History Main / MagicalForeignWords

* In ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura''. All the card names are in English, and the final word of the incantation to turn the key into the wand is "Release!". Not carried over into the English dub for obvious reasons.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'' frequently uses foreign languages when characters are [[CallingYourAttacks calling their attacks]]-- including those involving Devil Fruit powers and normal acts. Just among the main characters we see attack names in English, French, Spanish, and Italian.
* All magical spells in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' are done in Latin or Ancient Greek, with a few done in Sanskrit, all of which are surprisingly [[ShownTheirWork well done]]. The rule of thumb is that the older the language is, the more powerful it is.
* A lot of the spells/magic attacks in ''Manga/SugarSugarRune'' are in French.

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* Inverted in ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks''. The incantation to turn someone into a rabbit, "Filigree Apogee Pedigree Perigee", is a series of fancy sounding English words.

* {{Justified|Trope}} in Creator/PatriciaCWrede's ''Literature/MairelonTheMagician'' and sequels. It doesn't matter what language incantations are in, as long as it's not the native language of the spellcaster; if you try to cast a spell using your own native language, it becomes uncontrollable.
* Similarly justified in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''; since Wizards tend to form mental associations with their magic, foreign language incantations are used so that they don't accidentally link a spell to a word that might come up in casual conversation. Harry Dresden himself uses Latin (learned through a low-quality correspondence course) while other Wizards have used Japanese, Aztec, or even nonsense words made up for this purpose.
* Poul Anderson's ''Literature/OperationChaos'' states that "exotic tongues are necessary for the more powerful spells--which is why so many African and Asian students come here to learn American slang...."
** In the first section of the book, the protagonist cobbles together an emergency spell using Pig Latin.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' had spells in English sometimes, but often used this trope as well. ''What'' language they used could vary---often the demon's back story would tie it to some particular culture, and the spell would be in that language. Latin was also common for generic magic.
** And then you get [[spoiler: Willow - "Via, concursus, tempus, spatium, audi me ut imperio. Screw it! Mighty forces, I suck at Latin, OK? But that's not the issue. I'm the one in charge, and I'm telling you open that portal, now!"]]

* RealLife quasi-example: The incantation "hocus-pocus" is thought to be derived from the Latin "''Hoc est corpus meum'' (This is my body)," from the Roman Catholic Mass. It is thought that, at the moment the officiating priest utters the phrase, the bread and wine are supernaturally transmogrified into the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. Latin was / is, of course, a language that very few people outside of a few specialized professions know.

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* A standard trope in many {{Anime}} and {{Toku}} productions.
* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', all of Rin's incantations are in German-- though not necessarily good German.
* In ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura''. All the card names are in English, and the final word of the incantation to turn the key into the wand is "Release!". Not carried over into the English dub for obvious reasons.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'' frequently uses foreign languages when characters are [[CallingYourAttacks calling their attacks]]-- including those involving Devil Fruit powers and normal acts. Just among the main characters we see attack names in English, French, Spanish, and Italian.
* All magical spells in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' are done in Latin or Ancient Greek, with a few done in Sanskrit, all of which are surprisingly [[ShownTheirWork well done]]. The rule of thumb is that the older the language is, the more powerful it is.
* A lot of the spells/magic attacks in ''Manga/SugarSugarRune'' are in French.
* Most of the characters in ''Manga/KamichamaKarin'' use Latin for their attacks and suchwhat.... except for Karin, who instead springs for GratuitousEnglish.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'': Is a spell of Mid-Childa origins? Chances are good that it will be in English. Is a spell of Ancient Belka origins? Chances are good that it will be in German.
* The incantations in ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' are usually GratuitousEnglish but come from everything from Chinese to Portugeuse as well - you'd think it would have been from the lost language of the Moon Kingdom, but the foreign babbling just sounds more stylish.
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* "Wizard talk" in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' is CanisLatinicus (or at least the dog-version of the local Latin stand-in, "Latatian"). The AnimatedAdaptation of ''Discworld/SoulMusic'' comes up with a suitable CanisLatinicus invocation for the Rite of Ashk-Ente, which was never actually described in detail in the books.

* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' uses Old English.

** A couple of Victorian-era magicians in the sequel ''Spell or High Water'' use stereotypical "magical" words for their spells, including "Abracadabra".

* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'': Is a spell of Mid-Childa origins? Chances are good that it will be in English. Is a spell of Ancient Belka origins? Chances are good that it will be in German.

