OT: I need a quick Latin Translation...

[Xtiaan72]

I bet someone here could help. I need to know how the phrase 'Now or Never' is written in Latin. I looked at those silly online translators but couldn't get them to work. If anyone knows what it would be your help would be much appreciated. Thanks guys.

[abou]

Nunc aut numquam.

[Atraphoenix]

Nunc aut numquam.

m must be n
namely :
nunc aut nunquam
BTW anyone knows how to pronounce it?

p.s. I have no latin but a dictionary of latin phrases...

[anubis88]

Actually abou is right; numquam comes from ne-umquam (which can also be ne-unquam), but i've never seen nunquam written before... Could be a rare version.

How it's pronounced? Well, pretty much like it's written. Just remember the c is basically a "k" (like in kill), and the "m" in the end of numquam was barely spoken and trough the nose (much like the french "m")

EDIT: Of course umquam means anytime, so numquam is never :)

[Lord of Lent]

The "u" was most likely pronounced as "oo" in "look". Aut has two syllables (a-ut).

[Karel de Stoute]

nunc aut numquam/nunquam you can choose accoring to internet but in my dictionary i can't find nunquam so i would go for m version. I don't think anybody knows how the romans spoke ,latin is after all a dead language. My guess is that their pronunciation sounded alot like modern italian.

[Xtiaan72]

Thank you guys. This info is actually for a music project I'm working on. I have book marked the thread.

[anubis88]

I don't think anybody knows how the romans spoke ,latin is after all a dead language. My guess is that their pronunciation sounded alot like modern italian.

Actually you'r wrong. Guys like Quintilianus and Pliny described how the letters were pronounced. It's of course much easier for us slavic readers and italians/spanians/french then english speaking people because of the pronounciation.

It's clear that the "m" at the end of words was so weak, that it didn't prevent the joining of 2 vowels at the end of words in latin (which was pretty much the standard); for example "novum amicum" would be read "novamicum" etc... I dunno if i expressed myself well, (if it would be novu amicum then novamicum would happen by default, since two vowels almost always became 1 in latin poetry) It's also known it was pronounced "trough the nose", which is hard to explain to someone who doesn't know this to begin with (the french pronounce it simmilarly iirc).

Also i think Quintillianus(or Pliny?) tells us that the letter "L" was read 3 different ways; for example, the letter "l" in the very well known "lingua latina" would be spoken different ways both times.

Another thing we know is that latin had long vowels; if a vowel was long, it would be streched almost enough, so it would be written twice in modern languages;

For example; the ablativ for of Amica, would be read amicaa...

So you know, we know quite a lot on how latin was spoken; but the fact is it would be very hard for us to understand an actuall roman talking

EDIT: oh, and of course, like it was said; "u" was pronounced much like oo in book, and "v" was pronounced much like a "w" in world

[Ca Putt]

query: how do they discribe the pronounciation of latin? reffering to greek? seeing as even modern greek (almost) is further away from ancient greek(not considering local versions) than modern german :D, I think it's fair to say that ancient greek phonology is about as sure as latin phonology^^

[Belisarius II]

The "u" was most likely pronounced as "oo" in "look". Aut has two syllables (a-ut).

Gonna have to disagree with this last part, "aut" is only one syllable even though it likes like the word "ut" with an "a" put in front of it.

[anubis88]

Gonna have to disagree with this last part, "aut" is only one syllable even though it likes like the word "ut" with an "a" put in front of it.

Basically it's read like the english out in outside

EDIT:
@Ca Putt

From Quintilianus;

Atqui eadem illa littera, quotiens ultima est et vocalem verbi sequentis ita contigit ut in eam transire possit, etiam si scribitur, tame parum exprimitur, ut multum ille et quantum erat, adeo ut paene cuiusdam novae litterae sonum reddat. Neque enim eximitur sed obscuratur, et tan- tum in hoc aliqua inter duas vocales velut nota est, ne ipse coeant

Which translates pretty much like this;
If this letter is the last in the word and colides with a vowel of the next word, in such a way so they combines with it, it is written, even tough it's barely pronounced, for exempel multum ille and quantum erat, so it almost becames a new sound; it doesn't fall out, yet is spoken hollowly (quietly???), it's some sort of a sign between vowels, so that those 2 don't combine.

It's a fairly loose translation, but it can give you the general idea on how they tried to describe such thing. Fortunatly some Romans actually found it important to write how they speak themselves :)

Hope this clears up things a bit

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
numquam and nunquam are equally acceptable. Decent dictionaries would mention both. Eg. Lewis & Short note that numquam prevailed over the latter before the Augustan era, yet both were "in good use".

On the pronunciation of classical Latin and related subjects see Vox Graeca, W. Sidney Allen.
.

[abou]

Really? Disagree with the guy who minored in Latin and is writing the pronunciation guide?

Anyway, the vowels in nunc and numquam are short. If you want to be classy, you'll use the Classical era spellings. Aut is a single syllable because au is a diphthong.

Short u is pronounced as it is in put. Short a as it is in hat. The diphthong au is pronounced as the ou in house.

Nunc aut num'kwam.

[Delta146]

The simple guide I have seen most often is this:

a = as in "ah"
ae = "eye"
c = always hard like K
g = always hard as in "girl"
i = short as in "pit", or long as in "pizza". When used as a consonant, = Y
j = not used in proper Latin--represents consonantal i and pronounced as Y
u = as in "doom" when a vowel, or as W when consonant. Properly written v.
v = u

It's not very complex, but I think it gives a rough idea (If I am wrong, correct me.)

I have also used this YouTube channel quite a bit.

[vartan]

How it's pronounced? Well, pretty much like it's written. Just remember the c is basically a "k" (like in kill), and the "m" in the end of numquam was barely spoken and trough the nose (much like the french "m")

I'm no ancient Roman, but I think it's safe to say that the Latin letter C represents (almost invariably) an unaspirated voiceless velar stop (i.e., plosive). So that would be the 'k' consonant in the English word skill, because the 'k' in the word kill is the aspirated variant, which isn't what the Latin C represented.

[anubis88]

I'm no ancient Roman, but I think it's safe to say that the Latin letter C represents (almost invariably) an unaspirated voiceless velar stop (i.e., plosive). So that would be the 'k' consonant in the English word skill, because the 'k' in the word kill is the aspirated variant, which isn't what the Latin C represented.

To tell you the thruth, i don't hear the difference between those two "k". Like i said... In the slavic languages we only have one k, and that one is pronounced like the latin one

[Ca Putt]

oh dear I seem to need to polish my english phonology :( I don't hear the difference aswell.

[vartan]

To tell you the thruth, i don't hear the difference between those two "k". Like i said... In the slavic languages we only have one k, and that one is pronounced like the latin one

I speak a consonant-rich set of tongues. The differences, though not noted in English by the orthography, are still there even in the impoverished tongue that is English. But I know what you mean. I grew up in an immigrant neighborhood in LA, and it was always fun listening to people pronounce English stops like they didn't come in pairs.