I will translate anything into Latin.

[Tylerb7]

quicquid Latine dictum sit altum uidetur
Whatever has been said in Latin seems deep.


Ego Rex Romanorum et super grammaticam sum.
I am the King of the Romans and above grammar.

I've noticed a somewhat disturbing trend of people who, having realized that Latin is the best language, understandably attempt to use Wiktionary and Google Translate to turn their text from English to Latin---perhaps for the name of a character, or the title of a story, or a line in a poem, or what-have-you. The results have not been particularly impressive, to say the least.

In order that I may prevent myself from biting off the heads of people who didn't have the foresight to study a thousand years dead language for five years, I've decided to offer my Latin services in this topic. Simply post anything of a reasonable length in (proper) English, and I will put my classics minor to good use for the first time ever and translate it for you.



omnia dicta fortiora si dicta latina
Everything said [is] said stronger if with Latin

[Jan Mattys]

"quicquid Latine dictum sit altum uidetur"
Shouldn't it be quidquid?

"Ego Rex Romanorum et super grammaticam sum"
Shouldn't it be "super grammatica", as in ablative? super + accusative, if I recall correctly, is "move up towards"... "staying above something" should be ablative.

Both might be mistakes by my part, as it's been about 10 years since I last studied latin.

And apart from those two nitpicks, great idea and a commendable effort. Grats and thanks, I am sure many on this forum will find your offer useful!
:smallsmile:

[Tylerb7]

'quicquid' is equivalent to 'quidquid' in much the same way that something like 'afficio' is equivalent to 'adficio'---over time, the pronunciation shifts toward something easier to pronounce.

Super does indeed govern both the ablative and the accusative, and can be taken as having different meanings depending on the noun case; but as far as I've encountered, 'super' almost always takes the accusative, even when no sense of motion is present. And in actual Latin (especially Medieval Latin, such as this particular quote) such distinctions are quickly forgotten anyway.

[Lord Raziere]

Is there a latin translation for "I hate everything, eventually."?

I'd say I would be making it a motto, but I already have one, so technically I'm making it a second motto.

[Madara]

Can you translate latin into english? That would make Latin class much easier for me... :smallwink:

[Tylerb7]

Is there a latin translation for "I hate everything, eventually."?

I'd say I would be making it a motto, but I already have one, so technically I'm making it a second motto.


omnia tum demum odi -- Then at last, I hate all things (rather emphatically having expected this outcome for some time)
omnia denique odi -- And at last, I hate all things
omnia tandem odi -- In the end, I hate all things
omnia aliquando odi -- Finally, I hate all things (probably not the best option, since aliquando can also mean 'sometimes', 'henceforth', 'previously', et cetera)

omnia = Nominative plural neuter substantive adjective of the third declension (omnis, omne). If you want to change the meaning to 'everybody', then omnia becomes omnes.

odi = This is a defective verb, having only forms of the perfect active system, yet having means of only the present active system.

tum demum, denique, tandem, aliquando = Adverbs; these are the tricky part. I could write pages and pages on the subtle differences between them, and the evolution of their usages and how one may be more appropriate than another from a certain context, but I doubt anyone cares. I personally prefer the sentences using tum demum and denique, although the former is a more recent (relatively speaking) construction, and the latter is a bit of a departure from denique's more recognizable usage in enumerating points of argument.


Can you translate latin into english? That would make Latin class much easier for me... :smallwink:

If you legitimately need help, yes.

[docanthrax]

I require a couple of Latin translations if possible :D

The first one is: Nobody Expects The Holy Imperial Inquisition

and the second is: For Freedom, Justice and the Emperor

Free internetz and Dark Side cookies await :D

[Tylerb7]

I require a couple of Latin translations if possible :D

The first one is: Nobody Expects The Holy Imperial Inquisition

and the second is: For Freedom, Justice and the Emperor

Free internetz and Dark Side cookies await :D



nemo inquisitionem sacram imperialem exspectat

pro libertate iure et imperatore

[Elemental]

I don't have anything that requires translation at this time.
But I'm working on something that may require translations of both short and moderate* length. What's the limit on the length of a translation?



*Moderate in this situation being three or four lines.

[docanthrax]

nemo inquisitionem sacram imperialem exspectat

pro libertate iure et imperatore

Cool - many thanks :D

[Tylerb7]

I don't have anything that requires translation at this time.
But I'm working on something that may require translations of both short and moderate* length. What's the limit on the length of a translation?


Preferably no more than a page, unless it's very simple English.

[Othesemo]

Could you translate "I shall see your blood on the ground by day's end!" for me? Thanks!

[Tylerb7]

Could you translate "I shall see your blood on the ground by day's end!" for me? Thanks!


(ego) tuum sanguinem hoc die in terra uidebo
(I) your blood on the ground within this day shall see

[Dr.Epic]

But can you translate it into pig Latin?

[Elemental]

Preferably no more than a page, unless it's very simple English.

I do not see myself ever needing that much translation done.
Thank you for answering my question.

[Tylerb7]

But can you translate it into pig Latin?

utbay ancay ouyay anslatetray itway intoway igpay Atinlay?

[Thanqol]

If you're still around, I've got some quotes I'd like to see latinised:

"I am invincible"
"Nothing ever dies,"

"I don't want anything"
"I don't need anything,"

"Sometimes you wear the mask"
"Sometimes the mask wears you"

"What should be is just as important as what is"
"You can be more"
"Understanding a thing is the first thing towards directed change."

Thank you! :smallsmile:

[Elemental]

Damnation. Now I want one of my favourite quotes translated. And I was hoping to not burden you with unnecessary requests.

Anyway... Here goes...
Would you please translate whichever of the following statements translates best into Latin?

A friend is someone who dances with you in the sunlight and walks beside you in the shadows.
A friend is someone who dances with you in the light of the sun and walks alongside you in the darkness.

Either or, doesn't matter to me.

[Howler Dagger]

Can you translate: That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die.

[docanthrax]

I got a few more requests, as I'm starting to play a Dark Heresey campaign and I get the Priest character!

So here we go:

Long live the fighters of the Emperor

Only in His eyes are we judged

Let your bodies serve as His armour

Victory for the Empire! Death to its enemies.

Many thanks in advance if you get the time :D

[dehro]

or you could have fun loosely translating harry potter magic
exspecto patronum= I'm waiting for the boss.. or even better.. I'm waiting for my paycheck!

[Tylerb7]

Apologies for the delay and the rushed translations that follow, but I've been very busy.

ego sum inuictus (I am invincible, emphasis on 'I')
nihil unquam moritur (nothing ever dies)
quicquam non desidero (not anything I desire)
quicquam non egeo (not anything I need)

personam interdum uestis (the mask from time to time you wear)
persona te interdum uestit (the mask you from time to time wears)

illud quod esse debet non grauior est illo quod est (that which to be ought no heavier is than that which is: "that which ought to be is no more important than that which is")

melior fias ("you could become better", as opposed to "you could become plural")

This last one I can't say I entirely understand in English, but here's an attempt:
cognoscere est primum ad mutandum ("to understand ('understanding') is foremost for the purpose of changing")

I don't think any of these ideas would be expressed quite this way by a Latin speaker, but that's the trouble with attempting a faithful translation.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


A friend is someone who dances with you in the light of the sun and walks alongside you in the darkness.

