Tattoo "two lives"

[ADJ]

Hey everyone!
Hope you're all doing well!
I need help with a translation for a tattoo idea please.
So for the tattoo itself I just want to use the words "two lives" but the full quote is "Every person lives two lives: one for themselves, and one for others".

I'm not sure if it would be possible to help with this too but I'd also prefer to know the correct pronunciation of the words in whichever language I do end up getting it tattooed in (I'm looking at multiple different languages before I make a final decision), so if it would be possible at all I'd really appreciate it if anyone here can also help with the correct Latin pronunciation by maybe spelling it out phonetically as well, or even just pointing me in the right direction for getting the correct pronunciation.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Adrian]

Two lives = duae vitae

Every person lives two lives: one for themselves, and one for others
Cuique duae sunt vitae; quarum prima sibi altera aliis (est) dedicata.

 

[Pacifica]

Forms of quisque don't usually come first in a clause.

Keeping the wording somewhat closer to the original, I would suggest: duas quisque vitas vivit: alteram sibi, alteram aliis.

As for pronunciation, maybe @Godmy will have time for a recording.

 

[ADJ]

Two lives = duae vitae

Every person lives two lives: one for themselves, and one for others
Cuique duae sunt vitae; quarum prima sibi altera aliis (est) dedicata.

Brilliant! Thank you so much!

 

[Pacifica]

I just want to use the words "two lives"

Sorry, I somehow missed this part of your post; I thought you wanted the full quote.

If you're implying "(every person lives) two lives", you should say duas vitas, but duae vitae is good enough for implying more vaguely that "(there are) two lives" for each person to live or so.

 

[ADJ]

Forms of quisque don't usually come first in a clause.

Keeping the wording somewhat closer to the original, I would suggest: duas quisque vitas vivit: alteram sibi, alteram aliis.

As for pronunciation, maybe @Godmy will have time for a recording.

Brilliant! Thank you so much!

I just quickly want to clarify something here to make sure I've got everything right - Your translation and Adrian's translation differ, which in my ignorance I'm assuming is just because you used something like a different dialect, simplified version, different sentence structure, or something like that. And so Adrian's translation for just the words "two lives" is "duae vitae" and both of those words can be seen using the same spelling in their translation of the full quote as well. I'm (once again) assuming that when comparing that in the different translations from you both you used "duas" in the place of "duae", and "vitas" in the place of "vitae". Now I just want to make sure if you also have a different translation for just the words "two lives" on their own that is not "duae vitae"? Or is the different translations of those two words simply due to their context and place in the full quote and its structure?
I hope I phrased my questions and explanations in a way that makes sense.

 

[ADJ]

Sorry, I somehow missed this part of your post; I thought you wanted the full quote.

If you're implying "(every person lives) two lives", you should say duas vitas, but duae vitae is good enough for implying more vaguely that "(there are) two lives" for each person to live or so.

Oh, I'm so sorry, just ignore my previous comment now! I only just saw you posted this comment right after I posted my previous reply and the page refreshed. Hahaha!

Thanks so much for clarifying and explaining though! I really appreciate the help

 

[Pacifica]

Brilliant! Thank you so much!

I just quickly want to clarify something here to make sure I've got everything right - Your translation and Adrian's translation differ, which in my ignorance I'm assuming is just because you used something like a different dialect, simplified version, different sentence structure, or something like that. And so Adrian's translation for just the words "two lives" is "duae vitae" and both of those words can be seen using the same spelling in their translation of the full quote as well. I'm (once again) assuming that when comparing that in the different translations from you both you used "duas" in the place of "duae", and "vitas" in the place of "vitae". Now I just want to make sure if you also have a different translation for just the words "two lives" on their own that is not "duae vitae"? Or is the different translations of those two words simply due to their context and place in the full quote and its structure?
I hope I phrased my questions and explanations in a way that makes sense.

Adrian's translation means literally "there are two lives for each person (i.e. each person has two lives), of which the first is dedicated to themselves, the other to others". It would have been more correct to start this with the word order duae cuique...

My translation is literally "Each person lives two lives: one for themselves, one for others".

Duae vitae vs. duas vitas depends on the grammatical function that those words have in the sentence, or implied sentence if you use them on their own. Duae vitae is if the two lives are the subject of a verb (stated or implied) as in "there are two lives"; duas vitas is if the two lives are the object of a verb (stated or implied) as in "one lives two lives".

 

[Pacifica]

Oh, I'm so sorry, just ignore my previous comment now!

Too late. Maybe you'll like the extra explanations.

 

[ADJ]

Too late. Maybe you'll like the extra explanations.

Hahaha! I do, yes! And thanks again - I really do appreciate all the help and for taking the time to explain it all

 

[Godmy]

Oh, I haven't done this in a while (13 months ago*?), here's the pronunciation, the recording says exactly:

duae vītae​

duās quīsque vītās vīvit: alteram sibi, alteram aliīs OR alter-aliīs​

​

(there is a variant for the coda, since a Roman would likely elide the "-am" in alteram in pronunciation)


*that was the "Ave Satana" recording in the "controversial" thread, LOL

 

[Pacifica]

Thanks!

 

[ADJ]

Oh, I haven't done this in a while (13 months ago*?), here's the pronunciation, the recording says exactly:

duae vītae​

duās quīsque vītās vīvit: alteram sibi, alteram aliīs OR alter-aliīs​

​

(there is a variant for the coda, since a Roman would likely elide the "-am" in alteram in pronunciation)


*that was the "Ave Satana" recording in the "controversial" thread, LOL

Oh wow, this is brilliant! Thank you so much for being willing and for taking the time to do this. It truly is a great help as I was completely butchering the pronunciation in my mind.