Altum Videtur: Difference between revisions

m
m (Mass update links)
 
(22 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown)
Line 1:
{{trope}}
{{quote| ''"Quidquid latine dictum (sit),<ref>As noted below, Latin is big on ellipsis, so this word can be elided without any problem, but retained because that's by far the most widespread form of this quote.</ref> [[Trope Namer|altum videtur]]."''<ref>"Anything said in Latin seems profound". Much more literally: Whatever it would be that has been said in Latin is seen highly.</ref>}}
 
Latin is a mysterious language. It's been effectively dead for one -and -a -half -thousand years, yet somehow, it is still being used, even omnipresent in popular culture. Maybe it's that distinct, laconic sound of it unlike anything else. Maybe it's the association with the greatest [[Vestigial Empire]] of the Western world. Maybe it's the fact that it is still the [[Sacred Language|official religious language]] of the [[Christianity Is Catholic|Roman Catholic Church]]. Or it's just because Latin makes you sound and feel [[Smart People Know Latin|smart]] and badass, with all the scientific terminologies and [[Ominous Latin Chanting]]. Whatever the reason, Latin sounds awesome to most people. And that's [[Rule of Cool|enough of a reason]] to [[Mundane Made Awesome|gratuitously stick it onto any work of fiction out there.]]
<!-- %% One quote is sufficient %% -->
 
It could also be that mostsome people (especially in the parts of North America without sizable Spanish- or French-speaking populations) understand only one language, and the ability to use a second seems, well, awesome. But remember, if someone does know more than one language, only one language to them will remain ''primus inter pares'' <ref>"first among equals" More literally: The first between equals.</ref> to them. (Cue [[Rimshot|rimshot]] for [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] here.)
Latin is a mysterious language. It's been effectively dead for one and a half thousand years, yet somehow, it is still being used, even omnipresent in popular culture. Maybe it's that distinct, laconic sound of it unlike anything else. Maybe it's the association with the greatest [[Vestigial Empire]] of the Western world. Maybe it's the fact that it is still the [[Sacred Language|official religious language]] of the [[Christianity Is Catholic|Roman Catholic Church]]. Or it's just because Latin makes you sound and feel [[Smart People Know Latin|smart]] and badass, with all the scientific terminologies and [[Ominous Latin Chanting]]. Whatever the reason, Latin sounds awesome to most people. And that's [[Rule of Cool|enough of a reason]] to [[Mundane Made Awesome|gratuitously stick it onto any work of fiction out there.]]
 
It could also be that most people understand one language, and the ability to use a second seems, well, awesome. But remember, if someone does know more than one language, only one language to them will remain ''primus inter pares'' <ref>"first among equals" More literally: The first between equals.</ref> to them. (Cue [[Rimshot|rimshot]] for [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] here.)
 
There's also a significant tendency to mix Latin and [[Gratuitous Greek]] together. Someone who is unfamiliar with one or both could easily mistake one for the other just based on sound, which probably has to do with a great portion of Latin vocabulary being derived from Greek in the first place. [[Real Life]] science's tendency for this, especially in the field of Taxonomy (Xiphias gladius)<ref>Swordfish</ref> doesn't help.
 
More charitably, coining a new word in [[Canis Latinicus]] (or [[Canis Latinicus|Cynos]] [[Ancient Greece|Hellenika]]) allows the creation of a legitimate-sounding new word with a subconscious link to its meaning, since new words trigger our minds to think about similar-sounding words we know already. "[[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Wingardium Leviosa]]" might be gobbledegook in any language, but the similarity to the words "wing" and "levitate" connects it to flight rather well, without being as obvious as "Wingyup Airyfly".
 
Compare [[Everything Sounds Sexier in French]] for other languages. See also [[Canis Latinicus]] for when Latin-''sounding'' language is used instead of proper Latin. Very few get their Latin right anyway, especially if they use an online translation service, or the only have a partial knowledge of the grammar. [[Blind Idiot Translation]] and [[Translation Train Wreck]] are very common results.
Line 16 ⟶ 14:
See also [[Gratuitous Foreign Language]].
----
=== '''<big>Subtropī: ===</big>'''
 
* [[Canis Latinicus]]
Line 23 ⟶ 21:
* [[Smart People Know Latin]]
----
=== {{examples|Exempla linguae Latinae gratuitae in fictione: ===}}
 
== Librī Comicōrum ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Comic Books}}}}
 
* ''[[Asterix]]'' has lots of gratuitous Latin phrases, mostly in the form of classical proverbs. [[Canis Latinicus]] is averted except in names.
* ''[[Watchmen (Comic Bookcomics)|Watchmen]]'' uses "''[[Juvenal (Creator)|Quis custodiet ipsos custodes,]]''" which literally means "who will watch the watchmen themselves?" and is generally translated as "Who watches the watchmen?"
* In [[Carl Barks]]' classic ''The Golden Helmet'', [[Donald Duck]] runs [[Incredibly Lame Pun|afowl]] of a dubious lawyer who goes around spouting mock Latin phrases like "Flickus flackus fumlidium" (allegedly meaning "Can you prove that [my client] isn't who he claims to be?") At the end of the story Huey declares that they have had enough nonsense, to which Dewey answer with the obvious affirmative "Yeppus yappus youbettus!"
** Later [[Don Rosa]] wrote a sequel, "The Lost Charts of Columbus", where Donald finally got the chance to tell the lawyer and his client "Aqua concus dipporum" ("Go soak your head").
Line 36 ⟶ 34:
 