Okay, I could definitely translate this literally, but I think some decent Latin is more appropriate:
amici est tecum in luce saltare atque in umbris ambulare (second 'in' being optional)
"Of a friend it is characteristic with you in the light to dance and in the shows to walk" = "A friend dances with you in the light and walks with you in the shadows"

"in luce solis" as a phrase ("in the light of the sun") actually does appear in surviving texts verbatim, but here I chose to pursue parallelism.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die.

I'm assuming this is 'aeons', in the Gnostic sense, and therefore I have decided to use 'deus' - 'god'.

Illud quod aeternitatem iacere potest non mortuus est, ac dis peregrinis etiam mors moriatur.
"That which can lie dormant for an eternity is not dead, and for alien gods even death may die"


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Long live the fighters of the Emperor

pugnatores imperatoris [longum/longe] uiuant ("may the fighters of the Emperor live for a long time!"; I personally prefer 'longum', here, as an adverbial accusative, but I think either form would be common. Beginning students of Latin would certainly be more comfortable with 'longe'.)


Only in His eyes are we judged

solum in oculi eius iudicamur ("only in his eyes are we judged", very literal)


Let your bodies serve as His armour
corpora tua armaturae eius sufficiant ("Let your bodies suffice for ([in respect to/as a source of/for the benefit of]) his armor!")


Victory for the Empire! Death to its enemies.
uictoria pro imperio! mors ad hostes eius!






exspecto patronum

This one actually makes perfect sense: 'I await the protector", which Wikipedia informs me is basically a literal description of what the person casting the spell is doing.

[Elemental]

Okay, I could definitely translate this literally, but I think some decent Latin is more appropriate:
amici est tecum in luce saltare atque in umbris ambulare (second 'in' being optional)
"Of a friend it is characteristic with you in the light to dance and in the shows to walk" = "A friend dances with you in the light and walks with you in the shadows"

"in luce solis" as a phrase ("in the light of the sun") actually does appear in surviving texts verbatim, but here I chose to pursue parallelism.


Thanks awfully.
Here's a cookie by way of thanks. (::)
Can I sig that?

Edit: I'm just going to assume you have no objection...

[Thanqol]

Thank you kindly, sir :smallsmile:

[docanthrax]

Awesome! Thanks for the fast work! +100000 Dark Side Cookies!

[dehro]

This one actually makes perfect sense: 'I await the protector", which Wikipedia informs me is basically a literal description of what the person casting the spell is doing.

I know..that's why I said loosely :smalltongue:

[Loreni333]

Hmmmm... I'm curious how this would turn out:

We are the Nanovor.
We are the Warriors of a land beyond human eye.
We are guts. We are glory.
We fight to live, and live to fight.
You never see us. Or hear us or feel us.
But we are here. Beyond your sight.

The word Nanovor' is meant to be used as is. don't worry about turning it into Latin. Just use it as I wrote it. Everything else, Latinized!

[cookmt]

So I've got a little phrase I was hoping to get translated with correct grammar, tense, etc.

"In honor of the fallen, for the glory of the dead"

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

[shawnhcorey]

Would you please translate this:

Babylon 5 Final Farewell

From the stars we came,
To the stars we return,
From now to the end of time,
We therefore commit these bodies to the deep.

[Kymme]

Could i get some translations, too.
"Dead men don't need names."
"He who is forged, fights without fear."
Thanks in advance!
Edit: One more.
"We're all just tears in rain,"
"We won't be born again."
And do you think that it would be possible to make it rhyme? If not, then its all good.

[Morph Bark]

Some very nice translations have been provided so far I see, some of which I think I'd love to use sometime myself!

In the meantime, I have only a small request. I intend to have a character carry the semi-self-imposed title "the Divine Judgment" and wanted to translate it into Latin. I thought it translated to Iudiciis Divinis for this and thus he would be named "Alexander Iudiciis Divinis", but as I barely passed Latin I figured it would be better to ask someone with more knowledge on the matter.

When you're not too busy of course, no rush!

[Neknoh]

I've got a request or two as well.

Maria pray with us
Christus stand by us
God in heaven welcome us

[Capt. Ido Nos]

I have a request that will settle an old curiosity of mine:

"When all else fails, play dead."

[Empedocles]

For a little story I'm writing, could you translate a few things:

"The Castle Upon a Hill," as a reference to the biblical "City Upon A Hill," so anything to make it a little more holy would be appreciated.

"The Blade of Time," and possibly the "Hammer of Time."

[Neknoh]

Got one more

"May God have mercy upon my enemies
For I will not"

or simply

"God have mercy
For I will not"

[latinprobz101]

can you please help me with this mass intention? I got the ending i believe.


"For all those who are suffering today, that they may be healed by the love of Christ and His Church, we pray to the lord."



"hodie pro all those who are suffering, ut curentur amore Christo et Suo Templo ,oram ad Dominum.”


Thanks!
xxx

[Dr.Epic]

Try this phrase:

"The Great Cheese Debate"

[Acanous]

"For the good of the Forum, this thread is locked".

I wanna PM it to Glyphstone and see if he uses it :p

[Wild Zubat]

Could you, possibly, translate the following?

"Ice cream is illegal on other planets!"

That is, if it's not too much trouble. :smalleek::smallredface:

[Tannhaeuser]

I thought I'd take a whack at these, under correction:

Loreni333

We are the Nanovor.
We are the Warriors of a land beyond human eye.
We are guts. We are glory.
We fight to live, and live to fight.
You never see us. Or hear us or feel us.
But we are here. Beyond your sight.

Nanovor sumus.
Ex terra ultra conspectum hominum Bellatores sumus.
Fortitudo sumus. Gloria sumus.
Nos numquam videbitis, vel audiatis vel sentiatis.
Sed hic sumus, ultra visionem vestram.

cookmt

In honor of the fallen, for the glory of the dead.

In honorem occisorum, ad gloriam mortuorum.

shawnhcorey

From the stars we came,
To the stars we return,
From now to the end of time,
We therefore commit these bodies to the deep.

De stellis venimus,
Ad stellas redimus,
Ex nunc ad finem temporis,
Hæc igitur corpora ad altum committimus.

Kymme

Dead men don't need names.

He who is forged, fights without fear.

We’re all just tears in rain,
We won't be born again.

Nomina non necesse mortuis.

(Qui) fabricatus (est,) sine pavore pugnat.

Lacrimæ omnes in pluvia
Non renati in sæcula.

Morph Bark

The Divine Judgment

Judicium Divinum

Neknoh

Mary, pray with us.
Christ, stand by us.
God in heaven, welcome us.

Maria, ora nobiscum!
Christe, sta nobiscum!
Deus in cælis, da nobis benevenutum.

Capt. Ido Nos

When all else fails, play dead.

Falleant omnia altra, visus sis mortuus.

Empedocles

The Castle Upon a Hill

Castellum [Castrum] Supra Montem

Neknoh

May God have mercy upon my enemies,
For I will not,

or

God have mercy,
For I will not.

Deus miserere (inimicorum meorum),
Nam non ego.

latinprobz101

For all those who are suffering today, that they may be healed by the love of Christ and His Church, we pray to the Lord.

