Veni Vedi Vici

[theit77]

She Came, She Saw, She Conquered..... my heart

[espire]

Um... You doin okay there?

[CFHollister]

True as that may be (for many of us, obviously), was it really worth a new thread?

[theit77]

sorry, just had to put it, and a great song by the way

[Aussie]

stupid question.. what does Veni Vedi Vici mean? and yes its a very good song hehe

[Killian]

"I came, I saw, I conquered". Famous phrase originally spoken by future dictator of the Roman Empire to the Senate having won an important battle (not sure which one).

[Deepwaters]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veni,_vidi,_vici

Veni, vidi, vici (IPA /weːniː wiːdiː wiːkiː/ or /veni vidi viʧi/) is a famous Latin phrase coined by Roman general and consul Julius Caesar in 47 BCE; Caesar used the phrase as the full text of his message to the Roman senate describing his recent victory over Pharnaces II of Pontus in the Battle of Zela. Caesar's terse remark -- translated as "I came, I saw, I conquered"-- simultaneously proclaimed the totality of his victory and served to remind the senate of Caesar's military prowess (Caesar was still in the midst of a civil war); alternatively, the remark can be viewed as an expression of Caesar's contempt for the patrician senate, traditionally representing the most powerful group in the Roman Republic.

[fsquared]

Originally Posted by Deepwaters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veni,_vidi,_vici

Veni, vidi, vici (IPA /weːniː wiːdiː wiːkiː/ or /veni vidi viʧi/) is a famous Latin phrase coined by Roman general and consul Julius Caesar in 47 BCE; Caesar used the phrase as the full text of his message to the Roman senate describing his recent victory over Pharnaces II of Pontus in the Battle of Zela. Caesar's terse remark -- translated as "I came, I saw, I conquered"-- simultaneously proclaimed the totality of his victory and served to remind the senate of Caesar's military prowess (Caesar was still in the midst of a civil war); alternatively, the remark can be viewed as an expression of Caesar's contempt for the patrician senate, traditionally representing the most powerful group in the Roman Republic.

Deepwaters, so is the second pronunciation possibly according to some later Latin standard? Or is it using something more like modern Italian phonetics, or...?

So, I had a thought, based on the last discussion we had of this. Maybe the song title "Veni vedi vici" is some sort of pseudo-grammatical pun. "Vedi" is 2nd person present indicative (in Corsican as well as Italian, I believe, though not in Latin), so it would be "I came, you see (me), I conquered". I mean, how did she become a big hit, anyway? Because the public/audience saw her, not the other way around. If it were in the past tense, the pun would be seamless, but maybe one had to make a choice between minimally altering the original and being grammatical.

Edit: "vedi" is also the 2nd person singular imperative in Corsican, i.e. "hey, you, look (at me)!".

[Deepwaters]

Originally Posted by fsquared

Deepwaters, so is the second pronunciation possibly according to some later Latin standard? Or is it using something more like modern Italian phonetics, or...?

The second pronunciation is in what is known as "Church Latin." V=W and all Cs being hard is classical Latin, but in the Middle Ages the Catholic Church began pronouncing V as we do in English and making many Cs soft, like S. Caesar spoke classical Latin, so for this particular quote the first pronunciation is the correct one.

The way Alizée pronounces it in the song, of course, is nowhere near right. (Sorry, Lili.)

So, I had a thought, based on the last discussion we had of this. Maybe "Veni vedi vici" is some sort of pseudo-grammatical pun. "Vedi" is 2nd person present indicative (in Corsican as well as Italian, I believe, though not in Latin), so it would be "I came, you see (me), I conquered". I mean, how did she become a big hit, anyway? Because the public/audience saw her, not the other way around. If it were in the past tense, the pun would be seamless, but maybe one had to make a choice between minimally altering the original and being grammatical.

That's interesting. I haven't looked closely at the lyrics to the whole song, but now you've got me going so I will. More later.

[fsquared]

There's apparently a lot of stuff to plunge into on this one too. Mylene, the lyrical gangsta that she is, seems fit to have inserted some incest pun and etc.
http://www.mf-international.com/viewtopic.php?t=817