== Pelliculae ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Film}}}}
 
* ''[[Top Secret]]!''. While Nick Rivers is in prison, he's taken out of his cell and led to an execution room by a priest speaking common Latin phrases such as "corpus delicti" and "quid pro quo". It eventually derails into Pig Latin, and translates literally as "You're going to get fried in the chair".
** Of course, it's {{spoiler|the priest who gets fried}}, which makes sense, given that East Germany was a Communist state.
* ''[[Monty Python and Thethe Holy Grail]]''. As a group of Catholic monks are walking along, they repeatedly chant the phrase "Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem" <ref>"Kind Lord Jesus, grant them rest.</ref> and hit themselves on the head with boards. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7wc55oXWf8&NR=1 Watch it here].
* [[Life of Brian]] - Some rather [[Canis Latinicus|doggy Latin]] is used for graffiti, and the Roman soldier who stumbles on it takes the time to correct the graffiti's grammar.
* ''[[The Running Man (Filmfilm)|The Running Man]]''. While Richards is being led to the arena, a lawyer reads his contract to him. It includes a Latin phrase in its legalese, "Ad hoc de facto".<ref>Literally, it's "for this, in fact"; but in legal use, both are standard terms and it means "for this purpose; in practice, but not by law"</ref>.
* The captain of the ''[[Event Horizon (Film)|Event Horizon]]'' signed off his logs with Latin phrases. We learn this ''after'' we learn that the only transmission from the ship since it reappeared appears to be garbletrash, but with "save me" spoken in Latin amid the static, and the reasonable assumption is that the captain spoke this as well. He did. {{spoiler|But the static distorted the message, so we only later learn that he was actually saying "Save yourself, from [[To Hell and Back|Hell.]]"}}
* Edward Rutledge in ''[[Seventeen Seventy Six|1776]]'' likes to speak Latin, much to Colonel McKean's annoyance.
* The dog funerals in ''[[A Fish Called Wanda]]'' all feature a choir singing "Miserere dominus, canis mortus est."<ref>Lord have mercy, the dog is dead.</ref>
* In ''[[Tombstone]]'', there is a dialog between Ringo and Doc Holliday with common latin quotations.
* ''[[Johnny Dangerously]]'' has the eponymous protagonist being led down death row by a phony priest, who begins his "last rites" by muttering common Latin phrases, then rapidly degenerates into [[Canis Latinicus]].
{{quote| Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude, The Radio's Too Loud-y. Dominus, Festivus, Missed the bus.}}
* As people in the [[Warhammer 40 K,000|Imperium]] are wont to do, various characters in ''[[Damnatus]]'' utter a few phrases of <s> Latin</s> High Gothic during situations of appropriate gravitas.
* In ''[[Leviathan (Filmfilm)|Leviathan]]'', the Doc is thoughtful enough to give an English version of his commentary on radical genetic engineering: "''Natura non confundenda est.'' Loosely translated: ''[[Gone Horribly Wrong|don't]] [[Lego Genetics|fuck]] [[The Virus|with]] [[Biological Mashup|Mother]] [[Body Horror|Nature]]''."
* In ''[[Priest (1994 (Filmfilm)|Priest]]'', after Father Greg's [[Crisis of Faith]] escalates (and his arrest for having [[Auto Erotica|gay sex in a car]] ends up in the newspaper), he flees to a remote parish, headed by a priest who dresses him down in Latin.
* The Polish short film ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRTh3qqZLkQ Imperator]'' is done ''entirely'' in Classical Latin, right down to the narration text. And much like in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'', the filmmakers [[Shown Their Work|definitely did their research]] in how Latin was actually spoken at the time the film takes place in.
 
