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"Placetne, Magistra?" "Placet."

English translation: Do you approve/Do you like it, magistra? I do approve/I do like it.

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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Latin term or phrase:	Placetne, Magistra? Placet.
English translation:	Do you approve/Do you like it, magistra? I do approve/I do like it.
Entered by:	JaneTranslates

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04:58 Mar 2, 2007

Latin to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature

Latin term or phrase: "Placetne, Magistra?" "Placet."

Last two lines of an English detective novel ca. 1935. It's a marriage proposal and acceptance. The characters are both "highbrowed" Oxford scholars.

I never studied Latin, and haven't gotten any real help from Latin/English dictionaries. In addition to knowing the exact meaning, I would love to know how to pronounce the words!

My guess:

"Does it please you, Teacher/My Lady/Judge?"

"It pleases me."

JaneTranslates KudoZ activity Questions: 120 (none open) (3 closed without grading) Answers: 486 Puerto Rico
Local time: 07:34

Do you approve/Do you like it, magistra? I do approve/I do like it.

Explanation:
"Magistra" is the female version of the academic title "Magister", which is roughly a master's degree. Given the context, it makes sense that Lord Peter Wimsey uses this title.

PLEASE: DO NOT use inverted commas when asking questions. It means we have to retype the source term with our answers and for the glossary.

Selected response from:

BrigitteHilgner
Austria
Local time: 12:34

Grading comment

Thank you. I still don't know how to pronounce it, though.
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided
3 +4	Do you approve/Do you like it, magistra? I do approve/I do like it.	BrigitteHilgner

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

Placetne, magistra? Placet.

Do you approve/Do you like it, magistra? I do approve/I do like it.

BrigitteHilgner
Austria
Local time: 12:34
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 3

Grading comment

Thank you. I still don't know how to pronounce it, though.

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you. I had a bet with myself that someone would recognize the context! Sorry about the quotation marks; I didn't realize that would be a problem. Could you be so kind as to tell me how it's pronounced? Are the c and the g hard or soft? Thanks again. I'll be officially grading the answer when the 24 hours are up.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Valentini Mellas

5 hrs

-> Thank you, Valentini. Have a nice weekend!

agree

Rebecca Garber

10 hrs

-> Thank you, Rebecca. Have a nice weekend!

agree

Olga Cartlidge: Prounounced as "plaketne maghistra", with the stress falling on "et" and "is". G is like G in Gatwick. C as K (in the classical Roman tradition). The "e" at the end of plaketne is like E in "ten". Magistra / placet : " A" like in "Art" but shorter.

1 day17 hrs

-> Thank you, Olga. I see that you learned Latin the same way as I did - not as Church Latin. Have a nice Sunday.

agree

Stephen C. Farrand: Lord Peter and his Harriet would certainly have used traditional English pronunciation, which one hears only from lawyers today. Something like plasetknee, mahgistrah? plaset. Soft g.

1 day17 hrs

-> Thank you, Stephen. I fully agree with you - in General, the pronunciation typical for Church Latin seems to take over. Have a nice Sunday.

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"Placetne, Magistra?" "Placet."

English translation: Do you approve/Do you like it, magistra? I do approve/I do like it.

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"Placetne, Magistra?" "Placet."

English translation: Do you approve/Do you like it, magistra? I do approve/I do like it.

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KudoZ™ translation helpThe KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

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The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.