  Context: Open clusters are very useful targets for examining possible trends
in galactocentric distance and age, especially when young and old open clusters
are compared. Aims: We carried out a detailed spectroscopic analysis to derive
the chemical composition of seven red giants in the young open cluster NGC
3114. Abundances of C, N, O, Li, Na, Mg, Al, Ca, Si, Ti, Ni, Cr, Y, Zr, La, Ce,
and Nd were obtained, as well as the carbon isotopic ratio. Methods: The
atmospheric parameters of the studied stars and their chemical abundances were
determined using high-resolution optical spectroscopy. We employed the
local-thermodynamic-equilibrium model atmospheres of Kurucz and the spectral
analysis code MOOG. The abundances of the light elements were derived using the
spectral synthesis technique. Results: We found that NGC 3114 has a mean
metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.01+/-0.03. The isochrone fit yielded a turn-off mass
of 4.2 Msun. The [N/C] ratio is in good agreement with the models predicted by
first dredge-up. We found that two stars, HD 87479 and HD 304864, have high
rotational velocities of 15.0 km/s and 11.0 km/s; HD 87526 is a halo star and
is not a member of NGC 3114. Conclusions: The carbon and nitrogen abundance in
NGC 3114 agree with the field and cluster giants. The oxygen abundance in NGC
3114 is lower compared to the field giants. The [O/Fe] ratio is similar to the
giants in young clusters. We detected sodium enrichment in the analyzed cluster
giants. As far as the other elements are concerned, their [X/Fe] ratios follow
the same trend seen in giants with the same metallicity.
