Translation Assistance?

 
John Mck
 
Avatar
 
 
John Mck
Total Posts:  151
Joined  12-07-2009
 
 
 
27 July 2009 15:01
 

For a motto, that is.

How would one render "All men are brothers" into Latin?

 

The modern sensibility would be something like "All people are family"

 

Thanks!

 

J

 
Jay Bohn
 
Avatar
 
 
Jay Bohn
Total Posts:  283
Joined  04-03-2008
 
 
 
27 July 2009 15:27
 

John Mck;70701 wrote:

For a motto, that is.

How would one render "All men are brothers" into Latin?

 

The modern sensibility would be something like "All people are family"

 

Thanks!

 

J


Omnes fratri sunt?

 
David Pritchard
 
Avatar
 
 
David Pritchard
Total Posts:  2058
Joined  26-01-2007
 
 
 
27 July 2009 23:56
 

John Mck;70701 wrote:

/

How would one render "All men are brothers" into Latin?

The modern sensibility would be something like "All people are family"


Jay’s literal translation looks to be correct but I have learned that proper Latin is never quite so easy.

 

What you thought would be a more modern version of the motto is quite shallow, rather like Miss America wishing for world peace. Why pair such a trite motto with your well designed arms? Spend more time and effort to find a motto that is as original as your arms.

 
Joseph McMillan
 
Avatar
 
 
Joseph McMillan
Total Posts:  7658
Joined  08-06-2004
 
 
 
28 July 2009 00:12
 

If you do want "All men are brothers" as a motto (and I tend to agree with David that it’s a bit trite), why not just use it in English? Latin mottoes make sense if they are quotations from something that was originally written in Latin, but otherwise they’re sort of pretentious, don’t you think? Unless there’s a really good reason.

The practice reminds me of Addison’s essay on Italian operas (Spectator 18): "our great-grandchildren will be very curious to know the reason why their forefathers used to sit together like an audience of foreigners in their own country, and to hear whole plays acted before them in a tongue which they did not understand."

 
Dcgb7f
 
Avatar
 
 
Dcgb7f
Total Posts:  516
Joined  07-07-2007
 
 
 
28 July 2009 02:11
 

Jay Bohn;70703 wrote:

Omnes fratri sunt?

Close, but the case is wrong. Both nouns should be in the nominative: Omnes fratres sunt, or any arrangement thereof. One could additionally throw in homines for something closer to your original thought. If you’re so inclined, you could also go with a less elegant construction such as Omnes nostri fratres sunt ("All of us are brothers"), though this a perfect example of the joke that everything sounds better in Latin even if it really just says something completely banal.

 
Jay Bohn
 
Avatar
 
 
Jay Bohn
Total Posts:  283
Joined  04-03-2008
 
 
 
28 July 2009 06:21
 

Dcgb7f;70714 wrote:

. . . though this a perfect example of the joke that everything sounds better in Latin even if it really just says something completely banal.


Semper ubi sub ubi

 
John Mck
 
Avatar
 
 
John Mck
Total Posts:  151
Joined  12-07-2009
 
 
 
22 August 2009 00:22
 

Thanks for the feedback!

Considering that mottoes are more-or less optional, and this motto would be my father’s, (In whose name they will be registered) I might just postpone it for the time being. I’ve contacted HGW and will be sending in the information hopefully fairly quickly, and I don’t believe they require mottoes. If Dad is dead-set on a motto, I’ll go with whatever translation he wants, but the heraldic enthusiasm is mostly mine anyways smile

 

In the long run I will probably register something else (as a motto) in my own name at the USHR, along with perhaps a badge.