Expert: Maria - 9/29/2004

Question
Hi Maria,

I was wondering if you could please translate a phrase into (ancient)latin for me.

The phrase is:  She flies with her own wings.

I've been informed that the masculine version of this is Alis Volat Propiis, although I'm not too confident with the source of this.

Thanks for your time,

Shan, Australia  

Answer
See note below for the phrase "patrem suum occidit" where is a typing error.
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Hello Shan,

In the translation “Alis volat propiis” for “She flies with her own wings” there is only one mistake, maybe a typing error, that is ‘propiis' which should have been ‘propriis' with the ‘r' before the ‘ii'.

Also, you can translate “She flies with her own wings” as follows:

-“Suis propriis volat alis”  [where ‘suis propriis' matches exactly  ‘her own'].
Or simply :
-« Suis volat alis”

As for the masculine/feminine, I must point out that :

1- in Latin personal pronouns ( English he/she; they; we; etc.) are not necessary at all,  as Latin is an inflected language so that inflectional changes in the body of a word, or at the beginning, but oftener in its termination, show its grammatical relations. Thus, in the verb ‘volat' (she flies)  the termination is equivalent to 'he' or 'she' and it is the context that can show if we refer to a male/female person.

2-'her own', 'his own', 'its own' are always 'SUIS PROPRIIS'or simply SUIS  in the ablative of mean which is used in this phrase (with her own wings), while in the accusative for example  'her own' is 'SUAM', ‘his/its  own' is SUUM”. (See note below).

Finally note that:
She flies= VOLAT
with her own = SUIS PROPRIIS(ablative of mean)
wings = ALIS (ablative of mean)

Hope all is clear enough. Feel free however to ask me again.

Greetings from Italy.
Maria
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NOTE.--SUUS is used only as a reflexive, referring to the subject. For a possessive pronoun of the third person not referring to the subject, the genitive of a demonstrative must be used.
Thus:
-“Patrem suum occidit” = 'he killed his (own) father'; but "Patrem eius occidit" is "he killed his (somebody else's) father".
-"Matrem suam amat' = 'she loves her own mother', but ‘Matrem eius vidit', 'she saw her(somebody else's) mother'.