Jinty Titles in Latin Part 3

Here is my third volume of Jinty titles translated into Latin, with some brief commentary.

1. In loco Mariae (In Place of Mary i.e. I’ll Make up for Mary)

A simple matter of taking the phrase in loco parentis [in place of parent] and adapting it to what Ann is trying to do – take the place of Mary.

2. Qui est mater Rosae? (Who is Rose’s Mother? i.e. Wild Rose)

At first I thought of “Who is the woman with the moon scar?”, but it was too wordy. I settled on a much simpler title that summed up the mystery of the story and the question Rose is trying to answer.

3. Hoc robotum lacrimare potest (This Robot Can Cry i.e. The Robot Who Cried)

Similar to the English title, but it is more reflective of how this particular robot was capable of human emotion.

4. Effugium ex exilio (Escape from Banishment i.e. Bound for Botany Bay)

A working translation for another title gave me the idea of starting with a title that had the Latin for “escape” in it. The end result had alliteration all the way through the title.

5. Petrus curandus est! (Peter Must Be Cured! i.e. For Peter’s Sake!)

The grammar in Cato’s famous tagline, Carthago delenda est [Carthage must be destroyed] was the inspiration for this one.

6. Pascendum appetitum aeternum (Feeding the eternal appetite i.e. Food for Fagin)

Straight off I decided not to use the name of the dog in the title, and I never could stand those Oliver Twist references in the story anyway (would a mum seriously name her daughter Olivia Twist?). Instead, I worked on a title that commented on the increasingly difficult task of trying to keep up with that mountainous appetite of Fagin’s on the family’s limited income.

7. Daemonium, quod intro est (The Demon that is Within i.e. The Mystery of Martine)

I decided against a title that used “Martine”. Instead, I went for translating the name of the play in the story “The Demon Within”, as its title summed up what was going on.

8. Neglecti et superbi sumus (We are Neglected but Proud i.e. A Boy Like Bobby)

Two boys who were neglected and living in a squalid flat. But they still had their pride, which made it difficult for our heroine to reach out to them. So this was the basis for the Latin translation. Originally I thought of “Two neglected boys”, but that did not sound very interesting. I decided that a title that reflected their pride showing through their neglect made it more interesting. The endings of the adjectives also gave it alliteration.

Latin Translations of Jinty Titles II: A Selection

I have been working on more Latin translations of Jinty serials. In line with Comixminx’s entry on Portuguese translations, I have taken a select few from the list and provide some commentary on them rather than posting a long list as I did before.

1. Malincha et sceptrum magicum (Malincha and the Magic Sceptre i.e. Sceptre of the Toltecs)

I couldn’t find a Latin word for Toltec, so I came up with “magic sceptre” instead. From there it was an easy matter to use the protagonist’s name to provide alliteration. Perhaps it is not as effective as “Sceptre of the Toltecs”, but it is alliterative. As Comixminx says, girls titles would not be complete without alliteration somewhere.

2. Citeria cara noster (Our Beloved Clown i.e. The Jinx from St Jonah’s)

This was a tough one to translate. I doubted I could find a Latin word for “jinx” that had the same context as the original title. So I googled for a Latin word for “klutz” but then it was pointed out the word may be not so suitable as it had other more negative meanings. So in the end it was “citeria”, meaning “clown”. It was alliterated with “carus –a –um”, meaning “beloved”, to express that Katie may be a jinx but everyone loves her, including the girls who regularly suffer from her jinxing. It also provided alliteration and a dash of humour that was in keeping with the strip being a humorous one.

3. Saltandum per ludum (Dancing Through the Game i.e. Life’s a Ball for Nadine)

This was another tough one. I was thinking along the lines of a title that reflected the curious relationship between sport and dancing that ran throughout the story, but I couldn’t figure out how to go about it. Eventually I hit on the idea of something like “dancing around the game”, but as this sounded like Nadine was fooling around with the game, it became “dancing through the game”.

4. Odium perplexum, tentamenta perplexa (Perplexing Hate, Perplexing Tests i.e. Make-Believe Mandy)

Originally I toyed with a translation that reflected how Mandy used her daydreaming to escape an intolerable home life. But I changed my mind and began to develop a title that commented on the mystery that surrounded both the hatred Mandy gets at home and the tests she undergoes, and the mystery of how and why they were connected. The adjective used for them both would provide the alliteration. “Perplexus –a –um” was chosen because it was recognisable to English speakers. It can also mean “interlaced”, which could also serve as a play on the hatred and the tests being connected.

5. Plagae ex scarabeo aegyptio (Plagues of the Egyptian Scarab i.e. Creepy Crawley)

A title that used “brooch” was rejected because the Latin word for brooch can also mean “buckle”. Eventually I found there was an actual Latin word for “scarab” and developed the title with that. The noun “plaga –ae”, meaning “strike” or “plague”, was chosen for association with the scarab because it was short, strong and instantly recognisable. It was also reminiscent of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, which tied in with the Egyptian theme and what the scarab does.

6. Ira ex monili indico (Wrath of the Indian Necklace i.e. Gail’s Indian Necklace)

A title that used “evil” was rejected because the necklace was not downright evil, just angry. So the title began to develop from there, and the Latin words for “wrath” and “Indian” provided alliteration.

7. Coma aurea, pecten argenteus (Golden Hair, Silver Comb i.e. Combing Her Golden Hair)

Yes, the Latin version of Comixminx’s Portuguese translation. I think it works even better in Latin because the Latin words for “golden” and “silver” both begin with “a”, which gives an alliterative effect.