Pro omnibus qui hodie patiuntur, ut sanentur caritate Christi et Ecclesiæ Suæ, oremus ad Dominum.

Dr. Epic

The Great Cheese Debate

De Cæso Magna Disputatio

Acanous

For the good of the Forum, this thread is locked.

Pro bono Fori, hæc acia serata est.

Wild Zubat

Ice cream is illegal on other planets!

Non licet gelatus [cramum gelatum] in planetibus alienis!

[Dr.Epic]

Dr. Epic

The Great Cheese Debate

De Cæso Magna Disputatio

Thanks!:smallwink:

[Asta Kask]

'Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.'

[Tannhaeuser]

Tres annuli regibus longævis sub cælis;
Septem dominis pygmæis in aulis saxeis
Novem hominibus mortalibus fatis mori;
Unus Domino Tenebroso in throno tenebroso,
In terra Mordor ubi umbræ jacent.
Unus annulus hos omnes regire , unus annulus hos invenire,
Unus annulus hos omnes ferre et in tenebro hos ligare
In terra Mordor ubi umbræ jacent.

Not quite as snappy in Latin, is it? By the way, both "elf" and "dwarf" are cruxes in Latin; neither word has an exact equivalent. The usual gloss of Old English ælf is nympha, a word that is always feminine in meaning as in grammatical gender (when, indeed, ælf is not used to translate dæmon or diabolus). Latin nanus is never used to denote a supernatural being.

[Ingvar]

Hi!
I would be very grateful if someone can give me a proper sentence in Latin.
The meaning should be:
Victory means everything/Victory is the most important
NB! It's important to use word Victoria.
Thank you very much in advance!

[dehro]

Hi!
I would be very grateful if someone can give me a proper sentence in Latin.
The meaning should be:
Victory means everything/Victory is the most important
NB! It's important to use word Victoria.
Thank you very much in advance!

you remind me very much of a friend of mine who called his daughter "Vittoria" in order for him to be sure that he'd celebrate a victory every year despite his football team sucking more often than not.
I'd translate it with Vincere est totum, but that negates your pre-requisite..

[Ingvar]

The reason is a bit better, but yes, it means also a name.
One friend of mine said: Victoria summa superae est!
But she wasn't 100% sure if it's grammatically correct?
Any more suggestions?

[Weimann]

If someone has the time, it'd be great to know what "knowledge and tolerance" would be in Latin. Thanks a lot. :smallsmile:

[Tannhaeuser]

If someone has the time, it'd be great to know what “knowledge and tolerance” would be in Latin. Thanks a lot.

Scientia et Tolerantia, but...

Tolerantia in Classical Latin is more the ability to bear misfortune and less the willingness to bear with other people, but then “tolerance” in our sense is not a virtue that the Classical world much admired. There are Magnanimitas, “great-mindedness,” which includes the virtue of not being bothered by unimportant things, and Liberalitas, “generosity,” which includes the idea of being able to forgive, but I am afraid that what we call “tolerance,” the Romans would have called Pusillanimitas, “lack of proper spirit,” and Servilitas, “slavishness, sycophancy.”

[Weimann]

"Scientia et servilitas" actually sounds better in my ears. Thanks! ;D

[Wild Zubat]

If you don't mind me asking...

Could you please translate "this game is not meant for mortals, but for the poor, tortured souls in fire?"

[Tannhaeuser]

Hic ludus non mortalibus sed animis [lemuribus, manibus, umbris, larvis] miseris in igne cruciatis.

It would be better style in Classical Latin to leave out the “is meant” (designatus est), or at least the est. “Souls” is a bit tricky — anima is the usual word, but animus, “mind,” is indistinguishable from it in the dative case needed here, though the meaning may be clear enough. If you mean “souls in the underworld,” the usual word is manes,* though those are usually the benevolent dead; the wicked dead are the lemures. Larvæ (“masks,” “grubs”) are “apparitions”; “shadows, shades” are umbræ.

* Augustine in the 4th century A.D. cites Apuleius as using manes as a term for neutral spirits, as opposed to lares, who are good, and lemures or larvæ, who are evil. Lares are usually the deified spirits of ancestors, the “household gods.”

[Spbennett]

Hi there,

Would you mind translating this "What is any ocean but a multitude of drops?" into Latin please

Cheers :)

[The Vagabond]

That's rather nice of you, thanks.
Here are a few requests of mine:

"Shut up before I rip your head off"
"Tales of a Vagabond"
"GIANT FIREBALL OF DOOOM!"
"F** REALITY! F*** MAGIC!"
"Shut up, please"
"Thine mind is like a medow- Flat and full of bugs."
"Thou art thou mother's whore."
"Hello there! Names Vagabond, how's your day?"
"DON'T KILL ME, PLEASE! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!"
"Never yeild, never bend, never stop walking forword."
"Why would I stop? There's still so much to see!"

"Odyssyus, would you mind to shut your mouth? Really, your prating does little more than pester me into anger."

[Tannhaeuser]

Spbennett

Quid [est] ullus oceanus nisi multitudo stillarum?

The Vagabond

Tace, antequam caput tuum abscindam.

Fabulæ Vagabundi

GLOBULUS IGNEUS INGENS FATI!

FUTUTÆ SINT RES VERÆ, FUTUTA SIT ARS MAGICA!

Tace, si placet.

Mens tua sicut pratum est—planum et larvarum [cimicum, blattarum, scarabæorum, melolontharum] plenum.
The Romans did not differentiate among various insects in the way we do. “Insecta” is a modern word entirely, meaning “[thing] divided into parts.” “Larva” is “a bug, larva, caterpillar, mask, apparition, ghost.” (Interestingly, the original meaning of the English word “bug” was “a scary thing, a boogeyman, a ghost”; the idea that various insects were manifestations of the souls of the dead caused the word to be transferred to the animal.) “Cimex” is a “bug, bedbug.” “Blatta” is a “cockroach.” “Scarabæus” is a “bug, beetle, scarab.” “Melolontha” (a Greek loan-word) is a “meadowbug” or “cockchafer.”

Es matri tuæ scortum.

Salve! Mihi nomen Vagabundus, quam die frueris?

NE ME INTERFICAS, SI PLACET! ET TE AMABO-O-O-O-O-O-O!

Numquam cedas, numquam animum flectas, numquam desinas procedere.

Cur maneam? Tam multa videre supersunt.

Ulixes, ne ægre feras, ut ore faveas; garrulitas tua vere minus efficit, nisi me ad iram vexaret.

[Dr.Epic]

Try this. It should prove to be a challenge:

(spoiled for length...kind of)
To everyone I've ever harmed, offended, or hurt, I'm truly sorry. I was careless, selfish, or just wasn't thinking. I didn't think about how it would affect you. I'm sorry. I wish I could think of something more to say, but maybe if I could I wouldn't be in this situation.

I never claimed I would live forever.

[Peelee]

Tace, si placet.


When I read what was asked to be translated, I misread "shut up, please" as "SHUT UP." Which made the "tace, si placet" hilarious and made me think you were subtly trolling people.

I was very sad when I saw it was indeed supposed to be "shut up, please."

[Tannhaeuser]

…and made me think you were subtly trolling people.

In the immortal words of Skipper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWwoAwXHhU0), “I DON’T DO SUBTLE!”

