latin sentence translation?

Question

What does "spectator in theatro sedet." mean?

Is it "The spectator is in the theatre sitting"
OR
"The spectator is sitting in the theatre?"

Answer 1

The spectator is sitting [or, sits] in the theatre. Because the form of the word usually indicates its function in the phrase or sentence, word order in Classical Latin is fluid. 'Spectator' is nominative and so must be the subject of the sentence, so you could well say:

In theatro spectator sedet
In theatro sedet spectator
Sedet spectator in theatro
etc., etc.

However, more often than not, the verb came at the end of a phrase or sentence and the subject near the beginning, which explains the word order in your quotation; but you should put it in the most logical place in the English translation.

Answer 2

The interesting thing about translating from Latin to English is that in Latin, you can put the words pretty much in any order you want but the meaning should still be the same. Of course, the ancient Romans usually used a certain order, but it wasn't crucial.

So when you translate into English, you also have the job of deciding which translations make the most sense. It is not unusual for Latin scholars to debate whose translation is more accurate. "The spectator is sitting in the theatre" makes sense, while hardly anyone would say "The spectator is in the theatre sitting." So you go with the one that makes sense.

Answer 3

I think it works either way. "In threatro" is in the dative, so it's not implying action, and neither of your examples imply action, although the second example sounds better-worded as far as English meaning. You could also say, "The spectator sits in the theatre."