Bad Latin and wizarding spells

[nancylebov]

I was wondering why the spells are in bad Latin-- the boring explanations are that Rowling either didn't know Latin and/or manipulated the Latin to get results that sounded better for English speakers who don't know Latin.

However, are there any in-universe explanations? I tentatively suggest that muggle Latin was manipulated by wizards to eliminate magical effectiveness.

This sounds good on the first bounce (I've tried it on a few people), but it leaves important questions open. Is wizard Latin much older than muggle Latin? Do we have an unrecorded history of muggles and wizards in close enough contact for language to be transferred?

Comments

Re: Geraldo Artisano y Las Magicas Mysteriosas

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

If you can track down Benedek Láng's Unlocked Books, it has a lot of interesting discussion of what sort of magical "exceptive arts" real medieval students were studying back around the thirteenth century in Central Europe.

I personally kind of like the idea of a Japanese high school of magic, one where several of the instructors are officially registered as "national treasures," and the whole thing is supervised by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ("MEXT").

Re: Geraldo Artisano y Las Magicas Mysteriosas

[sodyera.livejournal.com]

Great idea! I'd immediately see them putting out their own brand of Manga that contain real spells. Some folks would get "special editions." You should run with it!