Pronouncing (Classical) Latin

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Pronouncing (Classical) Latin
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The Alphabet

• It is the same as English except
• There is j or w
• Division of vowels and consonants is the same
  except
• When i
• occurs between vowels (e.g. peior)
• or is before a vowels at the beginnning of a word
  (e.g. iacio)

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Vowels
LONG SHORT
a as in father a as in idea
e as in obey e as in bet
i as in machine i as in sit
o as in note o as in omit
u as in rule u as in put

• Each vowel has two sounds
• Long
• Short
• Indicated by a line, called a macron, if is long

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Vowels continued

• Six diphthongsa combination of two vowels to
  make one sound

ae like aye eu like ay-oo, said in one syllable
au like ow in now oe like oy in joy
ei as in neighbor ui like uee in queen
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Syllabification

• Each Latin word has as many syllables as vowels
  or diphthongs
• A consonant between two vowels goes with the
  following one
• n.b. consonantal i is not a vowel
• not u when it has the w sound after g, q, and
  sometimes s
• Examples
• numerus
• nu me rus
• lingua
• lin gua
• aedificium
• ae di fi ci um
• The last syllable is the ultima, next to last is
  the penult, the one before that is the antepenult

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Syllable Names
Antepenult

• do min us

Ultima
Penult
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Accent

• Words of two syllables are accented on the first
  syllable
• lin gua
• Ro ma
• tan go
• Words with three or more syllables
• accent the Penult if its long
• a mi cus 
• mo ne tur
• otherwise accent the Antepenult
• nu me rus
• do min us
• ae di fi ci um

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A Text Marked for ease of reading.

• Hostes Minucium, ducem Romanum, et milites ejus
  in loco alieno magna vi preµiebant. Ubi id
  nuntiatum est, omnes Romani timentes vim hostium
  cupiverunt Cincinnatum dictatorem facere, quod is
  solus Romam a periculo non levi prohibere et
  civitatem servare poterat. Ille trans Tiberim eo
  tempore agrum parvumc colebat. Nuntii a senatu
  missi eum in agro laborantem invenerunt et
  constiterunt. Salute data acceptaque,
  Cincinnatus uxorem parare togam iussise dicitur
  nam non oportebat sine toga nuntios audire.

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Listen to an example.

• arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris
• Italiam fato profugus Laviniaque venit
• litora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto
• vi superum, saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram,
• multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem
• inferretque deos Latio genus unde
• Albanique patres atque altae moenia Romae.
• Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso
• quidve dolens regina deum tot volvere
• insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores
• impulerit. tantaene animis caelestibus irae?

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Now you try.

• Hi nuntii eum dictatorem appellant et dicunt
  Milites nostri ab hostibus premuntur et cives
  terrentur. Periculum nostrum non leve est.
  Hostes non consistent sed mox ad portas nostras
  ipsas venient. Auxilium tuum rogamus.
• Itaque Cincinnatus, vocibus eorum adductus,
  contra hostes contendit. Romani, telis iactis,
  hostes opprimunt et castra expugnant. Minucio
  servato, Cincinnatus dicitur hostes sub iugum
  misisse. Tum, nullis hostibus prohibentibus,
  milites ad urbem reduxit et triumphavit. Vis
  hostium fracta erat.