Certamen Glossary
Every competition develops a private vocabulary, and Certamen’s is denser than most because it borrows from three places at once: quiz bowl, the Junior Classical League, and Latin itself. This page defines the terms you will hear in a competition room.
Certamen is Latin for “contest,” and several unrelated things carry the name. This glossary concerns Certamen as a quiz-bowl-style academic competition for students of Latin and the classical world, commonly associated with the Junior Classical League in the United States. It does not concern the Certamen Homeri et Hesiodi, an ancient Greek text describing an imagined poetry contest between Homer and Hesiod; the Certamen Ciceronianum Arpinas, an international Latin translation contest held annually in Arpino, Italy; or the Italian cable ship of the same name.
Playing the game
- Blurt
- Speaking an answer without having been recognized by the moderator. Generally treated as an answer in itself, and often a wrong one. The buzz and the answer are two separate acts. See also buzzer timing.
- Bonus
- A question available only to the team that answered the preceding tossup correctly. Teams may confer on bonuses. Bonus structure and point values vary by tournament. See how a Certamen match works.
- Buzz
- To press the buzzer button and claim the right to answer, often stopping the moderator before the question is finished. Learn when to buzz.
- Buzzer system
- The lockout device that connects all players’ buttons and registers which player buzzed first.
- Captain
- The designated player who gives the team’s official answer on bonus questions. The captain usually has no special privilege on tossups. In some formats, the captain may defer to a teammate. See how to choose a captain.
- Confer
- To discuss a bonus question with teammates before answering. Conferring is usually permitted on bonuses and not permitted on tossups.
- Defer
- For a captain to direct the moderator to accept a teammate’s answer instead of the captain’s own answer. Rules on deferral vary by tournament.
- Interrupt
- A buzz that occurs before the moderator has finished reading the question. The term often refers to an early buzz that turns out to be wrong. See buzzer timing.
- Lockout
- The buzzer system’s basic function of accepting the first buzz and ignoring later buzzes. It can also refer to the state after a wrong tossup answer, when that team can no longer answer that question while the other team or teams hear the remaining clues. Some formats add a point penalty, but rules vary.
- Moderator
- The person who reads questions and rules on answers. Also called the reader. Larger tournaments may also have a scorekeeper, timekeeper, and judge.
- Packet
- A complete set of questions for one round, usually written to balance categories and difficulty.
- Protest
- A formal challenge to a ruling, usually raised immediately and resolved by a judge or tournament director. Procedures vary by event.
- Recognized
- Acknowledged by the moderator as having the right to answer. Players should answer after being recognized.
- Round
- One match between teams. Tournaments may organize rounds into pools, brackets, semifinals, and finals.
- Tossup
- A question open to every player in the room. The first correct buzz usually scores points and earns bonus questions for the team. See What Is Certamen?
The anatomy of a question
- Clue
- A piece of identifying information in a question. Not every noun or name in a question is a real clue. See how to recognize a real Certamen clue.
- Giveaway
- The final and easiest clue in a tossup, often placed at the end so the question does not go unanswered.
- Lead-in
- The opening clue of a tossup, often the hardest or most specific clue.
- Pyramidal question
- A tossup written from harder clues to easier clues, so players with deeper knowledge can buzz earlier while beginners still have a chance later in the question. Explained in What Is Certamen?
- Recognition point
- The moment in a question when the clues have narrowed the answer to one likely answer for a particular player. Good Certamen players try to buzz at their recognition point, not before it. See buzzer timing.
- Unique identifier
- A clue that points clearly to one answer and not to several possible answers. Learning to distinguish a unique identifier from a merely suggestive clue is an important Certamen skill.
Answers and rulings
- Alternate answer
- A different but still correct answer that the question accepts.
- Answer line
- The written specification of what counts as correct, often including alternate answers and prompts.
- More specific
- A moderator instruction asking a player to give a more precise answer, such as a full name instead of a family name.
- Prompt
- An invitation to refine a partially correct answer rather than being ruled wrong immediately. Prompting rules vary, so players should not assume every partial answer will be prompted.