Dr. Epic
Dico omnibus quos umquam nocui, offendi, aut vulneravi, me vere pænitet. Neglegens et mihi deditus eram; vel tantumodo non considerabam. Non rationem habebam cujusmodi in quo vos afflicti sitis. Me pænitet. Ut plura dicere possim volo, tamen si sic loqui possim, non essem in his rebus gravibus.

Numquam me semper vivere affirmavi.

[Dr.Epic]

In the immortal words of Skipper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWwoAwXHhU0), “I DON’T DO SUBTLE!”

Dr. Epic
Dico omnibus quos umquam nocui, offendi, aut vulneravi, me vere pænitet. Neglegens et mihi deditus eram; vel tantumodo non considerabam. Non rationem habebam cujusmodi in quo vos afflicti sitis. Me pænitet. Ut plura dicere possim volo, tamen si sic loqui possim, non essem in his rebus gravibus.

Does that include "I never claimed I would live forever."?

[Peelee]

Does that include "I never claimed I would live forever."?

My Latin sucks, but it doesn't appear so. I figure he'll get that next time he replies, but just in case you need a definitive answer ASAP, go with no.

[Tannhaeuser]

« Pourquoi déplorez-vous ? Avez-vous imaginé que j’étais infaillible (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV_of_France) ? »

[qwertyu63]

Could you translate this for me?

"Be kind, and never stop learning."

Thank you in advance.

[Tannhaeuser]

Esto pius [generosus, clemens], et numquam desine discere.
“Pius” is “kind” in the sense of “doing one’s duty by people.” “Generosus” would imply an inclination to be giving and forgiving, while “clemens” implies a calm, mild, pleasant temperament.

Don’t forget that Latin requires one to distinguish how many people are being addressed, and of what sex they are. If one were speaking to one female, the ending –us would have to be changed to –a, for instance. The translation above supposes one male is being addressed.

[qwertyu63]

Esto pius [generosus, clemens], et numquam desine discere.
“Pius” is “kind” in the sense of “doing one’s duty by people.” “Generosus” would imply an inclination to be giving and forgiving, while “clemens” implies a calm, mild, pleasant temperament.

Don’t forget that Latin requires one to distinguish how many people are being addressed, and of what sex they are. If one were speaking to one female, the ending –us would have to be changed to –a, for instance. The translation above supposes one male is being addressed.

Thank you. Quick question: what if I was a addressing a large group of mixed gender (like say, the entire planet)? What would it be then?

[Eldan]

Just something i heard on TV today:

"We are really good at blowing stuff up, we are less good at knowing where the pieces will fall."

Blowing stuff up as in detonating, destroying, whatever exists in Latin. Pieces as in debris, remains.

[Tannhaeuser]

Qwertyu63
Estote pii [generosi, clementes], et numquam desinete discere.
Masculine gender is always the “base” gender, assumed when one does not know how to or wish to specify.

Eldan
Optimi displodendo rerum sumus, sed minus sciendo ubi reliqua cadent.
This assumes that “really” is used as an intensifier to “good” (“really good”=“highly skilled”). If it is just used to mean “I assure you that we are at least somewhat good,” substitute vere [or certe] boni for optimi.

[Kevphil]

Here is a question, relating to comics. If a character is said to have powers of psychokinesis (kinesics being Latin . for "motion"), what would be the expression for someone exercising physical strength?

(Pyrokinesis would be the manipulation of fire.)

Thanks!

[Eldan]

Those are both Greek.

[Wild Zubat]

If you don't mind, could you translate any or all of the following:

"I want to be the very best, like no one ever was!"

"I honestly have no idea what I am doing."

"You do realize you're about to die, right?"

"So many dinosaurs, so little time!"

Thanks!

[Tannhaeuser]

Kevphil

Ψυχή (“soul”), κίνησις (“movement”), and πυρ (“fire”), as Eldan points out, are all Greek, for which the Latin would be anima, motio (or motus), and ignis. I am not quite sure whether you want a word meaning “physical strength” or a word meaning “someone who uses physical strength. Vis, vires, virtus, or robur convey forcefulness or hardihood; vir, fortis, heros, robustus, validus convey a “strong man.”

Wild Zubat
Optimus profecto volo esse, sicut nemo umquam erat!

Vere non notionem habeo quod facio.

Nonne te moriturum esse intellegis?

Tam multa dinosauria, tam paulum tempus!

Someone else want to field the next batch of these? I am getting a little burnt out, myself.

[inuyasha]

could ye translate this please?

"I wish wizards wasn't so idiotic..."
:3

[Tannhaeuser]

Magos non tam fatuos fuisse volo.

It is a little hard to translate an ungrammatical sentence. I have “I desire wizards not to have been so foolish,” but that is rather overemphatic than ungrammatical. I suppose something like Bates non tam fatuos ghero, which very unsystematically incorporates elements of Oscan, might indicate something of the implied dialect.

[dehro]

Vere non notionem habeo quod facio.


I'd go with "nescio quod facio".. not literal, but it rolls of the tongue better..

[Tannhaeuser]

I’d go with “nescio quod facio”… not literal, but it rolls of the tongue better.

To be clear, Dehro rightly implies that nescio(=“I don’t know”) is better Classical style than non notionem habeo(=“I hold no conception of”), which is horribly stilted in Latin; and that my translation was over-literal, which is quite true. There is some difference in English between “I don’t know” and “I have no idea,” a slight variation in meaning which it isn’t easy to express in Latin, and I was trying to bring that out, but I have to admit I didn’t do it very well. “Honestly” is also a hard word to translate well; I used vere(= “truly”), but I’m not sure that something like nescio quidam (“I don’t know, indeed…”) wouldn’t convey the flavor of your meaning more.

Yeah, I probably need to shut up for a while (=Mihi fortasse aliquamdiu tacendum est).

[Agrippina]

Could you please translate the following for me:

"Your lack of planning does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part"

Basically, I am fed up with people expecting me to do things immediately because they had forgotten about it and now it's very urgent. I would like to voice my disapproval cryptically (most of them won't understand Latin - but it might make them think - I hope :smallsmile:).

[Mauve Shirt]

"Here comes Peter Cottontail hopping down the Bunny Trail"

[TheYell]

Not quite as snappy in Latin, is it? By the way, both "elf" and "dwarf" are cruxes in Latin; neither word has an exact equivalent. The usual gloss of Old English ælf is nympha, a word that is always feminine in meaning as in grammatical gender (when, indeed, ælf is not used to translate dæmon or diabolus). Latin nanus is never used to denote a supernatural being.

Since Tolkien was referring to populations largely defined by language, you might want to follow the classical manner of referring to the barbarian tribes - "the people who call themselves Eledhrim" and "the people who call themselves Khazad", Romanizing their tribe names as usual.

[Dr.Epic]

I got one:

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

[dehro]

Sam Vimes :smallsmile:

[Tannhaeuser]

Huc uenit Petrus Gossypicaudatus, saliens super uia cuniculosa.

==================================================

...Quis custodiet ipsos
custodes?
—D. Iunius Iuuenalis, Satura VI

“I hear you well, my dear old friends, when you warn, ‘Lock the doors,
And set up guards to watch her, for you know all wives are whores.’
But what’s the use? Who’ll guard the guards? Your wife has made her plan,
And it’s by shtupping all the guards you’d set that she began!”
—Juvenal, The Sixth Satire

[angrymudcrab]

Could you translate:

"Actions speak louder than words."