 
== Līterae ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Literature}}}}
 
* [[Jim Butcher]] likes Latin, apparently. The ''[[Codex Alera]]'' is heavily sprinkled with [[Gratuitous Latin]] thanks to its cast mostly consisting of "magical Romans." Perhaps most notably, Aleran names all tend to mean something, be it [[Non-Indicative Name|ironic]] ([[Names to Trust Immediately|Fidelias]] the [[Wild Card]] with [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]]) or [[Meaningful Name|appropriate]] ([[Green-Eyed Monster|Invidia]] the [[Lady Macbeth|evil]], overly-ambitious bitch).
** Also, [[The Dresden Files]] mostly has [[Canis Latinicus]] in the form of spells and Harry's butchering of the language, but occasionally, there will be a bit of real Latin. Mostly when [[Knight in Shining Armor|Michael Carpenter]] is wielding one of the holy swords. The White Council of wizards uses Latin during formal Council meetings, which mostly serves the purpose of indicating to the reader that it's run by a bunch of very old-fashioned and hidebound people; Harry, as already mentioned, speaks it only poorly.
*** The [[Canis Latinicus]] is justified in the text by the fact that picking a magic word to go with a spell forges a link between the two in the caster's mind, so they try to use dead or fake languages that they won't use in normal life (which could lead to an accidental discharge). Harry uses dog-Latin and some dog-Spanish; other wizards are shown using dog-Sumerian, dog-Egyptian, and dog-Japanese.
* [[Discworld]] often has Latin sprinkled about, usually in situations where people are trying to sound pretentious. Examples include the City Watch's motto (Fabricati Diem, Pvnc) to a joke played by the Unseen University's wizards on a foreign diplomat by awarding him an honorary doctorate in "Adamus cum Flabello Dulci" .<ref>Sweet Fanny Adams</ref>.
** Bugarup U's motto "Nullus Anxietas" isn't even trying.
* The spells of ''[[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Harry Potter]]'', as noted above, fall between this and [[Canis Latinicus]]
** There's also the school motto "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus" (Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon), which appears on the Hogwarts seal and is never translated in the books.
* [[Older Than Steam]]: ''[[Don Quixote (Literature)|Don Quixote]]'': This trope is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] and even '''defined''' by Cervantes, a Spanish writer in the seventeenth century. At the time, Latin and Greek were languages that must be known by government bureaucrats and any people with literacy pretenses, but certainly there were a lot of books where this trope was not justified.
** In the Preface of the Author, Part I, [[Take That|Cervantes attacks ]] [[Did Not Do the Research|authors that want to impress their readers with their knowledge without the appropriate research]]. Cervantes denounces the inclusion of Latin sentences that seem to be profound [[Shown Their Work|(and so impress the readers)]], but in reality, those Latin sentences were very common and any author of his time could find them with very little effort.
{{quote| "[[Shown Their Work|As to references in the margin to the books and authors from whom you take the aphorisms and sayings you put into your story]], it is only contriving to [[Small Reference Pools|fit in nicely any sentences or scraps of Latin you may happen to have by heart, or at any rate that will not give you much trouble to look up]]; so as, when you speak of freedom and captivity, to insert ''Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro;'' and then refer in the margin to Horace, or whoever said it...'''[[Viewers are Morons|With these and such like bits of Latin they will take you for a grammarian at all events]], and that now-a-days is no small honour and profit."'''}}
** Another example is lampshaded in Part II, chapter LI. Sancho has been made [[Massive Multiplayer Scam|governor of the "Island of Barataria"]]. In the seventeenth century, it was expected that members of the government and the aristocracy would be well educated, and this education included Latin. Don Quixote never uses Latin in his sentences with Sancho because he is not interested in impressing him with his superior knowledge, but he expects that Sancho will learn Latin now that he is a governor:
{{quote| ''"... amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas'' .<ref>Plato is my friend, but truth is more my friend</ref>. I quote this Latin to thee because I conclude that since thou hast been a governor thou wilt have learned it."}}
* In ''[[A Canticle for Leibowitz]]'' the last words spoken are "Sic transit mundus",<ref>Thus passes the world</ref>, which is a play on the Latin phrase "Sic transit gloria mundi" <ref>Thus passes the glory of the world</ref>
* [[JRRJ. R. R. Tolkien (Creator)|JRR Tolkien]]'s ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham (Literature)|Farmer Giles of Ham]]'' features Latin names which are then translated into the 'vulgar tongue'. Provides [[Bilingual Bonus]] since the translations are often not exact.
* [[George Eliot]] complains of this in ''[[Silly Novels Byby Lady Novelists]]'':
{{quote| ''In "Laura Gay," another novel of the same school, the heroine seems less at home in Greek and Hebrew, but she makes up for the deficiency by a quite playful familiarity with the Latin classics– with the "dear old Virgil," "the graceful Horace, the humane Cicero, and the pleasant Livy;" indeed, it is such a matter of course with her to quote Latin. . . It is as little the custom of well-bred men as of well-bred women to quote Latin in mixed parties; they can contain their familiarity with "the humane Cicero" without allowing it to boil over in ordinary conversation, and even references to "the pleasant Livy" are not absolutely irrepressible''}}
* In the [[Space Trilogy]] of [[CSC. LewisS. (Creator)Lewis|CS Lewis]], the character of Merlin speaks only in Latin. Because Lewis was a brilliant Latinist, it's all correct. [[Justified Trope|It also makes sense]], since Merlin has been in suspended animation since the Low Middle Ages, and has had no opportunity to learn English (which he'd probably associate with the hated Saxon invaders, anyway.)
* All the spells in ''[[Rivers of London]]'' are in [[Gratuitous Latin]], but only because they were all codified and written down by Sir [[Isaac Newton]] during the time Latin was the [[Justified Trope|language of choice]] for Gentlemen Scientists. Just no one ever got around to updating them into English.
* Henry Beard's ''Latin for All Occasions'' runs on this trope. It's a Latin phrasebook for when you need to know how to say things like "Look! Cheese Whiz!" in Latin.
* A little Latin booklet called ''Quips and Quiddities'' runs on this trope, [[Pretentious Latin Motto]] and [[Canis Latinicus]] all at the same time. It's basically an [[Affectionate Parody]].
* Random Latin phrases appear in the mouths of clergy (and people pretending to be clerics) in ''[[Ivanhoe]].'' A brawl between Friar Tuck and Prior Aymer is particularly memorable for loud threats delivered in bad Latin.
{{quote| Friar Tuck: ''Ossa ejus perfringam,'' I shall break your bones, as the Vulgate hath it. (Referring to the Vulgate Bible, the translation used by the Church in those days).}}
* In addition to the title, the web-novel ''[[Domina (Literature)|Domina]]'' <ref>"the lady," as in the mistress of a house or city</ref> uses Latin in a number of other places. Every chapter title is a Latin word, and one of the major gangs is Necessarius .<ref>"necessary"</ref>.
* In 1991, ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'' was translated into Latin and published as ''Winnie Ille Pu''.
 
== Televisio Vīva ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Live -Action TV}}}}
 
