Novo Latino - A Modern Latin Language

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Welcome to Novo Latino

Novo Latino is a carefully designed modernization of Classical Latin, blending the timeless elegance of the ancient language with the practicality and accessibility of modern Romance languages. Created for scholars, translators, educators, and language enthusiasts, Novo Latino preserves Latin's rich heritage while making it approachable for contemporary learners and speakers.

Drawing inspiration from Spanish, Italian, and other Romance languages, Novo Latino features simplified grammar, regularized conjugations, and a logical system that honors Latin's classical roots while embracing modern linguistic innovations. Whether you're translating sacred texts, creating educational materials, or exploring constructed languages, Novo Latino offers the perfect bridge between classical tradition and modern communication.

Simplified Grammar

Three regular conjugations with unified past and future forms, making learning and usage intuitive for modern speakers.

Romance Integration

Familiar vocabulary and structures for speakers of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and other Romance languages.

Classical Heritage

Maintains the dignity and elegance of Classical Latin while removing archaic complexities.

Practical Application

Designed for real-world use in translation, education, and cross-cultural communication.

Novo Latino Translation Guide

I. PURPOSE

This guide establishes standardized rules and stylistic principles for translating texts into Novo Latino, a modernized form of Latin inspired by Classical Latin and Romance languages. It provides:

Grammar conventions based on the Novo Latino system
Registers for different use cases (sacred, literary, conversational)
Stylistic and phonological norms
Examples and vocabulary alignment

II. REGISTERS AND USE CONTEXTS

1. Sacred & Liturgical Register

Formal, solemn tone
Use of past narrative tenses (creava, esava)
Ordinal numbers (e.g., il primo dia, not uno dia)
Verb aspect to reflect biblical Hebrew (e.g., facta es, fecit)
Retain phrases like Fiat lux or optionally Faca se lux for divine emergence

2. Conversational & Educational Register

Simplified present and future tense
Use of SVO word order consistently
Focus on learner readability (fewer reflexives, shorter clauses)
Use cardinal numbers (uno, duo)
Present tense preferred unless emphasizing time

3. Literary Register

Blend of poetic and formal features
Limited, strategic use of participles
Greater freedom in reflexivity and inversion
Optional macron use for poetic rhythm

III. GRAMMAR AND MORPHOLOGY RULES

1. Verb System

Three regular conjugations: -are, -ere, -ire
Unified past: -ava, -eva, -iva
Unified future: -ara, -era, -ira
Subjunctive: -e, -es, -en (rare, optional)
Past participles: -ato, -uto, -ito
Verb "to be": esar (replaces ser/estar)

2. Pronouns and Articles

Articles:

Type	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular	il	la	lo (abstract)
Plural	li	las	—

Pronouns:

Subject: ego, tu, ille/la, nos, vos, illi/las
Object: me, te, le/lo/la, nos, vos, les
Possessive: mio, tuo, suo, nostre, vostre, loro

3. Nouns and Adjectives

Nouns: Romance-style endings, regularized plurals (-o/-a → -os/-as)
Adjectives agree in number/gender: bon can, bona casa, boni libros

Gender Neutrality: Novo Latino achieves gender neutrality through -e endings as well as inherited words like Patre (parent/father), Matre (parent/mother), Libre (free person), etc. These inherited forms maintain their classical -e endings and can be used in gender-neutral contexts, or via rephrasing with lo forms.

4. Numbers

Ordinals (for narrative/liturgical use): primo, secundo, tercio, quarto...
Cardinals (for general use): uno, duo, tres, quatro...

5. Macrons and Phonology

Macron use is optional and used to disambiguate homonyms, highlight long vowels in learner material, and for poetic rhythm (e.g., tērra, hōmo)
H is always pronounced (/h/)
J is always /j/ as in yes
Stress falls on the penultimate syllable unless marked

IV. EXAMPLE: GENESIS 1:1–3 (Three Styles)

A. Sacred Register

In il principio, Deus creava li celos et la tērra. Et la tērra esava sine forma et vacua... Et Deus dixit: "Faca se lux!"

