Latin Translation Resources and Tools

Latin Translation Resources and Tools Whether you want to translate a short English phrase into Latin or a Latin phrase into English, you can not just plug the words into a dictionary and expect an accurate result. You cant with most modern languages, but the lack of a one-to-one correspondence is even greater for Latin and English. If all you want to know is the essence of a Latin phrase, some of the so-called online translation tools for Latin may help. Perhaps you want to know what Marcus in silvam vocat means. The Latin-English translation program I tried translated it as Marcus upon woods vocat. That is obviously not quite right because vocat isnt an English word. Its not a great translation. Since I used that online tool, Google has added its own translator that worked efficiently  enough but has been commented on negatively by many users. If you want a thorough, accurate translation, you will probably need to have a human do it for you, and you may have to pay a fee. Latin translation is a skill that takes a substantial investment in time and money, so translators deserve to be compensated for their efforts. In case youre interested in developing the skill of translating Latin, there are Latin online courses and other self-help methods for beginning Latin as well as Latin degree programs in colleges and universities. Between the two extremes, however, there are some useful tools on the Internet. Parser A parser, like The Latin Parser, tells you basic facts about a word. Depending on what information the parser spits out, you can determine which part of speech the word is and other essentials you need to know in order to translate. You might use a parser if you realize that the Latin phrase you want to understand has 1 (or 2) unknowable word and a bunch of other words you can almost decipher. In the Marcus in silvam vocat example, Marcus looks enough like a name, that you neednt look it up. In looks like the English word of the same spelling, but what about silvam and vocat? If you dont even know what part of speech they are, a parser will help, since its job is to tell you its person, number, tense, mood, etc., if its a verb, and its number, case, and gender  if its a noun. If you do know the words in question are accusative singular and 3d singular, present active indicative, you probably also know that the noun silvam translates as forest/wood and the verb vocat as calls. At any rate, a parser and/or dictionary can help with little bits of Latin like this. Dont use the parser to find the Latin for an English word. For that, you need a dictionary. Assuming you have a vague familiarity with Latin, a parser will tell you the possible forms of a given word. This will help if you cant remember the endings of the paradigms, but understand their purposes. Quick Latin includes a dictionary. Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid This program does not require that you download. You can use it for exploring- trying to figure things out on your own, since you can insert endings (a list of which is on the page) or stems. VISL Pre-analyzed Latin sentences This resource from Syddansk University seems an extremely useful program for people teaching themselves Latin, but it only deals with pre-selected sentences. It doesnt translate the Latin into English at all, but shows the relationships among words by means of tree diagrams. If you have ever tried diagramming a convoluted Latin sentence, you will understand what an imposing task this is. By means of a tree you can see how the words relate to each other; that is, you can tell that one word is part of a phrase begun by another word- like a preposition leading a prepositional phrase. The pre-selected sentences are from standard Latin authors, so you may find the help you need. Translation Service If you need more than a quick approximation of a phrase of Latin, and cant do it yourself, youll need help. There are professional, fee-charging services, like Applied Language Solutions Latin Translation Service - English to Latin Translation. Ive never used them, so I cant tell you how good they are. There are now Latin Translators, with prices spelled out up front. Both claim the lowest prices, so check. A quick look suggests theyre both right- depending on the number of words and direction of Latin language translation: The Latin TranslatorClassical Turns