* In ''[[The West Wing]]'', when President Bartlet conducts his [[Rage Against the Heavens]] in the National Cathedral, he starts yelling at God in Latin.
** Also, from [[Title Drop|guess which episode]]:
{{quote| '''Bartlet:''' Twenty-seven lawyers in the room, anyone know ''post hoc, ergo propter hoc''? Josh?<br />
'''Josh:''' Uh... ''post'', "after," after hoc; ''ergo'', "therefore"; "after hoc, therefore something else hoc."<br />
'''Bartlet:''' Thank you. Next. Leo?<br />
'''Leo:''' "After it, therefore because of it."<br />
'''Bartlet:''' After it, therefore because of it. It means one thing follows the other, therefore it was caused by the other, but it's not always true. In fact, it's hardly ever true. We did not lose Texas because of the hat joke. Do you know when we lost Texas?<br />
'''C.J.:''' When you learned to speak Latin? }}
* In ''[[Lost (TV)|Lost]]'' there's "Ille qui nos omnes servabit" which is the answer to the coded phrase "What lies in the shadow of the statue?". It means "He who will preserve/save/keep us all" when correctly translated, or "He who will serve us all" if a common translation error is made.
* In ''[[The Big Bang Theory (TV)|The Big Bang Theory]]'', where Howard and Sheldon argue over the type of the cricket they found:
{{quote| '''Howard:''' ''(shows a page in a book)'' See it? The common field cricket, AKA ''Gryllus assimilis'' which is Latin for "suck it, you lose."<br />
'''Sheldon:''' Hang on! ''(searches in the book)'' Voilà! The snowy tree cricket, AKA ''Oecanthus fultoni'', which is Latin for "I will suck nothing." [[Don't Explain the Joke|I'm joking, of course,]] because the Latin for that is "Nihil exsorbebo." }}
* On ''[[Better Off Ted (TV)|Better Off Ted]]'', Veronica claims that the company motto, which is engraved on the lobby floor, translates to "Money Before People", but it sounds much more heroic in Latin.
* Parodied in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "The Shakespeare Code," when Martha, realizing that for once [[William Shakespeare (Creator)|William Shakespeare]] is at a loss for words on how to finish the speech that will banish the Carrionites, dredges up "Expelliarmus" from ''[[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Harry Potter]]'', which she, Shakespeare and The Doctor all shout with gusto.
** "Lupus Deus Est" from "Tooth and Claw"
** The Ood's songs in the episodes "Planet of the Ood" (which turned into a full choir for a reprise "Journey's End") and ''The End of Time'' are in Classical Ood, but [[Translator Microbes|translated by the TARDIS]] into ridiculously bad Latin for human ears.
* Any time a ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' episode from any series uses a Latin title, you can be assured that the title, when translated, carries significant meaning to the plot of the episode.
<!-- %%% -->
** The ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine (TV)|Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges”<ref>"In times of war, laws fall silent."</ref> is concerning the usage of underhanded methods to change the political structure of the Romulan empire in the Federation's favor (with a war going on, no less). One of the characters even does a [[Title Drop]] during the episode.
<!-- %% Don't add the Murray Gold Dalek themes. They're in incomprehensible Hebrew. -->
** The ''[[Star Trek Voyager (TV)|Star Trek: Voyager]]'' episode “Ex Post Facto”,<ref>"after the fact"</ref>, concerning a race that extracts memory engrams from murder victims and uses that as evidence against a Voyager crew member. The term is an actual legal term, referring to laws that are retroactively binding to cases before the law was enacted.
<!-- %%% -->
** And [[Dueling Shows|since you can't mention Deep Space Nine on the internet without someone bringing up]] ''[[Babylon 5]]'': there was an episode of the latter show titled ''Sic Transit Vir'' <ref> "Thus passes Vir" or "Thus passes man", since "vir" can mean "man"</ref> (a Latin pun on a character's name, no less).
* Any time a ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' episode from any series uses a Latin title, you can be assured that the title, when translated, carries significant meaning to the plot of the episode.
** The ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine (TV)|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'' episode “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges”<ref>"In times of war, laws fall silent."</ref> is concerning the usage of underhanded methods to change the political structure of the Romulan empire in the Federation's favor (with a war going on, no less). One of the characters even does a [[Title Drop]] during the episode.
** The ''[[Star Trek Voyager (TV)|Star Trek Voyager]]'' episode “Ex Post Facto”<ref>"after the fact"</ref>, concerning a race that extracts memory engrams from murder victims and uses that as evidence against a Voyager crew member. The term is an actual legal term, referring to laws that are retroactively binding to cases before the law was enacted.
** And [[Dueling Shows|since you can't mention Deep Space Nine on the internet without someone bringing up]] ''[[Babylon 5]]'': there was an episode of the latter show titled ''Sic Transit Vir'' <ref> "Thus passes Vir" or "Thus passes man", since "vir" can mean "man"</ref> (a Latin pun on a character's name, no less).
*** {{spoiler|Kinda makes you wonder how long he had been waiting to [[I Always Wanted to Say That|use that one]].}}
* ''[[Mr. Bean]]'' has an opening theme tune consisting of a choir intoning, "Ecce homo qui est faba."<ref>"Behold the man who is a bean."</ref> The same choir closes each episode with, "Vale homo qui est faba."<ref>"Farewell, man who is a bean."</ref>
** Even the show's commercial breaks are denoted with Latin singing: "Finis partis primae"<ref>"End of part one"</ref> and "Pars secunda"<ref>"Part two"</ref>
* Many of the magic spells used on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' happen to be in Latin. Evidently one of the more challenging things for [[Alyson Hannigan]] was memorizing all of the Latin that the writers kept flinging at her. In the final season, a minor [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] happens when Willow stops halfway through a spell and shouts "''Screw it! I suck at Latin, OK?!'' and proceeds to make the spell work in ''English'' by pure [[PunA Worldwide Punomenon|force of will]].
* In ''[[Kaamelott (TV)|Kaamelott]]'', King Loth is fond of meaningless Latin quotes. The Latin language (in the quotes) is mostly legitimate, but Loth's translations are always inaccurate.
* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' did this in a conversation with Amber-slash-Cutthroat Bitch: (episode is "Don't Ever Change")
{{quote| '''Amber:''' Hello, Greg. And I call you Greg because we're now social equals.<br />
'''House:''' And I call you Cutthroat Bitch because, well, ''quod erat demonstratum''.<ref>Which was to be proved.</ref>. }}
* [[The Colbert Report (TV)|Stephen Colbert]]'s Latin motto is "Videri Quam Esse",<ref>to seem to be rather than to be</ref>, which sums up his character pretty well.
 
