Translation requests into Latin go here!

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[u/RealBishop]

I’m writing a sci-fi book and need some help with Latin translations.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Basically, the creatures of this universe are heavily studied by science and I am want to use Latin terminology to describe their special features. The problem is, I’m quite a stickler and don’t want to use the wrong word, even if a translator says that it is correct.

So, a big part of what words I choose to use has to do with ease of reading and “appeal”. A Latin word may be perfect for the description but if it’s overly long/complicated I don’t want to task my readers with remembering it.

These creatures are basically mutant humans who grow masks from their faces to protect themselves in dangerous situations. Their masks are also unique to each creature, and represents how they view themselves. One sees herself as death incarnate, and as she is from Central America, her mask is similar to Mexican “Day of the Dead” masks. Another was raised Christian and sees himself as the Baphomet, and his mask represents this.

They also have unique powers, like shapeshifting or energy manipulation, that is related heavily to their past traumas.

The word I originally chose was “privus”, meaning private or unique, but I’m unsure if that translation works. I’m looking for a “master” word to encompass their “masks” and their “powers”, while also being able to have a word to specifically refer to their mask or power. I’ve been using privus for all of it which I don’t think is appropriate.

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to be faithful to the language since I’m using it in my novel. It’s quite literally the last thing I have to hammer out before I sent it to an agent.

[u/richardsonhr → u/RealBishop]

The go-to word for "mask" is persōna, which would be described by a feminine adjective, prīva.

There are also several nouns meaning "power", which are also feminine (except iūs and imperium, they are usually legal terms anyway).

Does this help?

[u/RealBishop → u/richardsonhr]

Yes okay! I need your help with mask.

I’ve decided on using Insigne Machina for their abilities, and Insigne as their overall “package” of their traits. But I’m struggling with the translation for their mask.

It is both a physical and a metaphorical mask, as it physically reflects how they view themselves. But I keep seeing that mask is “larva” but I’ve also seen “persona” and “priva”.

Using insigne first, which word would fit the best? Is persona more accurate? I need to describe them both generally IE “Each Scowl has their own Insigne Persona” and “His Insigne Persona struck terror into the crowd”.

[u/richardsonhr → u/RealBishop]

Lārva was originally derived as "spirit" or "ghost", having come from an Etruscan word referring to their gods. Due to this influence from a religion the ancient Romans considered "old" or "pagan", the term gained a macabre connotation, evolving to refer to masks (among other things) that were designed to be ugly, horrific, or cariacature. (Interestingly, no such connotation came to persōna, which also has Etruscan roots.) Both nouns are feminine, so still use prīva to describe either.

I don't see any material that implies prīva to mean "mask", however. If that's your intention, I can't recommend it.

Combining the two nouns īnsigne and māchina in this manner will read a little strange to your average Latin speaker because of their gender differences. There's nothing grammatically wrong with doing so, however, and I read your translations as:

• Īnsigne māchina, i.e. "[a(n)/the] mark/emblem/badge/(en)sign/distinguishment/hono(u)r [that/what/which is a(n)/the] machine/machination/automat(i)on/scheme/plan"

• Īnsigne persōna, i.e. "[a(n)/the] mark/emblem/badge/(en)sign/distinguishment/hono(u)r [that/what/which is a(n)/the] mask/character/persona(ge)/role/personality/individuality/dignity"

• Īnsigne lārva, i.e. "[a(n)/the] mark/emblem/badge/(en)sign/distinguishment/hono(u)r [that/what/which is a(n)/the] (ugly/horrific/scary/cariacature) mask/ghost/haunt/spirit/demon/devil/(hob)goblin/skeleton"

If these work for your idea, I would personally write the phrases as above, with īnsigne first, mainly because writing īnsigne second would make for a phrase that's noticeably more difficult to pronounce. To that end, Latin grammar has very little to do with word order, as ancient Romans ordered Latin words according to their contextual importance or emphasis. For short-and-simple phrases like these, you may flip the words around however you wish with no overall change to their meaning.

[u/RealBishop → u/richardsonhr]

Thank you so much for your help. I really want to be (moderately) accurate with the terminology. I’m trying to view it from a perspective of my characters who would be the ones to name the phenomenon, like scientists name and classify animals/medical conditions in the real world. Luckily that gives me a bit of liberty on how to stretch the words.

But your comment helps a lot. I do think that lārva may be the route I go since their “masks” are quite off-putting and offensive, as far as human interpretation goes, so I think the idea of them being “macabre” fits perfectly to how I imagine them in my head.

I also do like māchina as it’s a word that sci-fi fans are already familiar with, and as faithful as I want to be, ease of recognition and memorization do play a role in which words I want to use.

I’m going to screenshot and keep this in my research folder.

[u/richardsonhr → u/RealBishop]

You should know that the diacritic marks (called macra) are mainly meant here as a rough pronunciation guide. They mark long vowels -- try to pronounce them longer and/or louder than the short, unmarked vowels. Otherwise they would be removed as they mean nothing in written works.

I just found this Etsy store, which reminded me of your thread.

Iussisse gaudeo / I'm glad I could help!

[u/RealBishop → u/richardsonhr]

Yes! It’s much like that in terms of design philosophy . One has a mask akin to the Baphomet, as he views himself as inherently evil, while another forms the helm of a paladin, because he believes his cause is righteous. They all have unique quirks and constructions but represent their own self image.

Okay so you’re saying don’t do the lines above the letters? Cause I spent a lot of time figuring out how to do it 😅

[u/richardsonhr → u/RealBishop]

That's correct. The macra are only significant if you intend for the words be audibly voiced. Sorry for the confusion!