B. Conversational Register

En il principio, Deo crea il cielo et la terra. La terra era vacua... Deo dice: "Que luz apare!"

C. Literary Register

In principio, Deo fecit il celos et la terra. Terra esava formless et obscura... Deo parla: "Fiat lux."

V. BEST PRACTICES FOR TRANSLATORS

Be consistent in article and pronoun use
Prefer full words over contractions (no enclitics)
Use Romance derivations where Classical Latin is obscure
Use participles for passive only if necessary
Translate idioms idiomatically (not word-for-word)
Reflexives should mirror Romance logic but not be overused
Adverbs may be formed using -mente (optional), or from classical stems (e.g., bene, male, nunc, tunc, semper, postea, hodie, cras, heri)
Gender neutrality can be achieved through -e or lo forms, including inherited words like Patre, Matre, Libre, or via rephrasing

Essential Dictionary - 1,000 Words

Usage Notes

H is always pronounced as aspirated /h/ (like English "home")
Macrons (¯) indicate long vowels for disambiguation: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū
Gender markers: (m.) = masculine, (f.) = feminine, (n.) = neuter
"Sii" (yes) is spelled with double-i to distinguish from "si" (if)
Articles: il/li (m.), la/las (f.), lo (neuter abstract)
Pronouns: Use illa (she), illas (they-f.) to distinguish from articles
Possessives: tuo (your-informal), vostro (your-formal) vs tu/vos (you)
Formality: tu/te/tuo (informal), vos/vos/vostro (formal/plural)
Ending System: -o (masculine), -a (feminine), -e (inherent/classical gender), -u (neuter)

