Factorio Forums

I did a search for "Latin" which didn't turn up anything much. Is there a Latin translation? Is anyone working on one? Is anyone even interested in one? I'm thinking about doing one. What is the state of the art?

The "state of art" i think is https://crowdin.com/project/factorio which is linked in the sticky post

There is indeed no "latin", many words used in factorio would not have latin word for them, like robots or electricity, solar pannels , nuclear reactor and so on are not things one can look for in 'ancient' text, so i wonder how a translation would work, most of the time it's done the other way around

You seem to be under the unfortunately common misconception that Latin is a dead language. Latin was commonly in use as a scientific language long after the discovery of electricity. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the Neo-Latin word electricus is the origin for the English term. I'm not sure if there is an accepted term for robot; I wouldn't be surprised if there is, its probably used as a loan word adapted to the most logical declension.

At the very least, I think I will undertake this project for my own pleasure and share the files if anyone is interested.

Dr Worm wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:40 am You seem to be under the unfortunately common misconception that Latin is a dead language. Latin was commonly in use as a scientific language long after the discovery of electricity. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the Neo-Latin word electricus is the origin for the English term. I'm not sure if there is an accepted term for robot; I wouldn't be surprised if there is, its probably used as a loan word adapted to the most logical declension.

At the very least, I think I will undertake this project for my own pleasure and share the files if anyone is interested.

Sorry if i offended you but I'm afraid you are confirming this "misconception" by saying it WAS commonly used long after the discovery of electricity. It is no longer the case that latin is the langage for scientific discoveries (1800's or so). In religious circle you can still find priest that "read" latin, but they don't "speak" as making sentence to express themselves, they repeat sentence written already long ago. I learned at school how to do such translation one way and the other, but i also learn that translating something into latin is not going to be as widely used as the opposite, new concept and ideas can be translated into latin that's neo-latin, but who is legitimate to say how electricity or internet should be called in latin ?

satelites come from latin word, but if you read satelite in a latin text it would mean a guard/escort it has nothing to do with planet, it was only choosen way later when latin was already not the native langage of any people, and no more a spoken langage to use that latin word because it conveyed the idea of things attached/orbiting/following each other, same as satelite states, that would be the original meaning.

robot is a word from czech langage that meant "worker" but is now used for "mechanical person" i'd be curious to read how you translate it, would you use the word for slave ? or the word for machine ? because in both case it wouldn't be exact, one refering to a human status, the other one used for descibing irrigation system and other "machine" from the time i think it's why the translation from modern concept into an 'old' langage is not common ( Newton and Leibnitz ( 17XX's ) were using it at their time, but not Einstein who was born in 1879 nor the few generation before ) I'd be interested to see if my school memories allow me to still understand a few words !

edit : long article that try to explain the gradual change and dates it earlier than me
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/f ... 086/694189

You don't seem to know what you are talking about. You said yourself Latin was used scientifically until the 19th century, the term electricus was coined in the 17th century, therefore it was used commonly long after the (formal, western) discovery of electricity. Please don't try and school others when you are the ignorant one. Your implication that Latin has not been used creatively since its decline as a scientific language, is also not true. I used to have myself a book first published in 1968, which has a lengthy Latin preface. Is it an obscure book? It's only the most commonly used critical edition of the Hebrew Bible.

I have already told you what I think about robot, that it is probably best simply used as a loan word from English (ultimately Czechoslovakian) (I would assign it to the third declension), but that I would have to do more research to see if there was already a convention among contemporary Neo-Latinists.

As for your comment about precision, you should know that translation is never 100% precise, and that is why it provides such an enjoyable challenge.

I don't have time to read a long article right now, I might read it later, but really I think you are just trying to patronize me.

I will not be replying to any further posts that are either doggedly negative or patronizing.

Dr Worm wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:58 pm You don't seem to know what you are talking about.
I will not be replying to any further posts that are either doggedly negative or patronizing.

I provided a link to attempt to answer you initial question about the current state of existing translation, and pointed out that some of your other questions are answered in the sticky post.

I also express my doubt about your request, sorry if you didn't appreciate the feedback, i didn't mention you made a typo writing "translation" in the title of your post, we all do and me particularly, but i would have insisted upon it earlier if i wanted to be negative or patronizing, if you are already convinced i am, then 'sorry', at this point you can still fix the title.

Dr Worm wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:58 pm Your implication that Latin has not been used creatively since its decline as a scientific language, is also not true. I used to have myself a book first published in 1968, which has a lengthy Latin preface. Is it an obscure book? It's only the most commonly used critical edition of the Hebrew Bible.

My exact words were :

In religious circle you can still find priest that "read" latin, but they don't "speak" as making sentence to express themselves, they repeat sentence written already long ago.

Sorry if that offended you, 1968 is not that long ago and anyone is allowed to write a preface not just priests although i still doubt they speak the langage it would be a creative use of the langage to write the preface, there are also more recent texts from the Vatican state that are published in latin as it is an official langage there, but it is not known to be a spoken one, translating those texts in vernacular is a more common practice i thought.

Dr Worm wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:58 pm You said yourself Latin was used scientifically until the 19th century, the term electricus was coined in the 17th century,

Yeah that's why nuclear reactor or solar pannel are other example words i used, "electricus" is not even a word in latin, it was created in the 17th century as you said with latin as a written langage, "neo-latin" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Latin

Neo-Latin[1][2][3] (sometimes called New Latin[4][a] or Modern Latin)[5] is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries' Italian Renaissance, and then across northern Europe after about 1500, as a key feature of the humanist movement.

An english man coined the "electricus" to communicate in formal way about his dicoveries to "europe" that is "neo-latin" word, because in 17th century england, people didn't speak latin. If you wonder how was "electricus" used in latin, the answer is "it wasn't used in latin" to me, it was added later same as the Planet Uranus, named after a roman god, but not known to have existed by the romans, is it the latin name of the planet ? i would say no but i'm not contemporary Neo-Latinists experts obviously just curious.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Magnete)

Dr Worm wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:58 pm (I would assign it to the third declension) but that I would have to do more research to see if there was already a convention among contemporary Neo-Latinists.

You can point to me some article or place where i can inform myself too, or general direction.

Dr Worm wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:58 pm I don't have time to read a long article right now, I might read it later, but really I think you are just trying to patronize me.

No i was trying to tell you to read the sticky post for more information about translation , like it's still the current state of thing, if you want to get involved with other people that you may be more confortable discussing with than me and i was curious to read either about some things about latin or some things about robots because i think the word "robot" is interesting it's coming from Czech writter and now used in english and other langages maybe it would be like automaton as this has latin root, but it was not a concept known to romans ( latin-native) same as the planet named after langage became written and not spoken, and then you have "inserter" "circuit network" "plastic" "engine" and all those words, i could read a long article on any single one of them x) why are those thing called this way in english and in other langage ? i think it's interesting because it tells a lot about history of science but factorio is using so much things from the industrial era ( post 1800 ) it's even past the time when latin was used the langage of science in europe so most word translation would have to come from some conventions existing through the 1900's , that still manage to be unanimous. It's pretty rare, maybe in biology for the naming of the species and plants there is a convention to name them that is being maitained to represent the knowledge about evolution but some religious people would disagree, it is not clear what source you would consider fit for latin translation, i just wanted to share what interested me and what gears it clicked, if i'm ignorant, you could inform me.

any chance we can get a latin translation option in crowdin. I'd be willing help with it. I can read and write latin decently.