I'm just a little confused about this translation my book gave me. My book said "Litteris victoriam nuntiant" means they report the victory by means of a letter. Wouldn't this be they report the victory by means of letters? Am I incorrect or is the book? Thank you for clarifying this.

Yes, letters would be correct.

http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1239144359

Whoops I forgot I posted this before I apologize

The phrase "Litteris victoriam nuntiant" can indeed be translated as "they report the victory by means of a letter" or "they report the victory by means of letters." Both translations are acceptable and can be considered correct, depending on the context and intended meaning.

The word "Litteris" is the plural form of "littera," which can be translated as both "letter" and "letters" depending on the context. In Latin, the plural form is often used to indicate an unspecified or general quantity. Therefore, it can represent either a single letter or multiple letters.

So, if your book translated it as "they report the victory by means of a letter," it is providing a specific interpretation and assuming the use of a single letter. However, if you interpret it as "they report the victory by means of letters," you are considering a more general approach where multiple letters are used to convey the information.

Both translations are plausible and accurate, given the grammatical rules of Latin. It would be best to consider the context and the intended meaning to determine which translation is more appropriate to your situation.