 
== Mangae Et Picturae Animatae Iaponenses ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Manga and Anime}}}}
 
* ''[[Simoun]]'' features a small dictionary worth of Latin and Latin-sounding terms to designate various technologies and concepts: from the deity Tempus Spatium ("Time Space"); through country names Simulacrum ("[[wikipedia:Simulacrum|likeness, similarity]]"), Argentum ("silver"), and Plumbum ("lead"); to pilot roles auriga ("charioteer", the primary pilot) and sagitta ("arrow", the navigator and gun controller). These last two terms are also constellations, for additional [[Theme Naming]] fun.
* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', the spells and attack names that aren't in Japanese are generally in Latin, sometimes Greek (and once or twice Sanskrit). They're pretty good, too.
** As an example, the incantation for one of Negi's favorite attack spells:
{{quote| '''Negi''': "Veniant Spiritus Aeriales Fulgurientes! Cum Fulguratione Flet Tempestas Austrina! ''Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!''" <ref>"Come, Spirits of Air and Lightning! Southern Storm Which Blows with Lightning! Jupiter’s Storm of Thunder!"</ref>}}
** The series title is sometimes translated into Latin as "Magi Magister Negi," with ''magi magister'' having a rather convenient double meaning as either "magic teacher" or "master of magic" -- both—both of which describe him quite well .<ref>Amusingly, it is also exactly the double meaning implicit in the original Japanese word "Sensei".</ref>.
* In ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'', they bring us the "Memento Mori" "Remember you will die" It's a [[Kill Sat|killsat]] that royally messes up the Middle East before it is destroyed, along with its [[Ax Crazy|commander]]. The [[Big Bad|Innovators]] have another, just in case.
* In ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Anime)|Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'',<ref>Literally, ''[[Department of Redundancy Department|Magical Girl Magician Madoka]]''</ref>, the terms "Magical Girl" and "Puella Magi" are used interchangeably, [[Meaningful Name|for good reason]]. ''Puella''<ref>"a young girl"</ref> also may additionally mean {{spoiler|"a young slave"}} due to it being derived from ''Puerulus''. ''Magi''<ref>"Magician", or, more accurately, as it's a genitive form of the word ''Magus'', "of the magician".</ref> can also mean {{spoiler|derogatorily, "charlatan", which means "one who deceives".}} Applying this terminology, the Latin title [[Double Subversion|actually averts]] [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: the real English title to the anime is actually {{spoiler|''Slave to the Deceiver: Magician Madoka''.}} The Japanese title, however, averts the Latin title altogether.<ref>''Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica'', which is elaborated in the anime. See the Main page for that description -- the Japanese title offers the similar possibility of interpretation.</ref>. Still, either way, it's certainly an example of gratuitous Latin (although Latin [[Gratuitous German|isn't the only language]] this anime brings in, [[Doctor Faustus (Theatre)|for obvious reasons]]).
 
 
== Musica ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Music}}}}
 
* The German neo-medieval band ''Corvus Corax'' parodies this trope on one of its shirts with the words, "Omnia dicta fortiora, si dicta latina" which means, "[[Everything Sounds Sexier in French|Everything sounds more impressive when said in Latin.]]"
** Actually Latin was heavy on simplifications, the Romans elided everything they could from their sentences, perhaps in an effort to sound more laconic and no-nonsense, perhaps they had more pressing things to do (like building an empire) than wasting time uttering too many words. They often elided the subject of a phrase when it was apparent who was taking the described action and they hadn't a fixed word for 'yes' but made 'hoc' double for it, other examples could take several pages. This tendency was not merely a quirk of spoken tongue, but had literary dignity and was taken to extremes by people like Julius Caesar, who famously sent the Roman Senate an iconic three words message about his Gallic Campaign: "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered); hence Corvus Corax motto could be better rendered as: "Omnia dicta fortiora, si latina".
* Latin is a favorite language of many classical and modern choral composers. For a singer, it may seem difficult to learn the pronounciations at first - anyone who's ever tried to teach Latin pronunciation to an Anglican church choir can tell you that it ''is'' difficult to learn properly after you've been singing it wrong for your entire life. "Veh-'''night'''-ee," indeed. <ref> That's how they'll give you ''Venite'' (Pronounced correctly: Wen-ee-tay). Seriously.</ref> It's called "Church Latin," and while the words are there, its pronunciation is something akin to [[Canis Latinicus]].
*** Church Latin is based off of how Italians would pronounce the Latin words. As the Church is based in Rome, it's to be expected. It does, however, grate upon the ears of those who know how to pronounce it properly.
* One section of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" is titled "Con mortuis in lingua mortua," meaning "with the dead in a dead language" (though the first word should be "cum", rather than "con" as it would be in Italian).
* ''[[Carmina Burana (Music)|Carmina Burana]]'' has a lot of Latin songs in it, mingling with courtly French and mediaeval German.
* [[E Nomine]] not only names itself in Latin, it laces its work thoroughly with [[Ominous Latin Chanting]].
 
 
== Lūdī Lūsī In Mensā ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Tabletop Games}}}}
 
