Expert: Maria - 4/4/2006

Question
So what about cluere/nominari/appellari? (I found them in various dicts, including a couple of German-Latin ones, as translations for heissen/heißen)
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Followup To
Question -
Just heard on BBC radio somebody translate 'My name is x' as Meum nomen est x. In the 7 modern West European languages I know about, this phrase is generally translated by a verb, reflexive in Romance languages, evolutions of the same verb in nearly all Romance tongues.
So is this the case in Latin?
Answer -
Hello,

Actually in classical Latin the phrase “My name is Charles (for example)� must be translated as follows:

“Mihi nomen est Carolus�
or :
« Mihi nomen est Carolo ».

In these Latin phrases MIHI  is a dative of Possession used with the verb 'sum' to show the possessor; NOMEN is a nominative; EST is the 3rd person singular, present indicative of SUM; CAROLUS is in the nominative agreed with NOMEN, while CAROLO is in the dative agreed with MIHI.

In short “My name is…� corresponds to “Mihi nomen est + the name in the nominative or in the dative case.�

As for “Meum nomen est…â€?, it's an expression which belongs to late Latin, i.e. Vulgar Latin that is the common speech of the Romans, which is distinguished from standard literary Latin and is the ancestor of the Romance languages, where, as you said, the phrase “'My name is …â€? is generally translated by a reflexive verb.  
For example in French we say  â€œJe m'appelle... », but also « Mon nom est… » and in Italian « Mi chiamo … “ or “Il mio nome è…â€?.

Best,
Maria
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Please note that a literal translation of “Mihi est nomen Carolus/Carolo� would be :�The name Charles belongs to me�, though we cannot say it in English.


Answer
Hello again,

As I've already said, the phrase ‘My name is...' must be translated as ‘Mihi nomen est…+ the name in the nominative agreed with NOMEN or in the dative agreed with MIHI.
This in classical Latin, of course, where we can use the passive of VOCARE only in some phrases like the followings ones:

-‘Ille vocatur Marius' (  literally, He is called Marius, i.e. his name is…..).

-‘Quomodo vocaris? ‘ ( lit.,How is you called ?, i.e. what ‘s  your  name?).

As for  ‘cluere/nominari/appellari ‘, please note that in classical Latin they have a specific meaning, as you can see below.

CLUERE means ‘to be called' in the sense of ‘to be considered', ‘to be reputed', ‘ to  be believed', ‘to have a reputation'.

NOMINARI (passive of NOMINARE) means ‘to be denominated, ‘to be appointed', to be nominated', ‘to be mentioned'.

APPELLARI (passive of APPELLARE) means ‘to be called  by name'.For example “Ille appellatus est “ ( He was called by name').

To conclude, it's only in late / vulgar  Latin and then in the Romance languages like for example in  French, in  Italian or in Spanish  that we use a reflexive verb, i.e ‘Je m'appelle', ‘Io mi chiamo', ‘Me llamo'.
With regard to German, I do not know this language and then I cannot tell you anything.

Best regards,
Maria