this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
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[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 41 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I would like to sell my soul in exchange for dominion over the Earth!

"Sorry dude... not with that soul.

Best I can do is assistant manager at the Arby's down the street. I'll even throw in some heroin, you're gonna need it."

[–] bernieecclestoned@sh.itjust.works 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

A doll's house and a goat isn't far off, keep it up

[–] MudMan@kbin.social 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (13 children)

This is such a pet peeve of mine.

Why are anglo writers obsessed with using latin as some ancient, mystical language? Why would Latin be tied to magic in any way? Do they realize that Latin was spoken all through Europe for millenia and its vulgar form evolved into tons of current languages? Or that people were using latin in churches, courtrooms and universtities all the way up to the 20th century? Latin was an optional in my high school. I took two years.

If random Latin words could do magic all of Europe would have been constantly exploding. Newspapers would be covering the latest magic volcano to pop up in Southern France. World War II movies would include accidental summonings.

Also, for us romance language speakers it sounds vaguely understandable, so the weird things they use for spells sound goofy as hell. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than using fake Latin-sounding made up stuff as in Harry Potter.

[–] spauldo@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 year ago (15 children)

Latin was the lingua franca for the educated western world for centuries. Texts on alchemy, mysticism, and religion were all written in Latin. Church rituals were performed in Latin.

Most magic in fiction has its roots in the past. What language would be more fitting?

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[–] RickyRigatoni@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] MudMan@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Now that is an acceptable answer.

If you don't speak Latin, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese or French.

Because if you do it mostly sounds like either Sunday mass or an English tourist trying to order a drink by reading from a guidebook.

[–] RickyRigatoni@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nobody speaks any of those languages. They just pretend to when the germanics are around so we think the roman empire is still strong.

[–] MudMan@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

Okay, well, if you're just gonna tell everybody we have to cut you out of the mailing list now.

[–] skulblaka@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well that's just the thing though. People (allegedly) used to do loads of magic, now they dont. Makes sense the spells and rituals would be in the language of the time.

Also lots of the books and grimoires we still have access to are in Latin or translated from Latin. So there's a connection there too.

[–] MudMan@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Wait, are these last couple of comments supposed to be in-universe or in real life? Because it's confusing either way.

[–] Maeve@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Alastair Crowley? Gardener? Eta: The Catholic Church?

[–] MudMan@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Weren't both of those people English?

Do English people think the Catholic Church is magic? I know they sometimes wear dresses, but their hats are round, not pointy. Completely different thing.

And yeah, they say they are turning wafers into human flesh, but I've had the wafers and trust me, they don't taste like chicken at all.

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[–] JizzmasterD@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Fuck you.

Love,

Black Phillip

[–] MudMan@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I mean... we've just met, buy me a drink first?

Genuinely don't know where this is coming from.

Oh, hey, I Googled it. It's a goat thing. Still don't get it because I haven't seen the thing. But yeah, okay. Goat.

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[–] bouh@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

In many cases you don't need an obscure language to do magic. Latin is merely the language in which the sorcery books were written. And they were written because it was the language of the scholars, which magic practitioners pretended to be.

This is such a pet peeve of mine.

It's not a peeve, it's a goat.

[–] Quik@infosec.pub 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Actually, Europe wouldn’t have stopped exploding to this very day.

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[–] unreachable@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

harry potter in today's world: "electro petroleum!"

[–] MudMan@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Maybe the revival in a few centuries will try to do the same with English-sounding fake words because in the future they sound magical, too.

"Flyare alting!"

[–] grayman@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Well, at least abracadabra is Hebrew... In English it's "i create that which I speak".

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[–] guyrocket@kbin.social 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You get free goats when you study latin? Why didn't I know this?!?

[–] GewoehnlicherHamster@feddit.de 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

But my friend often said he dont has a goat on his latin lesson. (Unfortunately this Joke only makes Sense in German, but ill leave it here anyway)

[–] guyrocket@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Live large! Say it in German! We don't mind!

[–] GewoehnlicherHamster@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Ne, ich hab kein Bock!

(For anyone curious: This literally translates to "No, i dont have a goat" but is a usual phrase for "I dont want to")

[–] KraeuterRoy@feddit.de 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 year ago

People called 'Romanes' they go the house?

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[–] Hotchip69@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Don’t say Cardi B’s real name out loud unless you want to meet Black Phillip.

[–] Rbear@eviltoast.org 5 points 1 year ago

"oh, shit" 😐

[–] BlasserJunge@feddit.de 5 points 1 year ago

SATANAS DIABOLICA

[–] oillut@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

I prefer Pig Latin for all the pork

[–] blanketswithsmallpox@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So this is a you summoned a demon reference but instead it's just a plain old goat, right?

Not some linguistic thing where a lot of Latin has Baaaa~?

[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@startrek.website 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, but I'm failing to see the difference between a goat and a demon.

I can eat and milk a goat...

I'd be hesitant on doing either to a demon... unless we're talking certain anime here...

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