* The word "Primarch" from ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' is an example of Latin/Greek mixture: "primus" ("first") is a Latin word root, whereas "archon" ("ruler") is Greek (''άρχον ''). Still ''40K'' offers a great deal of proper [[Gratuitous Latin]] and even more of… [[Canis Latinicus|less than proper]]. According to [[Word of God]] this is simply a [[Translation Convention]] meant to evoke the way "High Gothic" would sound to the common folk of M41.M41 "Administratum", "genetor", "ordinatus", "primaris", "servitor", "tempestus", etc.
** E.g. the word "Primarch" from is an example of Latin/Greek mixture: "primus" ("first") is a Latin word root, whereas "archon" ("ruler") is Greek (''άρχον'').
* ''[[Vampire: The Requiem (Tabletop Game)|Vampire: The Requiem]]'' has a lot of terminology either directly imported from, or [[Canis Latinicus|inspired by]] Latin, presumably related to the fact that vampire society is static, at best. Although [https://web.archive.org/web/20120506190840/http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Ancilla_(Vampire:_The_Requiem) justified], it is still amusing to note that Ancilla, a word used to refer to "middle-aged" vampires, translates quite readily as "slave woman."
** Fangame [[Genius: The Transgression (Tabletop Game)|Genius: The Transgression]] has the [[Vestigial Empire|Lemurians]], who formed around the time of Rome and their terminology is derived from it. [[Canis Latinicus|As with most modern people, they often aren't very good at speaking it]]...most of the time. In the case of [[Fun Withwith Acronyms|PLPKBs (Proper Latin Plural Knowing Bastards)]], this means they are [[Time Abyss|very old]] or [[Determinator|obsessive enough to teach themselves the language]], which, when dealing with a [[Mad Scientist]], should probably set off danger sirens in the minds of their opponents.
* Subverted in ''[[FATAL]]'', which was kind enough to provide a translation for its pretentious Latin. Usually, this was some kind of crude sexual doggerel. The Latin is also often wrong. On the other hand, at least one part seems to be quoting (or paraphrasing) the crude sexual doggerel of [[Catullus (Creator)|Catullus]] (a real Roman poet) - see Catullus 16 on [[The Other Wiki]] for info on that ([[NSFW]] text there though).
* Not always done ''well'' the "Book of Bad Latin" is a [[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and& Dragons]] sourcebook that ended up with that informal name because "Libris Mortis" is not how you say "Book of the Dead."
 
 
== Lūdī Scaenicī ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Theater}}}}
 
* In Humperdinck's opera ''Hansel and Gretel'', the witch chants, "Hocus pocus, bonus jocus, malus locus, hocus pocus." Though "hocus pocus" is meaningless, the rest translates as "good joke, bad place."
** Ironically, "Hocus Pocus" ''does'' have a Latin root; It's a corruption of "Hoc est corpus meum." <ref> ''This is my body''</ref> To a medieval Englishman, the Latin mass must have seemed more like a mystical incantation than a prayer.
* [[Cyrano De Bergerac]]:
** After Jodelet notices that Mountfleury has fallen from grace with the Burgundy's theater public, Bellerose cites the first two words of ''"Sic transit gloria mundi"'' <ref> ''Thus passes the glory of the world''</ref>
{{quote| ''(Cries are heard outside.)'' <br />
'''Jodelet''' ''(who has looked out):'' They hoot Montfleury! <br />
'''Bellerose''' ''(solemnly):'' Sic transit!... }}
** Act II Scene VII, when a cadet shows the hats of the thugs Cyrano defeated, Captain Carbon says: ''Spolia opima!'' <ref> ''rich spoils/trophies'', refers to the armor, arms, and other effects that an ancient Roman general had stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in single, hand-to-hand combat.</ref>
* A running gag in ''[[LovesLove's LaboursLabour's Lost]]'' is that a couple of blowhard characters are full of this, and love to correct each other for using grammar incorrectly and such. This annoys [[Bratty Half-Pint|Moth]], the local [[Servile Snarker]], who remarks, "They have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps."
 
 
== Lūdī Ēlectronicī ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Video Games}}}}
 
