# Latin translation help, anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-translation-help-anyone/560003 "2010-11-09T04:27:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-translation-help-anyone/560003/21 "2010-11-10T23:17:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > [Furman’s Lexicon](http://facweb.furman.edu/~dmorgan/lexicon/silva.htm) has this for Capital: > [Vicipaedia](http://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitale) has (with my translations in brackets, feel free to straighten me out): > But hell, it’s not less of a problem in English. And as surprisingly many subtle synonyms as there are in Latin, a lot of words get diverse usage. “Capitale” has precedent in Latin, and context will generally distinguish it. > > Anyway, it seems that the title in English doesn’t really mean “Life, Capital, Security” but “Security of Life and Capital”. So, I’d think you’d want: > > Vītae Capitālisque Sēcūritās I think you’re going dow the right road. The company is in the premium finance business. Which means that they help the wealthy elderly finance life insurance in order compensate for the amount of their estate that will be lost to taxes. So, their “protecting” your life’s capital—the wealth you been able to amass and are about to bequeath. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-translation-help-anyone/560003/22 "2010-11-11T11:49:21Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I think you’re going dow the right road. The company is in the premium finance business. Which means that they help the wealthy elderly finance life insurance in order compensate for the amount of their estate that will be lost to taxes. So, their “protecting” your life’s capital—the wealth you been able to amass and are about to bequeath. Then perhaps the -que is not needed, since it wouldn’t be “of life and of capital” but “of a lifetime’s capital”. Whether it’s more elegant to build nested genitives from the front or some other construction I’m not sure, but we’re looking at something like: Vītae Capitālis Sēcūritās ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-translation-help-anyone/560003/23 "2010-11-11T13:58:38Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > Then perhaps the -que is not needed, since it wouldn’t be “of life and of capital” but “of a lifetime’s capital”. Whether it’s more elegant to build nested genitives from the front or some other construction I’m not sure, but we’re looking at something like: > > Vītae Capitālis Sēcūritās Does the info I provided change your assessment of the original phrase? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-translation-help-anyone/560003/24 "2010-11-11T14:15:11Z")
It doesn’t change the fact that the original phrase is just three Latin nominative words without any verb or grammatical construction. It really looks like just a ham handed attempt to translate the company name. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-translation-help-anyone/560003/25 "2010-11-11T16:26:20Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Does the info I provided change your assessment of the original phrase? Yes, though based on that I think of “life capital” not as “life and capital” but as “capital of a lifetime”. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It doesn’t change the fact that the original phrase is just three Latin nominative words without any verb or grammatical construction. It really looks like just a ham handed attempt to translate the company name. I can’t understand why people do this. I mean, I assume they don’t think it matters if the Latin is coherent, yet somehow it’s worth having something in Latin to begin with? Why not just make something up? Ifelay Apitalcay Ecuritysay. Weus Saveus You Moneyus. I mean, it sounds fancy and what the hell kind of pedant really cares whether it’s total gibberish? Come on. Even if you have to pay somebody to do the translation properly, it’s probably cheaper than the printing. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-translation-help-anyone/560003/26 "2010-11-12T18:25:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > I can’t understand why people do this. Because people generally fail to understand the possible complexities of grammar. People not introduced to other languages will generally have absolutely no idea about grammatical issues not present in their native language, and are only vaguely aware of the ones in their own. I’m not sure of the linguistic term, but English tends to use auxiliary words and prepositional phrases where other languages would use inflections. If that’s the only language you’re aware of, you’re going to assume that other languages do things in exactly the same way, and that you don’t need to worry about what form the words would be since you don’t in English. Language acquisition is a very intuitive thing, and very strongly influenced by one’s developing brain. Once the pattern for a native language is learned, the ability to learn other languages as innately declines. Unless you’re a linguist or serious about learning another language, you’re not going to think about how another language works. Also, people are cheap, lazy and dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-translation-help-anyone/560003/27 "2010-11-12T19:46:33Z")
Somehow, my grumbling about the misuse of Latin on a message board to a bunch of people who already know how to conjugate a Latin verb hasn’t produced any change in society. There may be a flaw in my approach. Hey, you know what I’ve heard always makes people sit up and take notice? An e-petition. Seriously, though, maybe I need to pitch a bake sale at my local university to raise Latin awareness. Hand out pamphlets. Pick a week and declare it Latin Awareness Week. Possibly people could wear a ribon of some kind – red and gold, perhaps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-translation-help-anyone/560003.md?page=1)