Help with translation?

[Annamax]

Hi, I´m very new here, and I´m sure you heard this a thousand times before, but I would like som help with a translation from english or swedish to latin. The phrase is "My blood, My life" (In swedish, "mitt blod, mitt liv") I would really appreciate some help...

[Tarbicus]

Welcome to RAT. I don't have the translation I'm afraid, but a strict rule of the forum is putting your real name in your signature. We don't believe in anonymity here without exceptional circumstances. More here:
http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic. ... 163#208163

[Annamax]

Ok, I can understand that, but I do not see the problem since my real name IS Anna? I am not sure I understand the problem?

[Jona Lendering]

"My blood, My life"

Sanguis meus, vita mea.

[Annamax]

Thank you very much! On some internet-translation page the answer was "Meus cruor, meus vita" Do you know the difference?

[Salvianus]

On some internet-translation page the answer was "Meus cruor, meus vita" Do you know the difference?

Cruor is associated with blood from a wound and thence gore, bloodshed and murder. Sanguis is a better fit (NB it can also be used to mean 'family' or 'kin', just as in English).

'Meus' is the masculine possessive pronoun, while 'mea' correctly agrees with the feminine 'vita'.

Word order was very variable in everyday writing, but Jona's is the usual and fits a motto well.

feliciter

[Jona Lendering]

On some internet-translation page the answer was "Meus cruor, meus vita" Do you know the difference?

See above; "meus" (male) can not be combines with "vita" (female).

[Tarbicus]

Ok, I can understand that, but I do not see the problem since my real name IS Anna? I am not sure I understand the problem?

Sorry Anna, I thought it was some kind of web nickname, all one word.

[Annamax]

On some internet-translation page the answer was "Meus cruor, meus vita" Do you know the difference?

Cruor is associated with blood from a wound and thence gore, bloodshed and murder. Sanguis is a better fit (NB it can also be used to mean 'family' or 'kin', just as in English).

'Meus' is the masculine possessive pronoun, while 'mea' correctly agrees with the feminine 'vita'.

Word order was very variable in everyday writing, but Jona's is the usual and fits a motto well.

feliciter

So if "My blood" is supposed to refer to my son, "sanguis meus" is the correct words since he is my family, and male? But if "sanguis meus" is correct to describe my son, can I also use "vita mea" ? Or does that refer to something feminine? This is very complicated, I can hardly write in English, non the less understand latin grammar...

[Annamax]

Ok, I can understand that, but I do not see the problem since my real name IS Anna? I am not sure I understand the problem?

Sorry Anna, I thought it was some kind of web nickname, all one word.

My name is Anna, and Max is my son... And I´m very thankful for all the help I am getting here! You guys are very smart people...

[Jona Lendering]

So if "My blood" is supposed to refer to my son, "sanguis meus" is the correct words since he is my family, and male?

No, it is because the the word "sanguis" is male. If you want to say that your daughter or mother shares your blood, you would also say "sanguis meus".

But if "sanguis meus" is correct to describe my son, can I also use "vita mea" ?

Yes, because vita is female. The possessive adjective follows the gender of the word (e.g., blood, life), not that of the person to whom it refers.

Max is my son...

A great name - litteraly, as it means "the greatest".

[Annamax]

So how can one tell if a word is masculine or feminine?

[Jona Lendering]

So how can one tell if a word is masculine or feminine?

The easy rule: if it ends on an -a, it's usually female (dea, goddess), if on -us, it's masculine (deus, god). Unfortunately, there are many exceptions, so that's what students have to learn by heart, and why they need dictionaries.

[Salvianus]

Tyvärr talar jag inte svenska. I think.

There are a number of Latin 'dictionaries' online which are more reliable than 'translation' pages.

http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe

seems good for my purposes.

However, the grammar for phrases is more complicated, and it is always wise to check with someone more fluent - I make howling errors all the time. :roll:

[Annamax]

Tyvärr talar jag inte svenska. I think.

That was a correct translation... I tried one of the translationpages using a phrase from english to swedish, and the result was... interesting... So I can see that they are not working very good all the time!

I am very thankful for all help and I would be happy to help out with all your tricky questions about the Swedish language, I know you are just dying to ask me...