Thanks! :smallsmile:

[Tannhaeuser]

Facta clarius verbis loquuntur. However, the usual Latin proverb is Facta potentiora verbis [sunt], “Deeds are mightier than words.”

[angrymudcrab]

Facta clarius verbis loquuntur. However, the usual Latin proverb is Facta potentiora verbis [sunt], “Deeds are mightier than words.”
I'll probably go with the traditional form, I'm intending to use this as sort of a motto. I'm not familiar with the bracket notation(or Latin for that matter, hence the asking). Should I include the [sunt] when writing it?

Thanks! :smallsmile:

[Argonaut333]

Will (as in will power) is every thing

[Deepbluediver]

First of all, I'm impressed. I took a few years of French in highschool, and then quit trying to learn foreign languages completely. Its one of the few things I've ever proven to be really, truely BAD at.
I guess I'll just have to comfort myself with a full-mastery over the English American language :P

Kevphil

Ψυχή (“soul”), κίνησις (“movement”), and πυρ (“fire”), as Eldan points out, are all Greek, for which the Latin would be anima, motio (or motus), and ignis. I am not quite sure whether you want a word meaning “physical strength” or a word meaning “someone who uses physical strength. Vis, vires, virtus, or robur convey forcefulness or hardihood; vir, fortis, heros, robustus, validus convey a “strong man.”

Stuff like this always makes me think the same thing:
http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/polyamory_tshirt.jpg
:smallbiggrin:


But to stay on topic, I've actually been wondering about something like this myself. I'm sure the grammar or vocabulary probably doesn't fit perfectly, but if Telepathy deals with the mind, and Telekinesis deals with matter, what would be a decent catch-all term in the same vein for mental-powers involving energy (heat, electricity, etc)? If this is to far out of left field for you to deal with, don't worry about it; I was just curious. I've had lots of fun reading through the thread as is.



"Here comes Peter Cottontail hopping down the Bunny Trail"

And this seems like it's just being silly. :smallannoyed:

[Tannhaeuser]

I can answer Angrymudcrab fairly readily. The word in brackets is the verb “to be,” which is very often omitted in Latin. A common phrase such as Ars Longa, Vita Brevis* or Dux Femina Facti† contains no verbs at all, but is understood as incorporating the verb “to be.” You can stick in the verb: Ars est longa, vita est brevis; Femina est dux facti—but you don’t need to, and it is often considered better style, especially in “sentential” or mottoes, to be as short as possible. Brevitas sapientiæ anima [est].‡

Basically, you can leave “sunt” in or take it out, and the sentence will mean the same thing.

_________________________________________________

Argonaut333, a literal translation would be “voluntas est omnia”—but I very much doubt the Romans would have used the abstract noun, or that they would have used “everything” to mean “the essential, crucial aspect.” I think they would have read the above sentence as some sort of philosophical idea that there was no actual material existence and that the cosmos consisted of one gigantic Will (an idea that I doubt they would have found attractive). Almost certainly they would have used an infinitive as subject, so “velle est omnia” is possible, but I suspect incomprehensible to most Romans. Perhaps “velle est supremum” or “velle est summum” gets closer to the meaning you wish to convey; but I imagine that the most Roman of all would be the old proverb, “velle est posse” — “To will is to be able.”

_________________________________________________

Deepbluediver, though, heh, in general I support the principle of keeping linguistic elements separate in combined forms, the funny thing is, native Latin speakers themselves did it occasionally (viz, bigamia, from Latin bis, “twice,” Greek γάμος, “marriage”), so it is sometimes just a little bit pedantic to insist on keeping the word elements separate, especially in regard to words long established in English. I doubt we will be insisting on “autokinetos” or “semobiles” any time soon.

I imagine that since “energy” itself is a Greek word, the simplest formation would simply be τηλένέργεια, telenergia, “telenergy.”

==================================================

* “Art long, life short”—i.e., “Art is long, life is short,” or even more fully, “A normal lifespan does not give one enough time to master a particular craft and have time left over to produce perfect work.”
† “Guide Woman of a Deed”—“Woman is the Guide to Deeds,” or “If you look behind any action that a man has taken, you will usually find that some woman inspired it.”
‡ “Brevity [is] the soul of wit.”

[MLai]

Please check for me that this little stanza is grammatically correct. Yes, I wrote it using Google Translate. I kept it real simple just so I can avoid mistakes.
In my comic, it's carved on a tombstone:

Ad regina mea
Gladius meus
Amor mea
Ad vitam aeternam

[Tannhaeuser]

Ad regina mea
Gladius meus
Amor mea
Ad vitam æternam

I am afraid it is grammatically incorrect, but I cannot quite tell you how to correct it without knowing what you intend to say. As it stands, it says approximately, “My queen, my sword, toward, Love, my things, toward eternal life.” If, as I guess, you mean something like, “To my queen, my sword, my love forever,” it would be,

Reginæ meæ
Gladius meus
Amorque meus
Semper,

or something of that ilk. (Very Rupert of Hentzau!)

[Ravanan]

My favorite summoning chant:
Sunt formicae in meis bracis! (It says exactly what you probably think it says)
Mostly as a grammar check, since I learned it back in high school and am probably misremembering something.

As for an actual translation request,

"The wheels of fate are turning." (Which I fully confess is from BlazBlue)

I'd guess it would use sors (sortium?) rather than fortuna (fortunarum), but beyond that...

[Tannhaeuser]

For the first, I’ve always seen braccæ or bracchæ, with two “c”’s; otherwise, as far as I can tell, your antsy trousers seem well-fitting to me.

For the second, literally, Rotæ fati volvunt—but the question is complicated.

Sors is “fortune, chance,” but only by extension. Its basic meaning is “a small marked object”—anything from a stone to a die to a ticket, but especially a little wooden counter rather like a Scrabble tile, drawn or cast for the purpose of randomly determining some outcome. I cannot seem to trace the use of any sort of wheel in connection with the use of the sortes.

The basic meaning of fatum is “the thing which has been spoken” (much as some people still say things like “you have to take what’s been written”). Naturally, since people generally have more than one thing that happens in their lives, some people started speaking of “things spoken” or fata.

However, since the neuter plural ending is identical to a feminine singular ending, some people took fata as “a Fate, a female being determining what happens.” In this form it was first given a feminine plural fatæ, and then identified with the Greek Μοῖραι (“the apportioners”) or, as the Romans called them, the Parcæ (“the women who spare(?)”),* the female beings who spun the destinies of men. Meanwhile, the allegorical figure Fortuna (>fors, “chance”), because of her uncertainty, was already imagined as balancing unsteadily on a ball. Perhaps the turning spindle was confused with the spinning ball and encouraged the conflation of all these female figures imagined as influencing events. In any case, the ball of Fortune had become a wheel, and rota Fortunæ a cliché, even by Classical times.

But wait—there’s more. The wheel doesn’t just “turn” (volvit) by itself; it is turned by Fortune. So the expression is most commonly found in the form, Fortunæ rota volvitur.† And that’s the form I would recommend.

* If this is the derivation, the name was presumably a euphemism.