- Respondē Latīnē
- “Answer in Latin.” Grammar and form questions may require a correctly inflected Latin word rather than an English description. For example, if the question asks for the ablative plural of dux, the answer is ducibus.
- Regnal number
- The numeral distinguishing rulers of the same name, such as Henry VIII or Ptolemy II. Whether the number is required depends on the answer line and tournament rules.
Levels and structure
- Novice
- An entry-level division, often roughly corresponding to Latin I.
- Intermediate
- A middle division, often roughly corresponding to Latin II.
- Advanced
- An upper division, often corresponding to Latin III and above.
Placement rules differ by state league and by tournament. Some events use course enrollment, some use years of study, some use grade level, and some use more than three tiers. Mixed-level teams may be placed according to their most advanced member.
Organizations and competitions
- American Classical League (ACL)
- The sponsoring organization of the National Junior Classical League and a major professional organization for Classics teachers.
- Junior Classical League (JCL)
- A student organization for secondary-school students interested in Latin, Greek, and classical studies. Many American Certamen competitions are connected to local or state JCL chapters. See Who plays Certamen?
- National Junior Classical League (NJCL)
- The national organization for JCL students in the United States. NJCL coordinates local, state, and national Certamen competitions and holds the annual NJCL Convention.
- Senior Classical League (SCL)
- The collegiate-level counterpart associated with the JCL/ACL classical studies community.
- State convention
- A state JCL chapter’s annual gathering, often including Certamen along with academic, creative, and social events.
- University invitational
- A Certamen or classics competition hosted by a college or university Classics department, student organization, or affiliated group. These tournaments vary by region and format.
- National Latin Exam (NLE)
- A separate written multiple-choice Latin examination. NLE is not Certamen, but it is frequently mentioned in the same Latin student context.
Categories
Question category weighting varies by tournament.
- Derivatives
- English words descended from Latin roots. Derivatives may be treated as part of the language category or as a separate area, depending on the tournament.
- Latin language
- Grammar, syntax, forms, vocabulary, and translation. This is the category most directly tied to classroom Latin study.
- Literature
- Questions about major ancient authors and works, such as Vergil, Ovid, Cicero, Caesar, Catullus, Horace, and Livy.
- Mythology
- Questions about gods, heroes, monsters, the Trojan War, the Labors of Hercules, Ovidian transformations, and the Underworld. Mythology is often one of the largest and most approachable areas for beginners.
- Roman history
- Questions about Rome from the founding legends through the Republic, civil wars, emperors, and late antiquity.
- Roman life
- Also called Roman culture or daily life. Includes clothing, meals, houses, religion, the calendar, the army, games, and public offices.
Team roles often map onto these categories — see How to Build a Certamen Team.
Latin you may hear from the moderator
- Cāsus
- Case.
- Numerus
- Number.
- Genus
- Gender.
- Tempus
- Tense.
- Modus
- Mood.
- Vōx
- Voice.
- Persōna
- Person.
- Dēclīnā
- Decline.
- Coniugā
- Conjugate.
- Mūtā
- Change.
- Quid Anglicē significat…?
- What does … mean in English?
- Principal parts
- The forms from which a Latin verb’s full conjugation is derived.
Terms borrowed from quiz bowl
Certamen shares some vocabulary with quiz bowl, but not every quiz bowl rule applies to Certamen.
- Negs
- Point deductions for a wrong interrupt. Common in some quiz bowl formats. Certamen formats may or may not use point penalties.
- Power
- Bonus points for buzzing before a marked early point in a tossup. Common in some quiz bowl formats, but uncommon in Certamen.
- NAQT
- National Academic Quiz Tournaments, a major quiz bowl question provider. It is unrelated to JCL, but some students participate in both quiz bowl and Certamen.
Rules on scoring, lockouts, deferral, prompting, answer windows, and level placement differ between state leagues, university invitationals, and NJCL events. Always confirm specifics with the handbook for your tournament.