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Q: Latin translation of short phrase ( Answered,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Latin translation of short phrase
Category: Reference, Education and News > General Reference
Asked by: loneoak-ga
List Price: $5.00
Posted: 30 Oct 2006 22:49 PST
Expires: 29 Nov 2006 22:49 PST
Question ID: 778702
Hello prospective translators,

I am working on creating a custom 'ex libris' stamp for myself because
I lose too many books to friends.  I'm a philosophy student and there
is a quote from Milan Kundera that I have long been enamored with
because it encapsulates my approach to philosophy as a discipline.  I
want to incorporate it somehow into the stamp design.  Here is the
quote:
"Only the most naive of questions are truly 
serious ... It is questions with no answers
that set the limits of human possibilities,
describe the boundaries of human existence."

I would like to include a Latin version of the four word phrase
"Questions with no answers" on my stamp.  Given the context of the
phrase, what is the best translation of it?
Answer  
Subject: Re: Latin translation of short phrase
Answered By: juggler-ga on 31 Oct 2006 03:46 PST
 
Hello.

I'd go with:

"Quaestiones sine responsis."


Breaking it down:

quaestio (noun)- inquiry, question
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=q&p=1
This is a third declension noun so the nominative plural would be "quaestiones."

sine (preposition + ablative) - without 
http://www.jact.org/subjects/vocablist.htm

"Sine" is the best preposition to convey the meaning of "with no."

responsum (noun) - answer
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=responsum+answer&btnG=Search
This is a second declension neuter noun, so the plural ablative would
be "responsis."

The phrase "questions and answers" may be translated as "quaestiones
et responsa." Examples of this usage:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=%22quaestiones+et+responsa&btnG=Search

Here, however, the preposition "sine" (without) requires "answers" to
take the ablative form.  Thus, we use "responsis."

------
search strategy:
My own knowledge of Latin plus the searches mentioned above.

I hope this helps.
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