†…as in the Carmina Burana. By the way, if you find this as Fortune rota uoluitur, remember that the Middle Ages generally substituted “e” for the Classical diphthongs “æ” and “œ” (and pronounced them both like English long “a”) and that in Classical Latin no distinction was made between “i” as a vowel and “i” as a consonant (pronounced like English “y”) or between “v” as a vowel (pronounced like English “u”) and “v” as a consonant (pronounced like English “w” in Classical Latin and like English “v” in mediæval Latin). Classical Latin had only capital letters, by the way. SIC FORTVNÆ ROTA VOLVITVR. (It didn't have italics, either.)

[Ravanan]

*completely forgot about fatum*

That's actually a fair bit of interesting information. *stores it away in mental rolodex of randomness*

Alternatively, "And now I know." "And knowing is half the battle! G.I.JOOOOOOOE!"

Thank you kindly!

[Eldan]

Interesting point, how would you translate "Knowing is half the battle"? Perhaps write it out a bit first, as "Since we know this fact, the battle is almost won.", to make the meaning clear.

[Deepbluediver]

Interesting point, how would you translate "Knowing is half the battle"? Perhaps write it out a bit first, as "Since we know this fact, the battle is almost won.", to make the meaning clear.

Heh heh, yeah, dealing with translations for colloquial phrases can be a pain in the arse, since many of them seem to rely on a knowledge of history, a certain system of values, and implied or alternate meanings.
In this case, I would probably just pick something simpler, like "Knowledge is Power", which gets you 80% of the same intention, I think.

[Tannhaeuser]

Hmmm…the “half the battle” proverb doesn’t seem to be all that old—I can’t find it before the Eighteenth Century, even in English, in which it refers to “a good beginning.” There is a Latin form of that proverb in a quotation from Horace, Dimidium facti qui cœpit habet, “Whoever begins has half of the deed,” itself apparently derived from the Greek of Hesiod. I suppose one could say, Dimidium pugnæ qui ____ habet. I suppose one could say, qui scit, though I tend to think that would have prompted a Roman to ask, “Knows what?” I would be more inclined to say, qui sapit, though that seems a bit off the meaning: “He who is wise has half the battle.” You could possibly say, Dimidium pugnæ gnarus habet, “The knowledgeable man has half the battle,” but I don’t quite get that G.I. Joe feeling from that. I think my own inclination would be to say, Dimidium pugnæ scientia habeas, “Thou shalt have half of the battle by knowledge,” or better yet, Dimidium pugnæ sciendo habeas, “Thou shalt have half of the battle by knowing” (or “by what you ought to know”).

[dehro]

some people take things too far..

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/Vader%20Hastings.jpg

[Howler Dagger]

If anybody is still up for translation, I could use a translated for "(created) from nothing."

[SaintRidley]

Well, the (created) will depend on what's created - whether singular or plural, first, second, or third person. Your construction screams passive, too, which is a consideration. Assuming third singular - (Factum est) ex nihilo.

I'm in the process of learning, so I could be wrong here, but that's where I'm pegging it right now.

[Lord Ensifer]

The "est" makes the phrase a full sentence - "it has been created out of nothing". Drop the "est" to make the verb into a participle - Factum ex nihilo, "having been created out of nothing".

EDIT: Also, on the "knowing is half the battle", why can't it just be "dimidium pugnae scire est"? To know is half the battle. There might be some reason why that can't work, but my (fairly untrained) Latin brain can't see it.

[Eldan]

Well, the (created) will depend on what's created - whether singular or plural, first, second, or third person. Your construction screams passive, too, which is a consideration. Assuming third singular - (Factum est) ex nihilo.

I'm in the process of learning, so I could be wrong here, but that's where I'm pegging it right now.

Ex nihilo is the phrase that's actually used. Mostly in theology, but also in biology and physics. So, it should be correct.

[Razanir]

I have an idea for a large project in Latin, but unfortunately my Latin is limited mostly to what I've picked up at church.

My idea: Tobuscus' Dramatic Song, IN LATIN! What better language for a song that sounds so dramatic?

Youtube link to the English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WteF0j5gYGk

Spoilered lyrics:

This song sounds dramatic
but I'm bad at writing words.
If you don't speak English,
this probably sounds pretty good.

You'd probably think I'm singing
bout some pretty serious stuff.
But in reality, I'm singing 'bout
the lack of stuff i'm singing 'bout.

This part's intense.
And emotional.
As long as you don't understand it.

Your foreign grandma
would love this song.

Please send it to her,
and she'll probably tell her
foreign friends about the song her
grandson or daughter sent her today.

This song might hit the charts in her country
if parts sounded like Coldplay.

If the chorus sounds like Coldplay.

Then I put some 'La-La-La's in there.
La la la la la,
la la la la la la la (Coldplay)

Hopefully your foreign grandma
listens to this song everyday.
And if she asks you to
translate the lyrics, here's what you say:

"A perfect translation does not exist.
Well, at least, not in your language.
But if you must know, well, picture this:
Fifty billion rainbows,
and the sun is setting,
and the moon is setting, also,
and you're there in a gazebo.
And then God descends from heaven
and He gives you a million dollars.
Take that feeling,
and put it into a song.
I could translate word by word,
but that'd take too long.
And I've got stuff to do grandma.
I don't have time for this.
You've gotta trust me grandma,
this freakin' song is brilliant."

[elektito]

Can you translate "Don't forget to fly" into Latin for me?

[Dr.Epic]

I ate a fart.

Translate it!:smallwink::smalltongue:

[Scottyalex1909]

Can you please translate this for me, it's a common saying in my house:
"You know where the door is"

[SaintRidley]

I ate a fart.

Translate it!:smallwink::smalltongue:

Peditum comedi.

Bombulum comedi. (Bombulum means little fart, farticle).

[Eldan]

Can you please translate this for me, it's a common saying in my house:
"You know where the door is"

That one Needs to be really laconic. Can that be made into two words? Probably not.

Scis ubi... ostium?

My Latin is terrible.

[Scottyalex1909]

That one Needs to be really laconic. Can that be made into two words? Probably not.

Scis ubi... ostium?

My Latin is terrible.

How about something along the lines of
"If you are not happy there's the door/ you can leave"
Or
"If you don't like it..."

[harpist71]

Could you please translate something for me. My favorite teacher passed away and it has been too many years since I translated Latin...

Teacher, Mentor, Friend,
Thank you for all you gave us. Thank you for all you taught us. You will live on through us and you will never be forgotten. Rest in peace.
Love,
all of your Latin students



Thanks..

[rbingham2000]

I'd like a certain incantation translated. It belongs to a rather grim magical girl who I play in a game on another forum, who dedicates herself to fighting demons and those who summon them.

I command thee under the contract:
Let the light be my eyes;
Let the dark be my cloak;
Let wrath be my weapon,
And vengeance my oath.

It's meant to be used when she transforms into her mahou shoujo form, though she only speaks the words aloud when she's feeling particularly dramatic, as one does not need to speak incantations aloud in the verse I play in. The final part of the incantation (Dark Transfiguration...COMMENCE!) is one that I'll be leaving untranslated.

[Unbeknownst]

If you're still around, I have a request for you.

"I stood among the ashes of a thousand dead men and asked them if honor mattered. The silence was my answer."

