“Always ready” is a thing.
It’s the motto of the NYFD. And the US Coast Guard.
And of Leo Bloom, at the zenith of his (alternative) career, when he is resident magistrate or justice of the peace with a family crest and coat of arms and appropriate classical motto (Semper paratus), duly recorded in the court directory (Bloom, Leopold P., M. P., P. C., K. P., L. L. D. (honoris causa), Bloomville, Dundrum) and mentioned in court and fashionable intelligence (Mr and Mrs Leopold Bloom have left Kingstown for England).
ETA: So much for the naval line of inquiry, at least as far as the US is concerned.
I think the translation serves its purpose. As far words about readiness, I like the punchiness of praestō. As for the military-style call-and-response if I were translating “aye-aye” or “hua” I’d render it unde unde.
I cannot believe the dithering around on this topic.
"Ready, aye ready " translates into Latin as “semper paratus” … “aye” means “always” in this context. It does not mean “yes” … the idea is actually laughable to anybody familiar with Scots language.
As an aside, the motto of the Clan Johnston is “nunquam non paratus” , which translates to "never unprepared ". Why the double negative, I have no idea …“semper paratus” is far more cogent IMO.
In the Scots language, “aye” , meaning “forever” is pronounced exactly the same as “aye” meaning “yeah”. The English don’t ever use the word “aye” to mean either yes or forever …it’s a Scots thing. And it’s pronounced the same as the first person singular pronoun.
That’s not correct. Plenty of rural English dialects use “aye” to mean “yes”, and it is also so used in Parliament: “The Ayes to the right…” As for “aye” as “forever”, my Shorter OED cites Gibbon for an English usage.