English	Spanish	Classical Latin	Novo Latino
ARTICLES & PRONOUNS (30 words)
the (m. sing.)	el	ille	il
the (f. sing.)	la	illa	la
the (m. pl.)	los	illi	li
the (f. pl.)	las	illae	las
the (neuter)	lo	illud	lo
a, an (m.)	un	unus	un
a, an (f.)	una	una	una
some (m.)	unos	quidam	unos
some (f.)	unas	quaedam	unas
I	yo	ego	ego
you (sing.)	tú	tu	tu
he	él	ille	ille
she	ella	illa	illa
we	nosotros	nos	nos
you (pl./formal)	vosotros/usted	vos	vos
they (m.)	ellos	illi	illi
they (f.)	ellas	illae	illas
me	me	me	me
you (obj.)	te	te	te
him/her/it	lo/la/le	eum/eam/id	le/lo/la
us	nos	nos	nos
you (pl. obj.)	os/le	vos	vos
them	los/las/les	eos/eas/ea	les/los/las
my	mi	meus	mio
your (informal)	tu	tuus	tuo
his/her/its	su	suus	suo
our	nuestro	noster	nostro
your (formal)	su (de usted)	vester	vostro
their	su (de ellos)	suus	loro
PREPOSITIONS & CONJUNCTIONS (25 words)
of, from	de	de, ex	de
in, into	en	in	in
to, toward	a	ad	ad
through, by	por	per	per
with	con	cum	con
for	para	pro	pro
under	bajo	sub	sub
above	sobre	super	super
before	antes	ante	ante
after	después	post	post
against	contra	contra	contra
without	sin	sine	sine
between	entre	inter	inter
about	sobre	de	de
and	y	et	et
or	o	aut	aut
but	pero	sed	sed
because	porque	quia	quia
if	si	si	si
when	cuando	quando	quando
where	donde	ubi	ubi
what	qué	quid	que
who	quien	quis	qui
how	como	quomodo	como
why	por qué	cur	cur
ESSENTIAL VERBS (50 words)
to be	ser/estar	esse	esse
to have	tener/haber	habere	haber
to do, make	hacer	facere	facer
to go	ir	ire	ir
to come	venir	venire	venir
to see	ver	videre	vider
to know	saber	scire	saber
to want	querer	velle	voler
to say	decir	dicere	dicer
to give	dar	dare	dar
to take	tomar	sumere	tomar
to get	conseguir	adipisci	obtener
to put	poner	ponere	poner
to think	pensar	cogitare	pensar
to feel	sentir	sentire	sentir
to look	mirar	spectare	mirar
to find	encontrar	invenire	encontrar
to leave	salir	exire	salir
to work	trabajar	laborare	trabajar
to live	vivir	vivere	vivir
to die	morir	mori	morir
to love	amar	amare	amare
to like	gustar	placere	placer
to help	ayudar	adiuvare	adiuvar
to need	necesitar	egere	necessitar
to try	intentar	tentare	tentar
to use	usar	uti	usar
to walk	caminar	ambulare	caminar
to run	correr	currere	currer
to eat	comer	edere	comer
to drink	beber	bibere	beber
to sleep	dormir	dormire	dormir
to wake up	despertar	expergisci	despertar
to speak	hablar	loqui	hablar
to listen	escuchar	auscultare	auscultar
to read	leer	legere	leer
to write	escribir	scribere	scriber
to learn	aprender	discere	apprender
to teach	enseñar	docere	ensēñar
to study	estudiar	studere	studiar
to play	jugar	ludere	jogar
to sing	cantar	canere	cantar
to dance	bailar	saltare	bailar
to buy	comprar	emere	comprar
to sell	vender	vendere	vender
to open	abrir	aperire	aperir
to close	cerrar	claudere	clauder
to begin	comenzar	incipere	initiar
to end	terminar	finire	finir
to understand	entender	intelligere	comprende
to remember	recordar	recordari	recordar
PEOPLE & FAMILY (35 words)
person	persona	homo	persona
man	hombre	vir	homo
woman	mujer	mulier	mulier
child	niño/niña	puer/puella	nino/nina
baby	bebé	infans	infans
boy	chico	puer	puero
girl	chica	puella	puella
father	padre	pater	pater
mother	madre	mater	mater
son	hijo	filius	filio
daughter	hija	filia	filia
brother	hermano	frater	frater
sister	hermana	soror	soror
grandfather	abuelo	avus	avo
grandmother	abuela	avia	avia
uncle	tío	avunculus	avunculo
aunt	tía	amita	amita
cousin	primo/prima	consobrinus	primo
husband	esposo	maritus	marito
wife	esposa	uxor	uxor
friend (m.)	amigo	amicus	amico
friend (f.)	amiga	amica	amica
neighbor	vecino	vicinus	vicino
teacher	maestro	magister	magistro
student	estudiante	discipulus	discipulo
doctor	médico	medicus	medico
worker	trabajador	operarius	operario
name	nombre	nomen	nome
age	edad	aetas	etate
family	familia	familia	familia
people	gente	populus	gente
group	grupo	grex	grupo
team	equipo	cohors	equipo
guest	invitado	hospes	hospite
stranger	extraño	peregrinus	extraneo

Genesis Capitulo I - Sacred Register

⛪ Sacred Register: Formal, dignified language with past narrative tenses and ordinal numbers for liturgical use.

1. In il principio, Deo creava li celos et la terra.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

2. Et la terra esava sine forma et vacua, et li tenebras esavan super la facia de li abysso, et il spirito de Deo moveva se super las aquas.

And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters.

3. Et Deo dixit: "Faca se lux!" Et lux facta es.

And God said: "Let there be light!" And there was light.

4. Et Deo vidit que la lux esava bona, et Deo dividit la lux de la tenebra.

And God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.

5. Et Deo vocava la lux "Dia," et la tenebra vocava "Nocte." Et facta es vespera et facta es mañana: il primo dia.

And God called the light "Day," and the darkness he called "Night." And there was evening and there was morning: the first day.

6. Et Deo dixit: "Faca se un firmamento in medio de las aquas, et divida las aquas de las aquas."

And God said: "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."

7. Et Deo fecit il firmamento, et dividit las aquas qui esavan sub il firmamento de las aquas qui esavan supra il firmamento. Et sic facta es.

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so.

8. Et Deo vocava il firmamento "Celo." Et facta es vespera et facta es mañana: il secundo dia.

And God called the firmament "Heaven." And there was evening and there was morning: the second day.

9. Et Deo dixit: "Congrega se las aquas qui es sub il celo in uno loco, et apareca la terra sicca." Et sic facta es.

And God said: "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.

