Family motto is the Latin: Che Sera Sera (Whatever will be, will be). Isn't that from a old song?
Yeah, a very well known one too, with hundreds, no thousands of versions and variations recorded by many many singers over time.. though as I remember that song most commonly features the spanish version 'que sera sera', rather than the italian version, 'che sara sara.
Though in the Marlow play 'the tragical history of Dr. Faustus' (shakespear era), the 'spanishnized' version Che Sera Sera was used and it became quite popular, mostly because of that play.
I cannot find it in my latin phrase book though.. I think it's not actually latin in origin as such.
So I don't think it was actually a common latin phrase back in the days of Rome.. It was polularized by this play by Marlow amongst other use, that play has many many latin quotes in it.. but most of them were not authentic latin (meaning from Roman times) quotes, but medieval quotes and sayings, translated into latin, which was spoken a lot in europe in those days in the higher echelons of society. The upper class could often speak latin quite well, and with their own language being the only other one they spoke, latin was the English of those days, a 'worldwide language', with which they could communicate in Europe, amonst each other.
Hence there have been many contemporary sayings that got translated into latin, not always perfectly, since it was often done by non native speakers... They would just take a 'local' saying, if they'd use it in a play (the TV of those days) and translate it to latin, so that the important parts would stay understandable, after being performed in other countries, in other languages aswell.. the key parts, would be latin, and thus the plot was kept intact.
Fred