* The Judicians in ''[[Twenty Twenty Seven|2027]]''.
* ''[[Eternal Darkness]]'': "Hanc mitte ad dominum et imperatorem nostrum, Carolum Magnum Francum." ("Deliver this to our lord and emperor, Charles the Great the Frank." Charles the Great is more widely referred to by his French name, Charlemagne).
* The character Doctus from ''[[Xenosaga (Video Game)|Xenosaga]] Episode III'' tends to use Latin sayings for no apparent reason, such as "errare humanum est" (to err is human).
* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'', natives of Cyrodiil, the capital province of [[The Empire]], all have Latin-sounding names. The actual amount of Roman influence on their culture varies from game to game.
* ''[[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VII]]'': :One-Winged Angel", Sephiroth's theme:
{{quote| ''Estuans interius, ira vemehenti.'' (Burning inside with vehement anger.)<br />
''Sors immanis, et inanis'' (Fate - empty, and cruel.)<br />
''Veni veni venias, ne me mori facias.'' (Come, come, O come, do not let me die.) }}
** All of them from ''[[Carmina Burana (Music)|Carmina Burana]]'', which is a good source of this sort of thing.
* ''[[Gunstar Heroes]]'': Absilio Mundus!
* ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'': Ragnarok de Dies Irae
* ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'': Vae Victus!
* ''[[Lost]]: Via Domus'' <!-- "Domus" is a fourth declension noun, so the nominative and genitive forms are the same. This means it could conceivably be "the way of the house." Not that this makes any sense anyway, but at the very least it could be (serendipitously) correct Latin. -->
* [[The Empire|Caesar's Legion]] from ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' uses a lot of Latin. Latin names, ranks, currency, uniforms, punishments, etc. They also ''pronounce'' Latin [[Shown Their Work|the way most scholars believe it was actually pronounced]], using no soft Cs (so that "See-zer" becomes "Kai-zar") and pronouncing Vs as Ws. Arcade Gannon also speaks some Latin, but he's quick to assure you that he didn't learn it from the Legion.
** Makes for a sort of [[Bilingual Bonus]] when all of the [[The Federation|New Californa Republic]] troops pointedly use the Anglified pronounciation of Caesar's name. At least one bit of dialogue indicates that they're ''aware'' of how he wants his name said, they just ''don't care'', given that the Legion and the Republic are at war.
** Your character, with high enough intelligence, can also speak some Latin, and you can use it to [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|fake out a captured Centurion and make him spill the beans on his plans without even needing to raise a fist]].
* Ezio Auditore's [[Post MortemBond One -Liner]] [[Catch Phrase]] from ''[[Assassin's Creed II (Video Game)|Assassin's Creed II]]'': ''Requiescat in pace'' (Rest in Peace<ref> Actually, "requiescat" is the active subjunctive third-person singular present tense (of "requiesco") that means "he/she/it may/must/should rest". "May ''you'' rest in peace" would be ''Requiesca'''s''' in pace''.</ref>). And some [[Ominous Latin Chanting]] on the soundtrack as well (but moreso in the sequel, ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Video Game)|Assassin's Creed Brotherhood]]''). It also appears in speech at times, such as {{spoiler|Rodrigo Borgia holding mass in the Sistine Chapel right before Ezio attempts to assassinate him.}}
** Pretty sure that ''Requiescat in pace'' is Italian. The Latin is admittedly the same, but it's probably much more likely that he's speaking Italian.
*** This Italian troper assures that it IS Latin. In Italian it's "riposi in pace" (fortunately, the first, second and third persons of the subjunctive mood of the verb ''riposare'' are the same, unlike Latin ''requiesco'').
* The final mission of ''[[Ace Combat]] 04: Shattered Skies'' features the [[Crowning Music of Awesome|utterly epic]] song ''Megalith-Agnus Dei'' as the soundtrack for destroying the Megalith superweapon <ref> Which appears to simply be a heavily-fortified ICBM base.</ref>
** Ace Combat 05: The Unsung War's final mission theme, fittingly named [[Title Drop|The Unsung War]], is also in latin. This time the lyrics are a vulgate translation of the Razgriz poem that recurrently appears through the game, with a lot of repetitions.
* In the background of ''[[Sword of the Stars]]'', Latin has become one of humanity's main languages.
** This is mostly due to the Catholic Church becoming the dominant religion on Earth and its colonies (but not the only one). In ''The Deacon's Tale'' novel (which features a lot of gratuitous Latin and few translations), the Pope has enough power to threaten the Director of [[Space Navy|SolForce]], the most powerful man in human space. The protagonist of the novel is a Chinese man who is in charge of one of [~[[[[Sol Force]]~]]]'s intelligence branches but who is secretly a Catholic deacon (it's kinda frowned upon to serve 2 masters).
* ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' uses the trope multiple times. ''Dissidia'' itself is derived from the Latin word for discord. The prequel is called ''Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy'', where in 012 is officially pronounced "Duodecim", which is Latin for twelve. The prequel's final secret character, {{spoiler|Feral Chaos}} has Latin names for his HP attacks, such as Deus Iratus,<ref>Angered God</ref>, Ventus Irae,<ref>Wind of Wrath</ref>, and Lux Magnus.<ref>Great Light, should be "Lux Magna," as "lux" is feminine</ref>. This also applies to his [[Limit Break|EX Burst]]: Regnum Dei<ref>Kingdom of God</ref> and its followup: Nex Ultimus.<ref>Final Slaughter, should be "Nex Ultima," as "nex" is feminine</ref>.
* Durandal of ''[[Marathon (Video Game)Trilogy|Marathon]]'' has some fun with this: after killing his greatest enemy, he carves the following epitaph [[Deface of the Moon|into a moon]]: "Fatum Iustum Stultorum" ("The Just Fate of Fools"; in other words, "These idiots got what was coming to them.")
* ''[[Kingdom of Loathing (Video Game)|Kingdom of Loathing]]'' parodies this trope. The IOTM Loathing Legion Knife has a tattoo needle, and when used, it will give you a tattoo inscribed with the Loathing Legion's unofficial motto: "Tardis Pro Cena", which you should never call a Loathing Legionnaire. Apparently, you should never call them {{spoiler|"late for dinner"}}.
* The opening theme of ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', "[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Liberi_Fatali Liberi Fatali]" ("Fated Children," though more properly it should be "Liberi Fatales"). Additionally, all of the paintings in the art gallery in Ultimecia's castle have Latin titles which are part of a minor sidequest.
* [[Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia]] uses latin extensively in the glyph (weapon) names and even some of the stages.
* In [[Super Robot Wars Z]] 2: Saisei-Hen, During Uther's final attack, he chants a spell to cast a curse on his opponent. The translated version of the spell chant Uther recites during [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHkSmu91PRc the attack] is Latin for:<br />The sun shines upon all creation.<br />[[Well-Intentioned Extremist|The king's love]] is for his subjects.<br />You who tread the path of the Fool.<br />[[Light Is Not Good|By the light of Salvation]].<br />Thou shalt be saved.
* ''[[Age of Mythology (Video Game)|Age of Mythology]]'' averts [[Canis Latinicus]] creating scientific names for myth units - any [[Half-Human Hybrid]] is ''Homo x'' (centaur = equus, minotaur = bull, valkyrie = valkyria), any giant is ''Atlas x'', others take the genus of the animal it's inspired in and add a sufix (the Nemean Lion is ''Leo biaxomus'', the Fenris Wolf is ''Canis fenrir'').
* Rhea of ''[[Dark Souls (Video Game)|Dark Souls]]'' will say "Vereor Nox" as a farewell to the player. It means "fearfully respect the night/dark."
* [[Super Smash Bros Brawl]] begins with an an epic Latin chorus.
 
