Since some people are new to Latin, I thought it might be helpful to list some basic characteristics of the language. First - Latin has very limited word order. In English, we rely on word order to know who is doing what to whom. In Latin, it is the ending of the noun or adjective that tells you who is doing the action, who is receiving it, and who just happens to be standing by. In Latin, word order is mostly for style or emphasis. Hence, the use of the charts of endings that Angela posted earlier. So in English: The knight rides a horse could be written in Latin as Horse knight rides or any other order. Second - Latin has no articles- no words for a or the. This makes it a good choice for mottoes. Less letters to paint or embroider usually. Third- the subject of the verb is contained in the verb itself, similar to other romance languages. But unlike other romance languages, you dont need the subject pronoun. I love in Latin is just Amo. No yo needed. Many other helping words that go before the verb in English, become endings in Latin. Hence, I will be taught becomes Docebor in Latin - one word. The charts that Stephen added address this among other things. So what this means as far as scroll work, is that if you have an English text and you want the final product in Latin, prepare for it to get a lot shorter. Lay it out after you get the translation back or add A LOT of drollery. :)
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 13:33:38 +0000
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