2007-12-01 20:46:32 · 3 answers · asked by Chris Hansen 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
"No thank you" and please, no automatic web translations
2007-12-01 20:47:52 · update #1
It should be said that Latin had no general words like "yes" and "no." In Latin it's usually repeated a short form of the question as denying.
For instance if you ask somebody "Visne vinum ?"
(do you want wine ?) the negative answer (No,thanks) will be in Latin, "non volo, gratias ago tibi".
In the question and in the answer the werb "to want" is translated with the verb "volere" which present indicative 2nd sing.pers. is "vis" (+ "ne" to express the interrogative form) and present indicative 1st sing.person of the answer is "voleo". Thanks or thank you translates "gratias ago tibi" if addressed to a single person and "gratias ago vestri" if addressed to more people.
2007-12-01 21:33:46 · answer #1 · answered by martox45 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Chapter 85 in Adler's "A Practical Grammar of the Latin Language" deals with questions and answers in Latin.
You can find a link to the textbook here:
http://latinum.mypodcast.com
On pg 542, Adler notes:
"Negative sentences are formed by means of the adverbs non, (not), haud (not at all), minime (by no means), ne, (lest/that not), andf also by nemo, nihil, nullus, nunquam, nondum, nec, necque, etc.
Also used are negative verbs such as nescio, nolo, nego, veto."
Adler then gives a number of examples, however, as the textbook itself is a textbook of conversational Latin, it is chock full of hundreds of examples of negative answers to questions.
2007-12-02 03:18:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the Latin word for no is non. It can also mean not.
2007-12-01 22:15:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