* "Wizard talk" in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' is CanisLatinicus. The AnimatedAdaptation of ''Discworld/SoulMusic'' comes up with a suitable CanisLatinicus invocation for the Rite of Ashk-Ente, which was never actually described in detail in the books.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' also uses CanisLatinicus for magic words.

When a language other than the character's main one is used to invoke magic or other AppliedPhlebotinum. Can be a case of GratuitousForeignLanguage, or may just be a case of a second or archaic language being appropriated for the task (exempli gratia [[UsefulNotes/LatinLanguage Latin]]).

Note also that fluency is not required-- in fact, language used this way often seems to have had a few go rounds in the Babel Fish. The key here is that the language itself is not a constructed language; it's a case of simply using the "otherness" of a foreign tongue for the target audience to invoke an air of mystery or [[RuleOfCool cool]].

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* An EnforcedTrope in ''{{GURPS}} Goblins''. Magical incantations can be in any language ''except'' English, and a few powerful spells are only known in Ancient Egyptian, which very few people speak.

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* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in Creator/PatriciaCWrede's ''Literature/MairelonTheMagician'' and sequels. It doesn't matter what language incantations are in, as long as it's not the native language of the spellcaster; if you try to cast a spell using your own native language, it becomes uncontrollable.

* Most of the characters in ''KamichamaKarin'' use Latin for their attacks and suchwhat.... except for Karin, who instead springs for GratuitousEnglish.
* ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'': Is a spell of Mid-Childa origins? Chances are good that it will be in English. Is a spell of Ancient Belka origins? Chances are good that it will be in German.

* Inverted in ''BedknobsAndBroomsticks''. The incantation to turn someone into a rabbit, "Filigree Apogee Pedigree Perigee", is a series of fancy sounding English words.

* Inverted in ''BedknobsAndBroomsticks''. The incantation to turn someone into a rabbit, "Filigree Apogee Pedigree Perigee", is a series of fancy sounding English words.

** Realistically, though, there's really little practical reason to use Esperanto other than to seem mysterious to the {{Muggles}}. The shell used by the 12th century wizards requires some very specific paraphernalia to work. This includes a conical hat, a robe with cuffs of a certain distance, and a staff or a wand of a specific length. Since all spoken phrases do is trigger pre-recorded macros, any new macro can be set to trigger on any word or phrase in any language. In the second novel, Martin sets a teleportation spell to trigger on the completely made-up word "[[Franchise/XMen Bamf]]". The key is to pick a word or phrase that a wizard isn't likely to say in a casual conversation.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', it serves as a buffer, protecting the mind of the caster from the direct connection that using your own language would be. It doesn't have to be ''actual'' Latin or whatever - most of Harry's spells are in pseudo-Latin but his ''actual'' Latin is terrible.
** The language used is pure preference, with other characters shown using pseudo-Egyptian, pseudo-Aztec, and pseudo-Japanese.
** It's the pseudo-ness that's important: the more you know of the language, the less protection it gives you. People are known to make up their own completely nonsensical languages for that express purpose.

* During the first volume of the ongoing ''{{Gravel}}'', Bill is talking to a magician named Sykes who notes that many of his peers considered him quaint for treating the archaic terms he uses to count sheep as magical. Given at the time they're talking, Sykes is the most senior member of one of Britain's foremost occult orders...

* The incantations in ''Manga/SailorMoon'' are usually GratuitousEnglish but come from everything from Chinese to Portugeuse as well - you'd think it would have been from the lost language of the Moon Kingdom, but the foreign babbling just sounds more stylish.

* In ''TheDresdenFiles'', it serves as a buffer, protecting the mind of the caster from the direct connection that using your own language would be. It doesn't have to be ''actual'' Latin or whatever - most of Harry's spells are in pseudo-Latin but his ''actual'' Latin is terrible.

* ''Franchise/KamenRider'' and ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' often see use of GratuitousEnglish; such that when ''SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'' chose to go with mainly Japanese for its attack names, it stood out. ''KamenRider'' usually has the devices do this, though ''KamenRiderDouble'' is notable for the FusionDance duo that make the headlining rider using GratuitousEnglish and German to "sync" themselves for the [[FinishingMove Maximum Drives]].
** ''[[SamuraiSentaiShinkenger Shinkenger]]'''s aversion became a straight example when it was adapted into English as ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'', as the magic system is still based in Japanese kanji.

* ''HarryPotter'' also uses CanisLatinicus for magic words.