[NM020110]

If any here would be willing, I have a motto that I would like to see translated.

"From Iron, Peace. From Flesh, Wisdom. From Thought, Power."

[SaintRidley]

If any here would be willing, I have a motto that I would like to see translated.

"From Iron, Peace. From Flesh, Wisdom. From Thought, Power."

Ooh, I can do this one.

Ex ferro, pacem. Ex carne, sapientiam. Ex sententia, potestatem.

[SayaInThePlay]

Can you translate "Imagination is life's greatest adventure" for me? Thank you!

[Blopa]

Hi there. First of all, thanks a lot for your effort and generosity. Now, to my query, I'd like to translate yet another famous H. P. Lovecraft quote:

"In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming"

Thanks for the help!

[peterso]

Hey, can you help me?
How will be "never again" in Latin?

[Magic_Hat]

a few quotes from Futurama if you don't mid translating please:

Bite my shiny, metal ass!

I wish I was stupid and violent! Then we'd see what's what! I'd pound them tight!

All right environment - you've met your match!

[SunderedWorldDM]

If you please:

For the Order. For the Crown. For glory and honor.

I'm doing a PbP here, all the characters are part of a knightly order and this is what I think their motto will be. Thanks!

[Bohandas]

Can you verify the translation of "why so serious?" as "cur sic gravis?"

[Celticbear]

Big oof, how about you translate "English is a stupid language" so I can snark at my english teacher, maybe?

[Peelee]

If you please:

For the Order. For the Crown. For glory and honor.

Senatus Populusque Romanus. :smalltongue:

[Fyraltari]

Hi there. First of all, thanks a lot for your effort and generosity. Now, to my query, I'd like to translate yet another famous H. P. Lovecraft quote:

"In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming"

Thanks for the help!

My latin is a bit rusty, but I can't let that go unanswered.

Let's see...

"In domo sua R'liehae, mortuus Cthulhu somnians exspectat."

I assumed R'lyeh was a first declination feminine (as if it was "R'lieha") and that "Cthulhu" was Cthulhu's nominative (sounds reasonnable).

That's probably a little awkward, but I am confident it is correct.


EDIT 1: I changed the "y" in R'lyeh to a "i" to keep the pronunciation alike. "y" in latin sounds like a french "u". I don't think there is that sound in english.

EDIT 2: Another one because why not?


If you please:

For the Order. For the Crown. For glory and honor.

I'm doing a PbP here, all the characters are part of a knightly order and this is what I think their motto will be. Thanks!

What is a PbP?

"Ordini. Coronae. Gloriae honorique."

This is assuming you mean "honor" as a synonym of "glory", if you mean more as "virtous behaviour", "honestoque" would be more fitting.

[Forty-Two]

Would it be possible to get the Attack Helicopter copypasta translated, except with Cato the Elder instead? For reference, the original is


I sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter. Ever since I was a boy I dreamed of soaring over the oilfields dropping hot sticky loads on {Scrubbed}. People say to me that a person being a helicopter is Impossible and I'm ****ing Scrubbedbut I don't care, I'm beautiful. I'm having a plastic surgeon install rotary blades, 30 mm cannons and AMG-114 Hellfire missiles on my body. From now on I want you guys to call me "Apache" and respect my right to kill from above and kill needlessly. If you can't accept me you're a heliphobe and need to check your vehicle privilege. Thank you for being so understanding.

and I'd like a version such as


I sexually Identify as Cato the Elder. Ever since I was a boy I dreamed of campaigning through Africa dropping hot sticky loads on {Scrubbed}. People say to me that a person being Cato the Elder is Impossible and I'm ****ing Scrubbed but I don't care, I'm beautiful. I'm buying a villa, a toga, and thirty slaves to work on my farm. From now on I want you guys to call me "Cato" and respect my right to defend Rome from Hellenic influences. If you can't accept me you're a catophobe and need to check your Roman privilege. Furthermore, Carthage must be destroyed.

Apologies in advance.

[Eldan]

My latin is a bit rusty, but I can't let that go unanswered.

Let's see...

"In domo sua R'liehae, mortuus Cthulhu somnians exspectat."

I assumed R'lyeh was a first declination feminine (as if it was "R'lieha") and that "Cthulhu" was Cthulhu's nominative (sounds reasonnable).

That's probably a little awkward, but I am confident it is correct.


EDIT 1: I changed the "y" in R'lyeh to a "i" to keep the pronunciation alike. "y" in latin sounds like a french "u". I don't think there is that sound in english.

EDIT 2: Another one because why not?



What is a PbP?

"Ordini. Coronae. Gloriae honorique."

This is assuming you mean "honor" as a synonym of "glory", if you mean more as "virtous behaviour", "honestoque" would be more fitting.

How would you transcribe Cthulhu into Latin? Catulu? Cetulus?

[Fyraltari]

How would you transcribe Cthulhu into Latin? Catulu? Cetulus?

You could use of the other spellings: Tulu, Kutulu, Katulu, etc.

It's apparently pronounced "Khlûl′-hloo" anyway, which is still wrong since humans can't prononce it correctly anyway.

[Crisis21]

I'll ask for a (hopefully) simple one:

Deus ex Machina is (roughly) 'God in the Machine'. What would be best for swapping 'God' for 'Insanity' in that phrase?

[MoonCat]

I'll ask for a (hopefully) simple one:

Deus ex Machina is (roughly) 'God in the Machine'. What would be best for swapping 'God' for 'Insanity' in that phrase?

I'd do vecordia or amentia ex machina.

It's originally Attic Greek though, so you could always go old school (with the added benefit of alliteration) and say ἀπὸ μηχανῆς μανία.

[Grammaticus]

Hello,
I'm been an avid OOTS reader but so far I had nothing to say on the forums. But I was a bit bored waiting for a shop to open today and I stumbled upon this thread. I happen to be a latin linguist doing a PhD about some very specific language features in latin (won't bother you with that, I promise) and a background in archaeology and anthropology. More specifically, I spend an awful lot of time reading what ancient grammarians wrote about latin.

I would be glad to translate or discuss some latin. Sorry for my English in advance, I'm french.

To begin with, how latin speakers transcribed foreign words into latin is an interesting topic. All in all, there are three ways to do it:

- the republican/"normal" way: they transcribed foreign words by altering them so they could be pronounced using only latin phonems and (roughly) latin grammar. For "Cthulhu", that would be something like "Tulu(us), Tului". That would also probably determinate the pronounciation in "vulgar" latin.

- the classical/"pedantic" way: typically observed for greek words, the rule was to keep the greek pronounciation and even sometimes greek grammar. I'll be forced to compare with greek anyway so let's say Cthulhy would be treated like a greek word. So they wrote the words in the greek alphabet, or with a latin alphabet with small alterations (like C for K, removing the "h" etc). So it would be "Cthulhu" or "Ctulu". But the pronounciation varied depending on the reader's skill. For "Cthulhu" that would go from "Ctulhu" to "Kutulu". And sometimes they tried to sound greeker than the greek, so they would add greek-sounding parts, something like "Kthhhulhhhhu" just to show they could aspirate the h (while the actually erudite cultists in the room would try not laughing).

