I’m shocked that no one has mentioned the correct pronunciation of this famous phrase. I had a university friend chide me for mispronouncing it (since I never took a Latin course).
Hint to those I’ve confused: This is not an Italian phrase; “v” is pronounced like English “w” in Latin. And the “c” represents a “k” sound.
The VISA ad perpetuates the mispronunciation.
Yeah, and it depressed me to think about Julius Caesar saying “Way-nee, wee-dee, wee-kee” with a straight face.
My French is also rusty, but que is not a subject in French, is it? Wouldn’t it be Qu’est-ce qui sera, sera?
Or Terry Pratchett’s version “Veni, veneri, vamoosi” - I came, I caught an embarrassing disease, I ran away.
… 10…9… 8 …(counting down to the first reply to tell me what is wrong with my Latin)
I LOVE to venire.
I’d like to start a folk etymology at this point.
To ‘come’, as a euphemism for orgasm, stems from 17th usage. Educated people of the time punned on the similarity between venereus (lust) and venire (come.)
This sort of wordplay was thought the height of fashion at the time.
It was all part of a cunning plan, as exposed by Sellar and Yeatman:
“The Britons, however, who of course still used the old pronunciation, understanding him to have called them ‘Weeny, Weedy, and Weaky’, lost heart and gave up the struggle, thinking that he had already divided them All into Three Parts”
I’m amazed that no one’s caught this but it’s vinci, not vici (pronounced wee-nky). It’s from the verb, vincere, which means “to conquer, overcome.” It’s where we get words like “invincible” and “convince.”
vinco, vincis, vici, victum, vincere
So did your friend also correct you on the pronunciation of J.C.'s name: Yoolioos Kaysar?
The point being that regardless how the scholars believe the ancient Romans spoke, there is a customary English pronunciation of well-known Latin phrases and names, and unless one is in the presence of classicists, that customary pronunciation is perfectly acceptable.
Or, as the Lord Chief Justice put it in Rex v. Venables et al., in A.P. Herbert, Uncommon Law:
I see that I’ve put my foot in my mouth. The first person perfect quite clearly drops the “n.” I’m going to slink away quietly now.
Since others have handled the scholarly side quite well, I’ll just add “Veni, vidi, velcro”: “I came, I saw, I stuck around”.
It’s said, incidentally, that Caesar’s original utterance of the phrase was the shortest political speech in history.
Apart from the language issue, I should point out that it is indeed a real coat-of-arms for my family – just not necessarily my branch of it. The current “official” holders of the coat-of-arms are Lord and Lady Tavistock of Bloomsbury, whom I’ve actually met in passing (and such an…interesting…couple they are, too) although the family connection is too far removed in time and space to matter at all. As I said, it just amuses me that that particular motto is the one given.
Back to the OP: there was a scene in Married to the Mob (IIRC) in which we see the words “Veni, veni, veni” carved into a hotel room bed headboard. Subtle but very funny.
IIRC, coucher is a reflexive verb and that should be “Voulez-vous vous coucher avec moi?” And are members of your family generally on such formal terms with people you want to sleep with? Next time, try “Veus-tu te coucher avec moi?”
YRI. The reflexive verb se coucher means simply “to go to bed”; “to have sex with” is the transitive verb coucher.
There is an error in my last post: coucher is intransitive, as it does not take a direct object. It is coucher avec quelqu’un.
Also, as well as “go to bed”, se coucher can mean “to lie down”.
It’s a fairly common joke and is featured in the Eleventh Hour’s “Lady Marmalade.”
Shorter than Louis? L’etat, c’est moi. Same number of letters.
On the subject of family crests here are some from feet of clay by Terry Pratchett
Edward St John de Nobbes: “capite omnia” – “take it all”
Gerhardt Sock (butcher): “futurus meus est in visceris” – “my
future is in the entrails”
Vetinari: “si non confectus non reficiat” – “if it ain’t broke,
don’t fix it” (a saying popularised by Lyndon B Johnson,
though possibly older)
Assassins Guild: “nil mortifice sine lucre” – “no killing
without payment”
Rudolph Potts (baker): “quod subigo farinam” – “because I knead
the dough”
Thieves’ Guild: “acutus id verberat” – “sharp’s the word”
Vimes family: “protego et servio” – “I protect and serve”. In the
centre of the crest is the number 177, which – we learnt in Men
at Arms – is Vimes’ own badge number.