Hi all,
I'd really love a Quenya translation of the latin phrase Memento Mori:
'the phrase literally translates as “you must remember to die” but may be loosely rendered as "remember death" or "remember that you die"'
Can anyone help out?
Hantanyë tyen.
I would render this as Á rene fire "remember to die" or Á rene fírie "remember death".
Mandatory word of caution: if you intend this for a tattoo or any kind of permanent inscription, bear in mind that Elvish translations are inherently somewhat speculative. You are likely to get different translations from different experts, and even the best guesses of the best experts today may prove to be wrong once new material is published.
It is better to transcribe the Latin words into Tengwar without translating them. That way they are written with Elvish letters, without running the risk of the words being wrong. If you want help with a transcription let me know.
Thank you very much Ellanto.
It's not for a tattoo, it's just curiosity.
Could you help with pronunciation?
Sure!
Consonants:
n and f are pronounced as you'd expect.
r is a voiced alveolar trill.
Vowels:
i is pronounced like this in all positions, no exceptions.
a like this, also no exceptions.
e like this, even at the end of a word (it is never silent).
á represents a long a, and í a long i; they are pronounced the same as above just held longer.
If you simply string the above sounds you'll get the correct pronunciation. The final thing to note is stress - here are the stressed syllables in bold: Á rene fire, Á rene fírie.