Ubique - Pronounced "u-beek" or "u-bik-way"?

[Mike Bobbitt]

Someone asked me to clarify the correct pronunciation of Ubique recently. Turns out after some searching, I don't have an answer! Seems to be a 50/50 split for the folks I've asked to date.

Anyone have an "authoritative" answer on this one?


Thanks
Mike

 

[Michael Dorosh]

tut tut, Mike, is it YOU-BEEK-WAY or OO-BEEK-WAY or YOU-BEEK  or OO-BEEK

I've always heard it as OO-BEEK.

But only from a sapper, not a gunner.

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Pardon my ambiguity. I've heard it as OO-BEEK-WAY and  YOU-BEEK. Never really thought about the discrepancy until I was asked...

 

[muskrat89]

Don't feel bad - Rudyard Kipling wasn't sure either....   I know the 2 Mikes have seen this, but for the unwashed masses:

The Ubique

by Rudyard Kipling

There is a word you often see, pronounce it as you may -
'You bike,' 'you bikwe,' 'ubbikwe' - alludin' to R.A.
It serves 'Orse, Field, an' Garrison as motto for a crest,
An' when you've found out all it means I'll tell you 'alf the rest.

Ubique means the long-range Krupp be'ind the low-range 'ill -
Ubique means you'll pick it up an', while you do stand, still.
Ubique means you've caught the flash an' timed it by the sound.
Ubique means five gunners' 'ash before you've loosed a round.


Ubique means Blue Fuse1, an' make the 'ole to sink the trail. 1extreme range
Ubique means stand up an' take the Mauser's 'alf-mile 'ail.
Ubique means the crazy team not God nor man can 'old.
Ubique means that 'orse's scream which turns your innards cold.


Ubique means 'Bank, 'Olborn, Bank - a penny all the way -
The soothin' jingle-bump-an'-clank from day to peaceful day.
Ubique means 'They've caught De Wet, an' now we sha'n't be long.'
Ubique means 'I much regret, the beggar's going strong!'


Ubique means the tearin' drift where, breech-blocks jammed with mud,
The khaki muzzles duck an' lift across the khaki flood.
Ubique means the dancing plain that changes rocks to Boers.
Ubique means the mirage again an' shellin' all outdoors.


Ubique means 'Entrain at once for Grootdefeatfontein'!
Ubique means 'Off-load your guns' - at midnight in the rain!
Ubique means 'More mounted men. Return all guns to store.'
Ubique means the R.A.M.R. Infantillery Corps!

Ubique means the warnin' grunt the perished linesman knows,
When o'er 'is strung an' sufferin' front the shrapnel sprays 'is foes,
An' as their firin' dies away the 'usky whisper runs
From lips that 'aven't drunk all day: 'The Guns! Thank Gawd, the Guns!'


Extreme, depressed, point-blank or short, end-first or any'ow,
From Colesberg Kop to Quagga's Poort - from Ninety-Nine till now -
By what I've 'eard the others tell an' I in spots 'ave seen
There's nothin' this side 'Eavan or 'Ell Ubique doesn't mean

 

[hiv]

Someone asked me to clarify the correct pronunciation of Ubique recently. Turns out after some searching, I don't have an answer! Seems to be a 50/50 split for the folks I've asked to date.

Anyone have an "authoritative" answer on this one?


Thanks
Mike

Well, since it's Latin, the traditional Latin pronunciation would be YOU-BEEK. I don't know if it's morphed into something else through military custom, however.

 

[Armymedic]

While I once served with a RCA capbadge for a short time, and served in a CER for only slightly longer, I have no real input to how to pronouce Ubique...

But in asking a Sapper Sgt if there was some sort of traditional difference to the Engineers and Artillery having the same "motto", he did, at the end of his well educated answer state,

"...But the major difference is that to Engineers, Ubique means "Everywhere". To the Artillery, it means "All over the F***ing place".  ;D

 

[Blindspot]

Ecclesiastical Latin:

U = oo (duty)
b = b (band)
i = ee (glee)
qu = kw (quail) U preceded by Q or NG and followed by another vowel as in words like qui and sanguis, keeps its normal sound and is uttered as one syllable with the vowel which follows
e = ay (clay)

Thus Ubique = oo-BEE-kway (latin stress is applied to the second to last vowel if it is long on three or more syllables)

I use Ecclesiastical because, as I recall, the Queen's Own pronounce 'Pace' as Pah-Chay. Ecclesiastical Latin 'c' is pronounced as soft "ch" (church) where Classical Latin 'c' is a hard "k" (cat).

English pronunciation of Ubique is also yoo-BIH-kway. 'i' being short.

BTW, when you hear someone mention "Julius Caesar", ancient romans would have pronounced the name, YOO-lee-us KAI-sahr. Hence the etymology of the word "kaiser". Isn't linguistics facinating?  

 

[RCA]

Ubique = U-Beek to ALL Gunners

I don't know the origin of the pronunciation, but it has as long as I've been around as long as it has been our motto.

 

[trajectomologist]

Now I have a question... Ubique is the Battle Honour - because the Artillery is/was... Everywhere
and Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt - is the Motto ... whither right and glory lead

The question is, am I wrong with this?

 

[1feral1]

I have heard it both ways.

Wes

 

[McG]

I've typically heard it as "you-beek"

On a semi-related note, the Q's in Winnipeg had a street called Ubique Way.  ;D

 

[rw4th]

From what I remember of the latin classes I took in high-school.

Both pronunciations are acceptable, however â Å“YOU-BEEK-WAYâ ? would be a proper pronunciation, while â Å“YOU-BEEKâ ? would be a gutteral/slang pronunciation.

Sort of like â Å“rosaeâ ? can be pronounced either â Å“ROZ-AYEâ ? or â Å“ROZ-AW-EHâ ? with â Å“ROZ-AW-EHâ ? being proper and â Å“ROZ-AYEâ ? being slang.

 

[BernDawg]

I do believe that the engineers manual shows it phonetically as you-bee-quay.

 

[Big Foot]

RCA, regarding the pronunciation, when i spoke with LGen Dallaire, he pronounced it u-beek-way and he is an ex-gunner. Every gunner I've spoken with pronounces it this way. However, most of the gunners I've spoken with are French, so I don't know if they pronounce it differently.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Well, 23 years as a sapper, I pronounce it " oo-BEE-kway", just like I was taught by the Brit Engineer QMSI who was the course officer for my TQ3. 

CHIMO,  Kat