius Caesar, Octavius, Cicero, etc.
The names are familiar, the rest is total crap.
However, there was one particular scene that caught
me by surprise and left me ROTFL.

A line of Roman legioner archers are getting ready to
welcome advancing line of Gaul fighters.
The general shouts: "Ready....ready....FIRE!" :-)))
pjk

P.S. The archers must have been clairvoyant, they knew
what he meant, instead of starting a row of camp fires
they let loose the arrows :-)

Are you suggesting that the officer in charge of the archers didn't have
some command to them telling them to release their arrows, and that
"Fire!" isn't a suitable translation of it?

No and yes.

Of course the Roman officer had a command for the archers
to release their arrows and it is known what it was. We also
know what the traditional English command was/is.

The command "Fire!" used around 40 BC in Europe is about
1,400 years too early.
The usual English military command for the archers to shoot
was "Loose!". Even just ordinary "Shoot!" wouldn't be as
jarring as the futuristic "Fire!".

The audience wouldn't understand "Loose!" (which, moreover, Andrew has
pointed out was also not used until quite recently), and "Shoot!" isn't
suitable in the sequence "Ready, [Aim], ______!" because of both the
close-rounded vowel (low volume) and the final stop (not prolongable).
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Deadwood - Is the dialogue anachronistic?
    ... A line of Roman legioner archers are getting ready to ... they let loose the arrows :-) ... Of course the Roman officer had a command for the archers ... The command "Fire!" ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Deadwood - Is the dialogue anachronistic?
    ... Are you suggesting that the officer in charge of the archers didn't have ... some command to them telling them to release their arrows, ... I think complaining about the use of "fire!" ... as an anachronism is ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Oldest evidence of arrows found
    ... And how many non-fire arrows are there? ... And what was the command to loose them?: ... no one is out of sight looking for arrows or bolts and is down range ... nock and fire six arrows for score”. ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Most over-used words
    ... officer was talking and said something like, ... Does the navy use the command "shoot" instead of fire? ... That could confuse today's kids who would promptly lose their arrows. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Re: Deadwood - Is the dialogue anachronistic?
    ... A line of Roman legioner archers are getting ready to ... Of course the Roman officer had a command for the archers ... It would be a literal translation of the ... as well as correct modern English translation. ...
    (sci.lang)