r/Genshin_Lore • u/Reletr • 8d ago
Translation Translating text from Nicole's animations
Stayed up late to do this, my inner Faruzan did not want to let this go.
This was inspired by u/Jazzlike-Razzmatazz1's recent post, though they did not go very in depth which slightly disappointed me, so I went deeper and translated what I could find from her animations.
BTW I am not someone educated in either Latin or Ancient Greek, just a linguistics nerd. I'll gladly accept corrections from anyone better versed in these languages!
Normal Attacks
This section will correct a bit from the original post as when I double-checked them, they seemed to have been slightly mis-transcribed and mistranslated by the translator that u/Jazzlike-Razzmatazz1 used.
Her first normal attack consists of multiple lines of text with one that's clearly readable. This line is translated as "DECHOU TEN HEGEMONIA_" (last letter is either N or U) which corresponds to Ancient Greek "δέχου τήν ἡγεμονῐ́ᾱν". This can be roughly translated as "Accept the supremacy!" (an imperative command, presumably telling whoever is being attacked by Nicole to submit to her).
δέχου τήν ἡγεμονῐ́ᾱν
accept (2.sg.prs.mid.imp) the (f.sg.ACC) supremacy (f.sg.ACC)
Nicole's second attack spawns "DECIDUNT TUR", though due to how the attack is animated (R is barely visible most of the time), it's possible that the second word continues on and is just not fully rendered here. DECIDUNT is Latin for "they fall down". TUR could be short for "TURRES", or "towers", which would make the full sentence "The towers fall down", though this is purely a guess.
This line as well as another line found in Nicole's Skill could be in reference to a stanza found in Horace's second book of Odes#Book_2), specifically the third stanza of the 10th poem, which reads in English as:
The vast pine is more often moved
by the wind and the high towers fall
with a more serious fall and the lightning
strikes the highest mountains.
DECIDUNT TURRES
fall down (3.pl.prs.act.ind) tower (n, pl.NOM)
The third attack renders out the words "SEMENEI OLETHROS MONOS", with the line partially repeating the first word at the end of itself. In Ancient Greek, this roughly translates to "To the holy, a sole destruction".
It is interesting to note that in this Greek sentence, the "holy" is a singular feminine entity, though which entity this could be referring to I'm not sure (Celestia maybe?). I'll leave the theorizing to those more caught up on the lore.
σεμνῇ ὄλεθρος μόνος
holy (f.sg.DAT) destruction (m.sg.NOM) sole (adj, m.sg.NOM)
Skill
Nicole's skill creates a shield which has flickering text that slowly scroll to the left. The text is composed of four different lines, from top to bottom:
1: SEMENEI OLETHROS MONOS – This is the same as her NA3
2: FERIUNT FULGURA MONTIS – Latin for "Lightning strikes mountains." Not sure what this could be referring to, if anything. Does sound cool though.
This line as well as Nicole's NA2 could be in reference to a stanza found in Horace's second book of Odes#Book_2), specifically the third stanza of the 10th poem, which reads in English as:
The vast pine is more often moved
by the wind and the high towers fall
with a more serious fall and the lightning
strikes the highest mountains.
It's worth noting however that the original Latin text is somewhat different, additionally containing "SUMMOS" (the highest). Note that -que means "and".
Saepius ventis agitatur ingens
pinus et celsae graviore casu
decidunt turres feriuntque summos
fulgura montis.
FERIUNT.QUE SUMMOS FULGURA MONTIS
hit (v, 3.pl.pres.act.ind) and (conj) the highest (adj, m.pl.ACC) lightning (neut.pl.NOM) mountains (m.pl.ACC)
3: PARCAM SUBIECTIS – This is hard to translate for me, as someone who has never studied Latin. Per Wiktionary, "SUBIECTIS" can either mean the "thrown" (the past adjective form of to throw) or "subjects" (as in subjects of a ruler), while "PARCO" (base form of "PARCAM") can mean a number of things: to be frugal, to spare/have mercy, to omit, and to abstain.
My guess here would be that "SUBIECTIS" means "subjects" and "PARCO" "to spare/have mercy", leading to the sentence "I will have mercy on (the) subjects." I would guess this is referring to humans as they are the subjects of the Heavenly Principles, and Nicole as an Angel is wont to help them out.
