"As many of you have said, with incantations there is a relationship with meaning and result. Incantations are often Latin or Greek based but not always. They are the words or word we use in order to cast a specific spell." Althea began.

"The pronunciation of any one incantation is very important. And sometimes the pronunciation doesn't reflect the root of the word as well as we might expect, or follow particular grammar rules. However you'll often find the emphasis falls on the second syllable if there are two or three syllables in the incantation." The professor continued and paused to allow for the students to catch up.

"As some of you mentioned," And she nodded at Miss Stewart-Quinn, "The incantation is the way your thoughts channel the spell you are casting, whether you think about it or say it, the incantation channels your intent, because of the links between the meaning and the intended outcome."

"This is a very important point." Althea said, after young Eino had finished speaking. "Latin, and Ancient Greek, and other ancient languages used for forming incantations, are not growing and changing the same way as English or other modern tongues. This means that the associated meanings are stable and our understanding of these meanings remains consistent."

So write that down and all.

"2 points, Mr Uronen for bringing that up." She added, almost absently.

"We can talk about it further later if you like. Do feel free to stay after class, I can help you then."

"That's true, at least for learners. I could, for instance, point my wand at something and say turn green, and have it turn green if I also concentrated on the appropriate incantation. To all intents and purposes that would be non-verbal magic." Althea said.

The professor nodded at the question.

"Societies without links to Latin or Ancient Greek are more likely to develop spells that have incantations based on other languages. However, where the language is still in use, it is less common as the meanings can continue to change. Where a language is more nuanced and subtle, or where the meaning is conveyed as much with how words are said, and who says them- as rich as such languages may be- they are less effective for spell-making." Althea answered, giving a bit of detail.

"A stable semantic relationship between the incantation and the intended spell result is necessary for a spell to be memorable and effective. And too, where spells already exist, why seek alternatives just because the language which forms the root of an incantation is unfamiliar? They start out unfamiliar for most of us, which is the point of learning after all."

While she listened to the girl's whole answer, she only responded to the last part specifically. The rest had been addressed in her response to the students as a whole.

"You're thinking," Which she liked, "But incantations have a semantic relationship with the associated spell. It is the deciding factor not only in how they are chosen, but in allowing you to focus your magic, and of course remember the incantation and which spell it goes with."

Much better, Head Boy.

"In point of fact," Althea began, after listening to the students, her eyes focusing on Kurumi, "The risk of just saying a word that happens to be an incantation and causing a spell to happen is slight, and it does depend greatly on what intent you hold in your mind. For instance if there was a spell where you could start a fire by saying 'fire', and your mind happened to be full of anger or passion or other fiery thoughts, then you COULD possibly cause a bit of a fire as a result, if that intent is driven by your emotions, and that would be dangerous.

Likewise if you were talking about a spell and thinking about that spell while you said the incantation, there'd be a risk of accidentally casting it before you meant to - a big reason why I do NOT allow students to practice before instructions have been given, and why I prefer wands to stay down or holstered until directed- but that would mean you had the intent in your mind.

But there does have to be intent behind it. Whether it is directed and concentrated focus such as you learn to apply in class, or undirected, and emotion-driven intent such as children often show as their first indication of magic. If you have a magical association with an incantation, you might subconsciously latch onto that and have your intent be driven by those associations. Like the 'Pack' example, or even 'Point me', which are both incantations in English, but the intention and the knowledge of the semantic relationship would have to be present.

In short, it is possible, and it is one of the reasons some words would not do, but the other factors, intent and wand movement would come into play quite heavily. There would still need to be an imperative behind it."

Soo... don't wave your wand around while having a heated conversation with a friend. It was a bit like thinking about the Elephant in the room when you were trying to ignore it.

"We're going to learn a spell next and then we shall go outside and... apply it." Althea informed them.

"Are there any questions before we move ahead?"