“Latinity Connected with Negima!”

Introduction to the Latinitas Negimaria section

     Several of the characters in Ken Akamatsu’s ???????! Maho Sensei Negima! manga series display a tendency to use Latin words and phrases for their magical incantations.  The Latin language is so prominent in the series that the phrase Magister Negi Magi as the Latinistic title of the series itself.  For the most part, the Latin phrases in the manga make sense.  In other words, the phrases are not just random Latin words.  Unfortunately, because the Latin words and phrases in the manga are usually approximated by katakana-character combinations rather than left in their original Roman-letter forms, fan translations often do not show the proper Roman-letter forms of the Latin words and phrases.  It is reasonable, of course, to think that a translator knows Japanese well enough to translate the manga, but it is not likely that he or she also knows much Latin.  The Japanese volumes apparently show the Roman-letter spellings of the Latin words and phrases with explanations.  Those explanations are likely to be correct, but when the books are translated professionally, the translator may simply translate the Japanese translations of the Latin words rather than translate the Latin words directly.  Ambiguities in the Japanese text can produce an English translation that does not accurately explain a certain Latin word of phrase.  One might expect that from a fan translation, but it is much more difficult to dismiss in an official translation.  The Latin in Negima usually makes sense, and the creators have worked to make it something other than nonsense words and phrases, so it would not be unreasonable to expect someone who knows Latin to work with the professional translator.

     This Latinitas Negimaria section seeks to be a collection of explanations of Latin words and phrases that appear on the various ???????! Maho Sensei Negima! sources.  It attempts to show accurate translations of Latin phrases.

Latinitas Negimaria | Important Latin Sources

Paginae Latinitatis | DIES GAUDII

© 2004-2008 Ian Andreas Miller.  All rights reserved.  Those statements refer to all of the original content on this page.