 
== Libellī Pictī De Interrete ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Webcomics}}}}
 
* A subversive [https://web.archive.org/web/20120508070252/http://techhouse.brown.edu/cgi-bin/fluble/vault.pl?date=20000118 example] from ''[[Fluble (Webcomic)|Fluble]]'' (Mind you, Death's Latin is incorrect: ''hystrix'' means "porcupine").
* ''[[Tales of the Questor]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20130227024823/http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00473.html makes extensive use of Latin in deals with] [[The Fair Folk]].
{{quote| '''Quentyn''': ''Well, you know why Latin is called the "Scholars'" tongue...? It's a dead language. Never changes, very specific and all that stuff... So scholars can use it to write to one another, and no matter what language they speak they can understand one another, exactly. ...So the Fey are always pulling tricks, right? Getting out of agreements by playing dumb, deliberately misunderstanding words or using double-meanings... But Latin is one of the only languages that they can't do that. In fact, they say that you should only make deals with Fey in Latin for that reason.''}}
* ''[[Breakfast of the Gods]]'': Jarvis's final spell is in decent Latin, except for one word in English. Saying what the spell is would be a ''huge'' spoiler for the whole work.
* ''[[Mullein Fields]]'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20120106080226/http://www.mulleinfields.com/2005/09/13/the-craziest-dream/ Adeo mihi bardus bus!] (See comments for a translation)
 
 
== Opera De Interrete ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Web Original}}}}
 
* In ''[[Dept Heaven Apocrypha]]'', the school and its four colleges have Latin names, and Nessiah's spellcasting tends to be in Latin and Greek.
Line 217:
* In [[The Slender Man Mythos]], there is the side-story of [http://quiaegosicdico.blogspot.com/ A Lack of Lexicon]. Now, just look at that URL.
* This trope is probably why message board posters [http://community.livejournal.com/wrongworddammit/283991.html wrongly] use "[[Ad Hominem]]" synonymously with "personal attack".
* In his [https://web.archive.org/web/20130807021022/http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/community/myvideos/74334-thebanjokid/video/4198-Banjo+Kid+Reviews%3A+Top+11+Anime+Openings list of top 11 Anime openings], the Banjo Kid (when talking about Elfen Lied) remarks on how anything can be made to sound elegent and beautiful in Latin, then begins singing a Latin explanation of why he's not wearing any pants. Later, he also does a Gregorian Chant version of [[Eminem]]'s "The Real Slim Shady".
* ''[[The Gungan Council]]'' featured several factions with Latin names, such as Regnum In Potestas and Sine Occasu, for no better reason than it was cool.
* There is some Latin dialogue in [[Greek Ninja]].
Line 224:
 
== Picturae Animatae Occidentales ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Western Animation}}}}
 
* In ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'', all the mortal spells were in Latin. Because anything said in Latin sounds profound and [[Ominous Latin Chanting|Ominous.]] [[Word of God]] says that the book containing most of those spells was written by a magus working for Emperor Augustus; naturally, Latin was his first language.<ref>[[Word of God]] also adds that any language can be used for magic, provided the spell is composed by a magus and pronounced correctly. Indeed, in the show some are in Hebrew and at least one is cast in English.</ref>
* In ''[[The Venture Brothers (Animation)|The Venture Brothers]]'', 21 tries to be intimidating by yelling "Semper Fidelis, Tyrannosaurus Rex!" upon which he is informed he just said "Always faithful, terrible lizard king", which he still thinks is pretty cool.
** I'm pretty sure he was going for [[Metaphorgotten|"Sic semper tyrannis."]]
* [[Master of Illusion|Mysterio]] in ''[[The Spectacular Spider -Man]]'' uses Latin to make his [[Evil Sorcerer]] guise seem more dramatic and arcane. In fact, many of his phrases are [[Bilingual Bonus|quite funny]], thanks to some subtle [[Author Appeal]].
* In the episode of ''[[South Park]]'' where Damien (Satan's son) visits the Earth, all of his evil spells are accompanied by some [[Ominous Latin Chanting]] that goes "''Rectus! Dominus!''" before shifting abruptly to "[[Sophisticated As Hell|Cheesy]] [[Rule of Funny|Poofs]]!" (The first two words, by the way, literally translate to "Ass Master.")
 
 
== miscellānea ==
{{smallcaps|literally: Hodgepodge}}
* There's an old joke about this: «the reason Latin is a dead language is because they kept accidentally summoning demons during regular conversations».
 
== VERITAS ==
{{quote| = {{smallcaps|Real Life}}}}
 
* All Roman Catholic Church records are in Latin, so this leads to them creating Latin words for things that just weren't around when the Romans were, such as "Interrēte", which means "Internet" as seen in the folder headings on this page.
* Nova Roma, an international organization "dedicated to the study and restoration of ancient Roman culture". Including the Cultus Deorum Romanorum.
* ''Nuntii Latini'', the Latin news report.
* Many [[Badass Creed|Badass Creeds]]s are in Latin, such as ''Semper Fidelis'' (USMC), ''Semper Paratus'' (USCG), ''Per Mare, Per Terram'' (Royal Marines), ''Ad Astra Per Aspera'' (NASA), ''Citius, Altius, Fortius'' (The Olympics), and so on.
* The "Audi" car brand was named after a direct translation from the German "Horch" (Listen) to it'sits Latin counterpart. [[Hilarious in Hindsight|One has to wonder]] if a person ever exclaimed "[[Most Annoying Sound|Hey!]] [[LegendofThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Ocarinaofof Time|Audi!]]"
* ''Volvo'', Latin for ''I roll''
* There is a little town in northeast Georgia named Subligna. A certain Dr. Underwood suggested the name when it was founded.<ref> Subligna meaning, of course, "Under wood."</ref>
* The [[Canada|Canadian]] province of Nova Scotia - "New Scotland" wouldn't have been as impressive a name.
 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Trope Names From Other Languages{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Trope Names from Latin]]
[[Category:Language Tropes]]
[[Category:This Trope Name References Itself]]
[[Category:Gratuitous Foreign Language]]
[[Category:Self -Demonstrating Article]]
[[Category:Altum Videtur]][[Category:Pages with comment tags]]