the future of Latin

In the last chapter of A Canticle for Leibowitz, a priest makes a pun:

“Onerem accipisne?” [Do you accept the burden?]
“Honorem accipio.” [I accept the honor.]

In classical Latin, onus ‘burden’ is neuter, so the accusative is onus not onerem. Even a dead language, it seems, changes at least a little bit during the future dark ages.

April 20: Oops, I misremembered. The first priest’s line is tibine imponemus oneri? [Shall we impose the burden on thee?] — where ‘burden’ is instrumental, not accusative.

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