Expert: Maria - 9/12/2010

Question
Hello Maria,

I am attempting to create a painting for my son and would like to incorporate "my son, my strength" in it. Could you please translate this for me.

I was advised by a friend that it would be "Meus Filius Meus Vires" however I wanted to double check

Thank you in advance for your time and help!

Answer
Hello,

Here’s the correct translation of “My son, my strength":

-“Meus filius, fortitudo mea” or "Filius meus, fortitudo mea"

Note that  Latin word order  can be different from English, just because in Latin syntactical relationships are indicated by the endings, not by the order of the words.

Best regards,
Maria
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GRAMMATICAL ANALYSIS:

-My = MEUS (nominative masculine singular agreed with FILIUS)

-son = FILIUS (nominative masculine singular, 2nd.declension)

-my = MEA (nominative feminine  singular agreed with FORTITUDO)

-strength =FORTITUDO (nominative feminine  singular, 3rd.declension. This Latin noun refers to "inner strength", “fortitude”, not to “physical strength”/ “hostile strength“).


As for "Meus Filius Meus Vires", I’m sorry, but it is partly wrong, first because “vires” is a nominative feminine plural of the noun “vis” (3rd.declension) and thus the adjective MEUS must be MEAE just in  the nominative feminine plural agreed with the feminine plural noun VIRES ; second, because VIRES means  “physical strength”/ “hostile strength “as well as “military forces”/ “troops” rather than “inner strength’, “fortitude” which seems to be the sense of your phrase.