Alternatively, this and the next line might be in reference to Virgil's sixth book of Aenid, an epic poem telling the story of Aeneas who traveled to Italy after Troy fell and became the ancestor of the Romans. The full quote goes:
tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento;
hae tibi erunt artes; pacisque imponere morem,
parcere subiectis, et debellare superbos.You, O Roman, govern the nations with your power- remember this!
These will be your arts – to impose the ways of peace,
To show mercy to the conquered and to subdue the proud.
PARCAM SUBIECTIS
have mercy (1.sg.fut.act.ind) subject (n, pl.DAT)
4: DEBELLABO SUPERBOS – More Latin, meaning "I will conquer the proud." Much like her NA3 text, the adjective word is referring to an entity, this time a plural amount of masculine entities. From what I can find, Latin uses the masculine gender for a group of mixed genders as well as for an all-masculine group, much like Spanish plural pronouns. Again, no idea which group this could be referring to in Genshin.
Also see above for the potential reference to Virgil's Aenid.
DEBELLABO SUPERBOS
conquer (1.sg.fut.act.ind) proud (adj, m.pl.ACC)
Idle Animation
Looking through her second idle animation where she ponders while twirling her pen, I found 6 unique lines of text that constantly repeat themselves before she accidentally drops her pen:
1: SI OMNIA FICTA – "If everything is fictitious"
if (conj) everything (neut.pl.NOM) fictitious (neut.pl.NOM)
Potentially a reference to Ovid's 13th book of Metamorphoses, where it's found as a description of Scylla, a mythical sea monster who with her counterpart Charybdis haunt an ocean strait.
illa feris atram canibus succingitur alvum,
virginis ora gerens, et, si non omnia vates
ficta reliquerunt, aliquo quoque tempore virgoShe is girded with a black belly by wild dogs,
wearing the face of a virgin, and, if not all the oracles
have left a falsehood, at some time also a virgin. (Google Translate)
2: IPSE DIXIT – "He said it himself"
himself (m.sg.NOM) say (3.sg.prf.act.ind)
This is where lack of Latin study is getting me. "IPSE" is a determiner, akin to English "the", which seems to additionally be emphatic/selective in nature. "DIXIT" is the 3rd person singular form of "DICO" (to say) whose temporal tense (past, present, future) seems to depend on context. Maybe "This will say"? Latin nerds please help me out here.
(Thanks to Cloud Retainer's comment) This is a Latin phrase which represents an assertion without any proof, or in other words saying "that's just how it is" in order to defend a claim. It was coined by Cicero in his work De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of Gods) when describing the types of arguments used by disciples of Pythagoras.
3: RISUM TENEATIS – "Would you all hold laughter"
laughter (m.sg.ACC) hold (2.pl.prs.act.sjv)
"TENEO" (base form of "TENEATIS") seems to have several definitions, all revolving around the possession of something, whether literally or metaphorically. Thus, the exact meaning of this sentence might actually be different.
(Thanks to TinyBluePebble's comment) This Latin phrase (link in Italian) is likely taken from Horace's Ars Poetica), specifically from the first 5 lines. As translated (by Leon Golden) into English , the full sentence is:
If a painter were willing to join a horse's neck to a human head and spread on multicolored feathers, with different parts of the body brought in from anywhere and everywhere, so that what starts out above as a beautiful woman ends up horribly as a black fish, could you my friends, if you had been admitted to the spectacle, hold back your laughter?
4: ALEA IACTA EST – "The die is cast."
die (n, f.sg.NOM) thrown (f.sg.NOM) is (3.sg.prs.act.ind)
A famous quote by Julius Caesar, when he crossed the Rubicon River, marking the start of his civil war against Pompey. Similar to the phrase "crossing the Rubicon", this quote refers to a point of no return in a risky endeavour.
5: VERA HISTORIA – "True history"
true (f.sg.NOM) history (f.sg.NOM)
6: A CONTRARIO – "On the contrary"
from (prep) contrary (sg.ABL)
13
u/Cloud_Retainer_2424 8d ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipse_dixit