漲知識！《哈利波特》中的咒語源於何方

It is no secret that the Harry Potter series is heavily influenced by the classics. JK Rowling studied Latin as a subsidiary subject at the University of Exeter, and often draws upon classical myth, rhetoric, and nomenclature in her writing. In pArticular, Rowling usually draws her magical words from classical Latin, and many of the translations shed light on the effects (both magical and literary) of these incantations. To celebrate Rowling’s imminent birthday, let’s investigate the Latin behind these spells, charms, and curses.

《哈利波特》系列深受古典文學的影響，這一點人盡皆知。J.K羅琳在愛賽特大學時輔修了拉丁文，而且經常在她的寫作中借鑑經典的神話、修辭和命名法。特別的是，羅琳經常從古典拉丁文中提取她的魔法詞彙，許多譯文都闡釋了這些咒語在魔法和文學層面的影響。

This summoning spell literally means ‘I summon’ or ‘I fetch’.

這個召喚咒字面上表示“我召喚”或“我拿來”。

Confundo

This spell, used to confuse an opponent, literally means ‘I stir up’, ‘I confuse’，or ‘I bring an end to by upsetting. The range of translations reflects the scope of the spell, which can be used either to effect mild or fatal confusion.

這個咒語用來混淆對手，字面意思爲“我煽動”，“我使…迷惑”或“我終結了……”。譯文的範圍反映了這個咒語的能力，它能產生的混淆能力可能溫和也可能致命。

Crucio

This translates as, ‘I torture’. This spell is used to cast the Cruciatus curse, a torturing spell that is one of the three unforgivable curses in Harry Potter.

這個被譯爲“我折磨”。這個咒語用來施放使人痛苦的詛咒，一個折磨人的咒語，被認爲《哈利波特》裏三大不可饒恕咒之一。

Wingardium Leviosa

漂浮咒

This is a basic levitation charm. The first word is a blend of the English ‘wing’ with a creative adaptation of the Latin comparative of arduus, meaning ‘steep.’ The second word also requires a stretch of linguistic imagination, being an adaptation of the Latin levo, meaning ‘I lift’. There has been some disagreement as to the pronunciation of the spell.

這是一個基本的漂浮咒。第一個詞混合了英語單詞“翅膀”和拉丁語詞彙arduus比較級的創造性改編形式，arduus意爲“陡峭的，急劇的”。第二個詞也需要一個引申義，“我舉起”。這個咒語的讀音有一些分歧。

Diffindo

A severing charm, which translates to the English ‘I split’.

切割咒，被譯作“我分裂了……”。

Expecto Patronum

呼神護衛

One of the most important spells in the series, it is used to summon a corporeal animal (called a patronus) as a sort of spirit-guardian against soul-sucking Dementors. Literally, it means ‘I wait for a patron’ or ‘I hope for a patron’. Patron is the closest single-word English translation of the Latin patronus, which more generally means ‘an influential person who has undertaken the protection of another’. This spell is particularly resonant with Harry, who, having lost his father when he was a baby, spends much of the series seeking a patronus.

《哈利波特》系列裏最重要的咒語之一，它用來召喚一隻有形動物（被稱爲守護神）作某種靈魂護衛，用來抵禦攝魂怪。字面上，它表示“我等待一個保護者”或者“我期待一個保護者”。保護者這個詞最接近拉丁文中的patronus，更常表示“一個有影響力的人擔負着保護另一個人的責任”。這個咒語尤其能引起哈利的共鳴，他在嬰兒時期失去了父親，在這本書裏花了很長時間來尋找庇護自己的人。

Expelliarmus

A disarming charm. The word is a combination of the Latin expellere, meaning ‘to drive or force out’, and arma, meaning weapon.

一個解除武裝的咒語。這個單詞由拉丁語中意爲“強制出局”的expellere和意爲“武器”的arma兩個詞組合而成。

Finite Incantatum

反制咒

The main counter-spell, used to negate other spells. Finite is the Latin imperative plural (used when giving a command to a group of people) of the word ‘to end,’ and incantatum is the passive participle of the Latin incanto, meaning ‘having been bewitched’.

主要的反制咒，用來使其他咒語失效。Finite是拉丁語中結束的複數詞，對一羣人下達命令時使用，incantatem是拉丁語incanto的被動式，意爲“被迷惑”。

Imperio

魂魄出竅

There is no Latin verb imperio, although the root imper-, can be seen in Latin words such as imperator (ruler), imperatum (command or instruction), and impero (`I demand’). This word casts the Imperius curse, another of the three unforgivable curses, which when used effectively allows the caster to control the target. “Total control…” explains Professor Moody to his Defence Against the Dark Arts demonstration, after he’s cast an imperius curse on a spider, “I could make it jump out the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats…”

儘管詞根imper-在拉丁語單詞中出現，比如imperator（統治者）、imperatum（命令或指示）和impero（我要求），但imperio這個拉丁詞並不存在。這個單詞施放攝魂取唸的咒語，是三大不可饒恕咒中的另外一個，當使用它時，施咒者能操控被施咒的人。穆迪教授在他的黑魔法抵禦術演示中對一隻蜘蛛使用這個咒語後，解釋爲“完全控制”，“我可以讓它跳出窗口，淹死自己，進入你們其中一個人的喉嚨……”

Lumos

熒光閃爍

A mock-Greek adaptation of the Latin lumen, meaning ‘light’. Used as a wand-lighting charm.

模仿希臘語，對拉丁語lumen進行了改編，意爲光，是魔杖點亮燈光的咒語。

Petrificus Totalus

統統石化

A full body-binding curse. This is another of Rowling’s blends. Although petrificus is not a Latin word, the Greek borrowing petra means rock. The suffix –ficus, which ascribes a sense of making or becoming to its headword, is very common in Latin. In Modern English, this sense of the affix –fic is still present in words like terrific, certificate, or mummification. Totalus is an alteration of Latin totalis ‘total’. Often used to comic effect.

一個完全的束身咒語，這是另一個羅琳的混合語。儘管petrificus不是拉丁詞，這個希臘借用語petra表示岩石。後綴-ficus把製造或變成意思歸因於它的詞頭，在拉丁語中非常常見。在現代英語中，詞綴-fic的意思還在terrific（極好的），certificate（證書）或mummification（木乃伊化）這些詞中存在。Totalus是拉丁詞totalis（完全）的變體，通常帶有喜劇效果。[/cn

Sectumsempra

Another blend. Sectum, the perfect passive participle of the verb seco, literally means ‘having been severed’. Sempra is an alteration of the Latin semper, which means ‘always’ or ‘continuously’. This curse, invented by Severus Snape in his youth, allows the wand to be used as a sort of long distance sword, following the movements of its holder to slash its target.

另一個混合語。Sectum，動詞seco的完成被動分詞，字面上表示“已經被切割”。Sempra是拉丁語semper的變體，意爲總是或連續地。這個咒語是西弗勒斯·斯內普年輕時創造的，可以使魔杖成爲一種長距離的劍，隨之而來的是它的掌控者劈開目標物體的動作。