It’s All Greek to Me!

Good morning!

Although perhaps by the time I get everything sorted it’ll be afternoon  *laughs*  My pain levels are climbing and it’s a little distracting.  (I live with 8 chronic health conditions, five of which are pain related)

Back to my own work today!  I did enjoy reviewing Ninfa’s book though, I adore her writing.  

And, as you may have guessed, today we’re talking about languages.  Greek, Latin and Gaelic.  Those of you who know anything about Gaelic will discover that I seem to have managed to mix Scottish and Irish within the same half a page.  I wonder if it’s too late to change it….  

Nah, it’s not published yet, should be good to go.

The Greek  

You may have noticed when I was talking about the characters that I have been labeling them as Alpha, Beta, etc.  Basic Pack hierarchy starts with a leader, a second-in-command and goes down from there to the lowest in the Pack.  And in the case of a few of my youngest characters, some who haven’t placed yet.  You want a place in the pack order, you earn it.  You want to move up, you knock the next highest person out of their place on the ladder. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Mrdonn.org, here is a photo of the Greek alphabet.  Twenty-four letters long, it figures that there would be 24 positions open.  However, in Liam and Anna’s Pack there is room for more than one person in each position below Gamma.  Fights that come to a standstill will leave you with two Kappas for example.  

It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but there it is. 😀  So Lucy, who got torn apart by the Mayan demon-god a few posts ago is a middle of the road member.  Perhaps she had the potential to move up.  Perhaps she didn’t, we’ll never know now eh?

That is the only Greek in my books.  *laughs* I think it’s all I could handle.

The Gaelic

I love Gaelic. I love the way it sounds, so melodic.  I would love to learn it.  Scottish Gaelic, given that that’s where my roots are and it’s the country I’d most love to visit.  If I was ever presented with one trip, anywhere in the world, it’d be Scotland, regardless of the season.

Can you tell I love it? 😉

The first thing I went looking for is “my beloved.”  (and now I’m typing with one hand because my cat decided he wanted attention and is draped over my shoulder!  He needs his back feet supported by more than my boobs apparently)

[Ridiculous cat!]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have it in Irish Gaelic in the book:  Grádhág.  In Scottish it’s “a ghraidh”, “a rùn” or “a leannain”, all of which are in the vocative tense (addressing the person directly) which is what I want.  It left me confused that there would be three terms for the same thing but those are loose translations.  Deeper research reveals that “a ghraidh” is “my darling” or just “darling” and “a leannain” is “lover” or “sweetheart.”  If anyone can tell  me what “a rùn” means specifically, I’d be grateful.  

I love the term “my beloved.”  It conveys such a wealth of emotion and depth of devotion.  

“Tha gaol agam ort.” Liam says to Anna.  (Hah GEUL AH-kum orsht) She thinks it’s beautiful, even without knowing the meaning.  It means “I love you.”

He teaches her to say Tha gaol agam ort-fhèin.” (Hah GEUL AH-kum orsht-HEH-een)  It means “I love you too.”  

Then he tells her to go find out for herself what it means.  *laughs*  

In my blog about the bad guys we talked about the Caer Kirra, (Fortress of the Dark Lady) aka the  Naethar Nimhe (poisonous snake).  

I think that’s it for my Gaelic. It’s a difficult language to find translations for.  You have to be careful to make sure you’re getting either the Irish or the Scottish and keep it consistent.  There are translators out there but, again, you have to know what you’re looking for.  I would love to learn it. 😀 But it’d be so much easier with a person than a program, I think.  

The Latin

This language is a challenge and a half!  I think the Elvish I used in one of my other books was easier!  

I do have a flair for the dramatic, however and the Lord’s Prayer in Latin worked beautifully to attempt to chase away a group of Nepilim:

 
PATER noster, qui es in cœlis;
sanctificatur nomen tuum:
Adveniat regnum tuum;
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in cœlo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie:
Et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris:
et ne nos inducas in tentationem:
sed libera nos a malo.

It certainly made the group of Fallen Angel offspring flinch.  But it didn’t make them go away.  So Anna resorted to something stronger.  More… ethereal help.  She appealed directly to Gabriel:

Anna, meanwhile, kept setting fire to them.  But there were scores to deal with and she could see that everyone was getting tired.  She tried one more time to ask for help.  “Gabriel! Please help me save my brethren.  Please lend me your sword.”  Her words cracked on a sob.

 

Chapter Twenty-One

 

Suddenly Anna felt a great warmth at her back.  She could see the faint outlines of feathered wings around her Mate and Gamma.  She relaxed marginally then found herself compelled to start speaking.  “Te Gladi, Vos Gladias, trea Nomine Sancto, Albrot, Abracadabra, Jehova elico.  Estote meum castelumque praesidium contra omnium hostes, conspicuusque, in quisque magiceum opum.  Nomemo Sancto Saday, qui est in imperium magnum, et his alio nomine:  Cados, Cados, Cados, Adonai, Elohi, Zena, Oth, Ochimaneul, primoque ultimo…”

Anna took a breath and let it out on a sigh, with the question, “What am I doing?”

A voice whispered through her mind.  “Conjuring Gabriel’s sword.  Sapientia, Via, Vita…”

Anna repeated the words and continued.  “Sapientia, Via, Vita, Virto, Principio, Oso, Oratie, Splendero, Luce, Sol, Fono, Gloria, Mono, Porta, Vite, Lape, Scipio, Sacredo, Pravo, Messiah, Gladi in omnium meum negotia regnas et in illos res quem meresistunt, vincite.”   Anna screamed the last word in desperation, “Amen!”   Her hands were suddenly wrapped around the hilt of a huge sword.  The tip dipped a little as she adjusted to the weight. 

The sword of Gabriel is an awesome thing.   I found the conjuration in A Dictionary of Angels including the fallen angels by Gustav Davidson.  The English translation is as follows:

I conjure you, O Sword of Swords, by the three Holy Names, Albrot, Abracadabra and Jehova. Be my fortress and defence against all enemies, visible and invisible, in every magical work.  By the Holy Name Saday, which is great in power, and by these other Names Cados, Cados, Cados, Adonai, Elohi, Zena, Oth, Ochimaneul, the First and the Last, Wisdom, Way, Life, Virtue, Chief, Mouth, Speech, Splendor, Light, Sun, Fountain, Glory, Mountain, Gate, Vine, Stone, Staff, Priest, Immortal Messiah; Sword, do you rule in all my affairs and prevail in those things which oppose me. Amen.

The capital letters are as written in the book.

Yes, that says “Abracadabra” is a name.  It is said to be derived from the Hebrew “ha brachah dabarah” (speak the blessing) and, according to Mr Davidson, means “I bless the dead” and is one of the most ancient words in magic.  It was written on parchment then worn as an amulet or charm to ward off disease.  

I believe that is the end of our language lesson, boys and girls.  For now.  The examples are drawn from both Witch Hitlist and Demon Plague and I am sure that I will be struggling with Latin again since Anna, Liam and Chelle are currently in Hell.  I used Elvish as the language of the Demons in another book but I won’t here.  I’ll use Latin consistently as the language of the Angels and their opposites in Hell.  

Will there be any other languages used?  I don’t know.  I like what I have going on here and it seems to work.  Reliable translators would be helpful, ones that do syntax as well as words.  But I can’t see me adding anything else to this series.  Maybe if a Russian pops on to the scene *laughs*

Have a great day!  (And, by the way, it is now about 1:15 😀 Don’t know if I’m happy to be right or not!)