Talk:Alis volat propriis

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[edit] Pronunciation

Hello, I was just curious to how to pronounce the latin phrase "Alis Volat Propiis", which translate to "She flies with her own wings" in English? I understand that it's the state motto of Oregon, but the sites I've visited so far only have origins, not pronounciations...:( So if anybody can tell me I'd be thankful...! Jackie 68.248.238.111 15:33, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Alis is a suffix that turns words into adjectives, but used by itself is probably a feminine connotation, Volat is a prefix that has to do with birds/flying/winged, and "propriis" means on one's own ability or without help. Alas, I cannot help with the entire pronunciation only to say that Volat is alot like 'voh-lot'. I will probably screw up miserably if I try to figure out the rest. Tip: try splitting it up. For example: searching for prop at this site gives a few clues. Zab 10:05, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
What's all this nonsense about suffixes and prefixes? All the words in that sentence are are inflected forms, so you won't find them in a dictionary. Alis is the ablative plural form of the noun ala, meaning "wing"; propriis is the corresponding form of the adjective proprius, meaning "[someone]'s own"; in this context, the phrase expresses means, i.e. "by (means of) [someone]'s wings" or "using [someone]'s wings", or simply "with [someone]'s wings". Volat is the indicative active present third-person singular form of the verb volare meaning "to fly", which could be translated as either "he flies", "she flies", or "it flies" if there's no expressed subject -- which there isn't in this context: there's no indication in the Latin that the one flying is feminine. As an editorial choice, I probably would have used suis instead of propriis, as the former is far more common and has a meaning as close to the English as anything else, but that's just me.
Now, regarding pronunciation: There are a couple different school of pronunciation in Latin, particularly Classical versus Ecclesiastical. Ecclesiastical pronunciation is what you'll hear in most Latin choral pieces and in traditional Catholic services; this pronunciation has evolved through more regular use than Classical pronunciation. People like myself who are more focused on pre-Christian Roman literature prefer the Classical pronunciation, which, we believe, is more similar to the pronunciation used by the actual Romans. Ecclesiastical pronunciation is largely characterized by pronunciation of v as an English "v" rather than an English "w" like in Classical pronunciation, pronunciation of ae as in "main" as opposed to "mine" as in Classical pronunciation, and certain conditions that call for c to be pronounced like English "ch" as opposed to "k".
Okay. I promise I'll get to the point now. It should be something like "AH-lease WHOA-lot PRO-pree-eese" in Classical pronunciation; just pronounce the v as in English to make it Ecclesiastical. That work? Tsunomaru (talk) 00:41, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Importance assessment

Top? A motto that next to no one knows in a foreign language next to no one knows, that is used for nothing and has at most some secondary symbolic value? I would put it at "Mid" at highest, and possibly "Low". Pardon my vehemence, please, but I have to question this. Does anybody have another opinion? Ipoellet 23:24, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

We put every "symbol of Oregon" in the Top importance. So state tree, flower, motto, etc. are all in there. It helps remove the subjective element to tagging for importance. Aboutmovies 00:34, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Referencing Help

It would be great if somebody could help cleanup my referencing there. I can't seem to get it right! I also have no time to fix it atm, perhaps tomorrow. King256 10:01, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Done. Aboutmovies 16:39, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reference

I removed the below reference because it doesn't talk about anything in the article. It does briefly mention the "Provisional Government" of 1844, but nothing about a vote for an provisional government independent of the US in 1843.

<ref name="OrTr1">{{cite web
| title = Jason Lee's Mission to Oregon
| work = Road To Oregon
| publisher = End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
| url =  http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/road2oregon/sa06JasonLee.html
| accessdate = 2007-08-07 }}</ref>

It's a good reference, so if the article talks about something in the reference (for example, early Oregon missionaries, the native Oregon tribes, or the beginnings of the Oregon education system), it would be great to use again. -kotra 18:48, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

I think that was a mistake. Here's the diff. Sprkee? I put back the original reference of that sentence, which seems to back up the statement. Katr67 19:11, 14 August 2007 (UTC)