Would “the belly of the beast” be “de venter bestiae” or “de ventris bestiae”? I would think the nominative, but it’s not a complete sentence, so it’s hard to say. Google Translate (I know, I know) accepts both.
This is being used as a title for a project, not in the context of a long passage.
Neither
Wow … so helpful …
Can any kind and generous person elaborate on bedwere’s startling nugget of genius?
What case does the de preposition govern?
Oh, I can just see you pinching your nose, sighing deeply, trying but not quite managing to keep the impatience out of your voice as you resort to the socratic method to teach something to this poor imbecile.
I am silent for a long moment, and you can see the confused thoughts streaming through my insufficient brain. Govern? What does he mean ‘govern’? The preposition doesn’t have a case, it changes the case of the noun, doesn’t it? Does he mean venter should be the ablative ventre? Should the de come second instead of first?
It’s been a long time since high school Latin. All I really remember is how to cuss out a vending machine. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for this little work assignment. But logos can’t be designed until the translation is confirmed.
So, though all too aware that any answer I attempt may result in abject humiliation, I nevertheless issue a mousey “A-ablative? Should it be ventre de bestiae?”
The proposition generally (but not always) precedes the substantive (and its attributes). Although not wrong, your translation might seem an attempt at poetry. I recommend simply altering the order and starting with the de preposition:
de ventre bestiae
Thank you very much; I appreciate your time.
Libenter