h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi all,

I am attempting to translate a couple of phrases into Latin, and would be tremendously appreciative of anyone who might be able to help! We are a paranormal research team and are hoping to use one of these translations as a motto on our company crest.

The first is: "Investigate the extraordinary"

The second is: "Research (or study), document, learn."

Lastly: "Explain the unknown"

Thanks so much!

Sincerely,

Eric

"Investigate the extraordinary"
Extraordinaria investiga

"Research (or study), document, learn."
Investiga (stude), perscribe, disce

"Explain the unknown"
Incognita explica

I have taken all your verbs to be imperatives (i.e. orders to investigate etc.), which raises the question, whom are you ordering?

In a motto such as this you could just as well replace them with infinitives so as to give a description of your mission. ("To investigate the extraordinary" etc.) like this,

Extraordinaria investigare
Investigare (studere), perscribere, discere
Incognita explicare

By the way, the paranormal does not exist, so all your work is in vain.

Hi Banjo Golly,

Thanks so much for your help! I really do appreciate it.

Regarding the paranormal, you may be right...and that is what we hope to find out. Thankfully, we don't try to "prove" the existence of paranormal things so much as we approach them skeptically and try to document what we can't explain. Who know, though, maybe we'll all be surprised?

Hope you have a very happy New Year!

All the best,

Eric