10. Et Deo vocava la terra sicca "Terra," et la congregacione de las aquas vocava "Mare." Et Deo vidit que esava bono.

And God called the dry land "Earth," and the gathering together of the waters he called "Seas." And God saw that it was good.

🔧 Updated Vocabulary

Deo (was Deus) - God
spirito (was spiritus) - spirit
homo - man/human
celos - heavens
con (modernized) - with

⛪ Sacred Register Maintained

Past narrative: creava, esava, fecit, vidit
Ordinals: primo, secundo, tercio dia
Divine speech: "Faca se lux!"
Biblical dignity: Formal tone preserved

🎯 Consistent Grammar

-o endings: Updated masculine forms
-a endings: aquas, stellas, bestias
-e endings: genere, mare, nome
Clear patterns: Systematic throughout

La Aventura del Cane Perdito - The Adventure of the Lost Dog

📝 Conversational Register: This story demonstrates Novo Latino's informal register with simplified grammar and everyday vocabulary.

Maria es una puella de deci anos. Illa vive in una casa pequeña con su familia. Hodie es un dia multo bello, et illa decide caminar in il parco con su cane favorito, Coco.

Maria is a ten-year-old girl. She lives in a small house with her family. Today is a very beautiful day, and she decides to walk in the park with her favorite dog, Coco.

"Vena, Coco!" illa dice. "Nos imos al parco ad jocar!" Il cane es multo felice et salta de alegria. Ille ha pelo marrón et oculo grande et nigro.

"Come, Coco!" she says. "We're going to the park to play!" The dog is very happy and jumps with joy. He has brown fur and big, black eyes.

En il parco, Maria joca con una pila. Illa lanza la pila et Coco curre para capturar la. Sed quando illa lanza la pila multo lejos, Coco curre et... desaparece!

In the park, Maria plays with a ball. She throws the ball and Coco runs to catch it. But when she throws the ball very far, Coco runs and... disappears!

"Coco! Ubi tu es?" Maria grita. Illa busca por todo il parco. Illa pregunta a otra gente: "Vos ha visto un cane pequeño et marrón?"

"Coco! Where are you?" Maria shouts. She searches throughout the park. She asks other people: "Have you seen a small, brown dog?"

Un señoro gentile responde: "Sii, ego vide un cane cerca del lago. Ille esava jocando con otro cane." Maria curre rapidamente al lago.

A kind gentleman responds: "Yes, I saw a dog near the lake. He was playing with other dogs." Maria runs quickly to the lake.

Al lago, Maria vide tres canes qui jocan in la aqua. Sed Coco no es inter illos. Illa es multo triste et preocupada. "Que voy a facer?" illa pensa.

At the lake, Maria sees three dogs playing in the water. But Coco is not among them. She is very sad and worried. "What am I going to do?" she thinks.

Súbitamente, illa aude un sonido familiar: "Woof! Woof!" Coco es bajo un arbore grande, jocando con un gato pequeño! Il gato es anaranjado et multo amigabile.

Suddenly, she hears a familiar sound: "Woof! Woof!" Coco is under a big tree, playing with a small cat! The cat is orange and very friendly.

"Coco!" Maria grita con alegria. "Tu me hace tanto miedo!" Illa abraza a su cane favorito. Coco lame sua mano et move su cola felizmente.

"Coco!" Maria shouts with joy. "You scared me so much!" She hugs her favorite dog. Coco licks her hands and wags his tail happily.

"Gratias, gato amigabile," Maria dice al gato anaranjado. "Tu cuidava mi cane!" Il gato face "Miau" et frota contra la pierna de Maria.

"Thank you, friendly cat," Maria says to the orange cat. "You took care of my dog!" The cat goes "Meow" and rubs against Maria's legs.

Maria, Coco, et loro novo amigo il gato caminan junto hacia casa. Es un dia perfecto ad facer novo amigo. Desde aquel dia, li tres amigos jocan junto cada dia in il parco.

Maria, Coco, and their new friend the cat walk together toward home. It's a perfect day for making new friends. From that day on, the three friends play together every day in the park.