How to say "information technology" in Latin? The Latin Wikipedia offers technologia informationis, but the genitive does not sound good to me. It is more natural to use an adjective, like technlologia informatica. However, I have not found the adjective informatica and I wonder whether it is a good choice. Is there any support for choosing this adjective (by analogy to some other derived adjective), or is there a more suitable one? Or should I stick to informationis?
asked Jun 17, 2016 at 9:48
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2 Answers
As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm not a huge fan of Vicipædia, and this is part of the reason why. Technologia informátiónis is fine as far as a literal translation of the words, but it feels very un-Latinate. I'd go for something like ars computátrális or the simple word computátrália.
answered Jun 17, 2016 at 13:04
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I decided to accept your answer, although it's not exactly what I ended up choosing (see my answer below). Your answer was useful, though, and the best choice depends on exact context which I admittedly didn't provide in my question.– Joonas Ilmavirta ♦Sep 7, 2016 at 17:34
I ended up having to write "information technology" in a formal context in Latin, and I chose technologia informatica. It may not be as natural in Latin as the suggestions Joel gives in his answer, but it has the crucial benefit that people with no knowledge of Latin can interpret it correctly. There is also a difference between "information technology" and "computational science" which might be too blurred with ars computatralis in some contexts.
answered Sep 7, 2016 at 17:33
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2Communicating what one actually means in a way that one's reader understands it is far more important than elegance or naturalness. Sep 18, 2016 at 17:18
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1@JoelDerfner Well said. That statement is based on the premise that Latin is used to communicate like any other language, not just to show off. I share the premise but not everyone will...– Joonas Ilmavirta ♦Sep 18, 2016 at 17:27
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1@JoonasIlmavirta I agree entirely. The timeframe when Latin was most relevant was also the one in which it was most fluid. Latin must be clear and practical. If you can choose to write in a practical and beautiful manner, choose that, but if it is a question between practicality/clarity and elegance, I'll choose practicality. Because after all, a language's main function is to be understood. I do not really care if the "Romans don't have a concept for X", I care if X can be expressed in any understandable way in Latin, since I am not a reenactor but someone who wants to actually use Latin. Mar 16, 2020 at 1:54