- the late/medieval/"latin isn't my native language" way: this is especially true after the dilution of the western empire into "barbarian" successor states. There were still very knowledgeable people but most of the time, the problem was not to translate foreign words into latin, but to translate their own language into weird latin. That's when the writers started to use very fancy spellings because it looked better, and I fear we aren't safe from something like "Khthylys" because everything looks better with greek letters/rules. But they would still pronounce it right, because they were used to not pronounce latin as it is written.

[Pseudo_Nym]

Interesting thread!

I've used 'Nec neca nec necare' as 'neither kill nor be killed' on occasion, and since we have some genuine expertise here I'd be grateful for correction or confirmation, as appropriate. It's a phrase I'd like to be confident in, and my own Latin is... rather rusty.

Thanks greatly.

[ahyangyi]

- the classical/"pedantic" way: typically observed for greek words, the rule was to keep the greek pronounciation and even sometimes greek grammar. I'll be forced to compare with greek anyway so let's say Cthulhy would be treated like a greek word. So they wrote the words in the greek alphabet, or with a latin alphabet with small alterations (like C for K, removing the "h" etc). So it would be "Cthulhu" or "Ctulu". But the pronounciation varied depending on the reader's skill. For "Cthulhu" that would go from "Ctulhu" to "Kutulu". And sometimes they tried to sound greeker than the greek, so they would add greek-sounding parts, something like "Kthhhulhhhhu" just to show they could aspirate the h (while the actually erudite cultists in the room would try not laughing).


I think "Cthulhu" takes inspiration from the Greek word χθόνιος (as in some cults devoted to subterranean Greek deities). So maybe the Latin version would simply be Chthulu or Chtholu?

[LeSwordfish]

Hey folks,

Really hope this thread doesn't get locked for necroposting because I actually have a relevant question for it! I'm making a Titan Legion for Warhammer 40,000, which in case you don't know uses a lot of cod latin. I want to give each Titan (big stompy mecha) a latin name, and was hoping to have a human who speaks the language look over the names before I paint them on anything. So please let me know what the "correct" translations for the names below is - I just fiddled around in Google Translate until I got some sounds I liked, so please let me know how the words I selected are actually used, and any unfortunate connotations etc. Can I just put the words in whatever order, for a name?

Warhounds (Small dog-like scout titans)
Canis Caelestis (Celestial dog)
Aetherus Catulus (sky cub)

Reaver (Medium sized "ambush" titan)
Sideralis Venandi (stellar hunter)

Warlord (Big boss titan)
Constellatia Divinatus (Divine constellation)

In particular I vaguely remember something about Latin names being gendered by how they end - Flavius/Flavia, etc. Can you do that with ordinary words as well? (Divinatus to Divinata and so on). Would that imply the gender of the titan or it's crew to a latin speaker?

[Fyraltari]

Hey folks,

Really hope this thread doesn't get locked for necroposting because I actually have a relevant question for it! I'm making a Titan Legion for Warhammer 40,000, which in case you don't know uses a lot of cod latin. I want to give each Titan (big stompy mecha) a latin name, and was hoping to have a human who speaks the language look over the names before I paint them on anything. So please let me know what the "correct" translations for the names below is - I just fiddled around in Google Translate until I got some sounds I liked, so please let me know how the words I selected are actually used, and any unfortunate connotations etc. Can I just put the words in whatever order, for a name?

Warhounds (Small dog-like scout titans)
Canis Caelestis (Celestial dog)
Aetherus Catulus (sky cub)

Reaver (Medium sized "ambush" titan)
Sideralis Venandi (stellar hunter)

Warlord (Big boss titan)
Constellatia Divinatus (Divine constellation)

In particular I vaguely remember something about Latin names being gendered by how they end - Flavius/Flavia, etc. Can you do that with ordinary words as well? (Divinatus to Divinata and so on). Would that imply the gender of the titan or it's crew to a latin speaker?
First, Warhammer 40K does not bother with having actually correct latin. The Imperial guard "actual" name Astra Militarum(sic) is probablys supposed to translate to "Army of the stars" but actually means something like "star of the soldiers". So if you go beyond "whatever sounds cool on google translate" you are already putting in more effort than GW employees are.

Second: each latin noun (both common and names) decline according to three things: gender (male, female or neutral and no there are no easy way to know which a given name is you just have to learn it by rote), number (singluar or plural) and case (function within the sentence, ie subject, object, etc). Each noun does so by following one of the five different possible declination (who may have some additional sub-declinations).
Order is not important in a latin sentence, like at all (at least in written latin).

Finally, unlike English, latin cannot just slap a noun to another and expect it to work as an epiteth like it was an adjective or something so your

"Sky cub" would be "cub from the sky" so catulus coelo or coelo catulus (catulus is in the nominative case and coelus in the ablative)

"Stellar hunter": stellis venator or venator stellis (again nominative venator and and ablative plural stella)

"Divine constellation": constellatio divina or divina constellatio (divinus is an adjective so it just takes the gender, number and case (here female, singular and nominative) of constellatio.)

[Mutant Donkey]

The cheese is old and moldy.

[Eldan]

I think "Cthulhu" takes inspiration from the Greek word χθόνιος (as in some cults devoted to subterranean Greek deities). So maybe the Latin version would simply be Chthulu or Chtholu?

I just came across it and thought I might mention it, but Lovecraft's own Whisperer in Darkness has the name Kathulos coming up in a list of dark gods and/or things and that might as well be a Latinized spelling of Cthulhu.

[hema kumar]

thats a better skill.

[Phhase]

Just clarify for me: "Manes ex Machina."
It does mean ghost from the machine, right?

[Bohandas]

First, Warhammer 40K does not bother with having actually correct latin. The Imperial guard "actual" name Astra Militarum(sic) is probablys supposed to translate to "Army of the stars" but actually means something like "star of the soldiers". So if you go beyond "whatever sounds cool on google translate" you are already putting in more effort than GW employees are.

Speaking of which, why is it that the pseudo-Latin language from WH40K is pretty much the only thing in the imperial faction that doesn't have a pseudo-Latin name? Instead of "High Gothic" shouldn't it be called "Fakeus Latinus" or something like that?

[Eldan]

Canis latinum.

[Eldan]

Just clarify for me: "Manes ex Machina."
It does mean ghost from the machine, right?

Sort of. There's several words for ghost. (Manes, Lares, Larvae, Lemures, Genii...) Manes are ancestral spirits that are neither really good or evil:



Apuleius "says, indeed, that the souls of men are demons, and that men become Lares if they are good, Lemures or Larvae if they are bad, and Manes if it is uncertain whether they deserve well or ill... He also states that the blessed are called in Greek εὐδαίμονες [eudaimones], because they are good souls, that is to say, good demons, confirming his opinion that the souls of men are demons."

— City of God, Book IX, Chapter 11[3]

They have to be placated with sacrifice and ritual, though.

[jeremymarshall]

Hello.
I need your help, how will be "special one" in Latin?

[Fyraltari]

Hello.
I need your help, how will be "special one" in Latin?

That depends on the context but specialis is probably the answer you are looking for.

[angelinalove]

Hello!
Help me please. How can i say "wise woman" on Latin?

[Fyraltari]

Sapiens femina in the sense of ‘an adult (but not too old) female human who has wisdom’.

[flat_footed]

The Fullmetal Mod: Thread Necromancy is a forbidden art.