8. Haruspex et Siccitas Longa (The Diviner and the Long Drought i.e. Jassy’s Wand of Power)

This started with “siccitas longa” (long drought), but it didn’t sound a very thrilling title. So “haruspex -spicis” (diviner) was added because it would sound like an intriguing word to English speakers and therefore provide more interest. Finally, “siccitas longa” was capitalised because the people in the story would be very likely to use capitalisation for the drought when they look back on it.

Latin Translations of Jinty Titles

Recently I bought a book called A Smattering of Latin. Among its assorted goodies are Latin translations of the titles of popular books and movies. This had me thinking: what would the titles of some of our Jinty stories look like if they were translated into Latin?

I am not the most fluent of Latinists, but I decided to have a go all the same. My old school Latin and assorted Latin tools I have acquired, including ones on the Internet, were all utilised for the job. The following results are listed below. In some cases I had to take a few liberties and use my imagination as titles like “Sue’s Daily Dozen” would not translate directly into Latin. In other cases I took some liberties for more dramatic effect, such as the Latin translation of “Prisoners of Paradise Island”.

Please feel free to offer any corrections. I have done my best to be accurate, but I am aware there could still be errors in the translations somewhere. Also please feel free to offer alternative translations of the titles, and translations of other Jinty titles that are not listed here.

• Puella subridens contra domum miseriae (Smiling girl versus the house of misery i.e. Merry at Misery House)
• Gloria furata (The stolen glory i.e. Gwen’s Stolen Glory)
• Duae vitae Jacquelinae (Jackie’s Two Lives)
• Caeca fide (Blind Faith)
•  Dora, sicut servus canem (Dora, like a slave dog i.e. Dora Dogsbody)
•  Pupuli Paulae (Paula’s Puppets)
•  Filia Draculae (Dracula’s Daughter)
• Tragoedia Triciae (Tricia’s Tragedy)
•  Nota maleficae! (Mark of the Witch!)
•  Servus speculi (Slave of the Mirror)
•  Mima cum nubibus (actress in the clouds i.e. Kerry in the Clouds)
•  Servi candelae (Slaves of the Candle)
•  Captivi in therotrophio (Prisoners in the zoo i.e. The Human Zoo)
•  Cursus inter mundos novos (Course between Strange Worlds i.e. Worlds Apart)
•  Puella, quae nunquam nasci (The Girl Who Had Been Never Born i.e. The Girl Who Never Was)
•  Lisa musicam habebit (Lisa Will Have Music i.e. She Shall Have Music)
•  Mima, quae non amatur (The Actress Who Is Not Loved i.e. No Cheers for Cherry)
•  Alicia in terra nova (Alice in a Strange Land)
• Malefica nomine Wennam (A Witch Called Wenna i.e. Wenna the Witch)
•  Mundus sine lacrimis (World without Tears i.e. Land of No Tears)
•  Discipula nomine Pamelam (A Pupil Named Pamela i.e. Pam of Pond Hill)
•  Arca Pandorae (Pandora’s Box)
• Serves Cygni (Slave of the Swan)
•  Feriae in latibulum (Holiday in Hiding i.e. Holiday Hideaway)
•  Filius regis ex zodiaco (The Zodiac Prince)
•  Sicut muscam in telo (Like a Fly in a Web i.e. Come into My Parlour)
•  Hortus vetitus (The Forbidden Garden)
•  Freda et Fortuna (Freda and Fortune i.e. Freda’s Fortune)
•  Sicut felem et murem (Like Cat and Mouse i.e. The Kat and Mouse Game)
•  Semper ludibrium (Always a Laughing-stock i.e. Tears of a Clown)
•  Relinquetur et oblita (Marooned and Forgotten i.e. The Girl the World Forgot)
•  Undae metu (Waves of Fear)
• Stefa amare recusat (Stefa Refuses to Love i.e. Stefa’s Heart of Stone)
•  Abies spem dat (The Fir Tree Gives Hope i.e. Song of the Fir Tree)
•  Defensor ex avium (The Defender of Birds i.e. The Goose Girl)
•  Aves oppugnant! (The Birds are Attacking! i.e. The Birds)
•  Mater superba contra canem vulgarem (The Arrogant Mother versus the Common Dog i.e. The Four-Footed Friends)
•  Cur mater natationem vetat? (Why Does Mum Ban Swimming? i.e. Minnow)
•  Equus ex mari (Horse from the Sea)
•  Bellum sororum! (Battle of the Sisters! i.e. Sisters at War!)
•  Praedictum de aqua caeruleo (The Prophecy about Blue Water i.e. Cursed to be a Coward!)
•  Terror ex arvis viridis (Terror of the Green Fields i.e. The Bow Street Runner)
•  Ovis nigra (The Black Sheep i.e. Black Sheep of the Bartons)
•  Canem alium amare non possum (I Cannot Love Another Dog i.e. My Heart Belongs to Buttons)
•  Maxima inundationes (The Largest Floods i.e. Fran of the Floods)
•  Instrumenta ex malefica bona (The Tools from the Good Witch i.e. Sue’s Daily Dozen)
•  Captivi in paradiso falso (The Prisoners in the False Paradise i.e. Prisoners of Paradise Island)
•  Freda, amicus falsus (Freda, False Friend)
•  Angelus custos acer (The Zealous Guardian Angel i.e. Her Guardian Angel)