Jump to content
UNRV Ancient Roman Empire Forums
Sign in to follow this  
harmonicus

How does one pronounce Roman Latin?

Recommended Posts

I know this will seem extremely simple-minded, but is there a practical guide with simplified phonetic pronounciation of Ancient Roman Latin? Many textbooks I've consulted overlook certain vowel combinations, such as "ii": is this sounded as a long "i" ("ee") or a double vowel (as "ee-ee")? I know this sounds utterly ridiculous, but I'm genuinely confused, and I'd like to have some reliable guide without embarking on a project of learning to speak Latin (as worthwhile as it might be). Don't know if this is the correct forum for this.

Edited by harmonicus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I know this will seem extremely simple-minded, but is there a practical guide with simplified phonetic pronounciation of Ancient Roman Latin? Many textbooks I've consulted overlook certain vowel combinations, such as "ii": is this sounded as a long "i" ("ee") or a double vowel (as "ee-ee")? I know this sounds utterly ridiculous, but I'm genuinely confused, and I'd like to have some reliable guide without embarking on a project of learning to speak Latin (as worthwhile as it might be). Don't know if this is the correct forum for this.

 

Wheelock has an excellent guide to pronuncation with audio examples here:

 

Introduction to Latin Pronunciation

 

If you are looking for a quick guide, page four of the following PDF should be just what you are looking for. Ancient pronunciation is on the far left.

 

http://www.ai.uga.edu/mc/latinpro.pdf

 

Good luck!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That PDF from Michael Covington is excellent...the table on the last page is particularly informative. And Wheelock's is always a great stand-by. Thanks, PNS!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
That PDF from Michael Covington is excellent...the table on the last page is particularly informative. And Wheelock's is always a great stand-by. Thanks, PNS!

Thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for! Harmonicus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Usually a 'long vowel' in linguistic terms is one that is held for a beat and a half or two beats. It's not extraordinarily long, and does not get in the way of conversation. Both Italian and Spanish, for example, have long vowels, and it certainly is not a 'big deal' for those populations.

 

hehe, as a spanish native speaker I know that's not a trouble, but the examples are quite exagerated and the man elongates too much each word with long vowel :blink:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Usually a 'long vowel' in linguistic terms is one that is held for a beat and a half or two beats. It's not extraordinarily long, and does not get in the way of conversation. Both Italian and Spanish, for example, have long vowels, and it certainly is not a 'big deal' for those populations.

 

hehe, as a spanish native speaker I know that's not a trouble, but the examples are quite exagerated and the man elongates too much each word with long vowel :ph34r:

 

Es verdad, galiciano...es verdad. The examples in the site are quite exaggerated.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Usually a 'long vowel' in linguistic terms is one that is held for a beat and a half or two beats. It's not extraordinarily long, and does not get in the way of conversation. Both Italian and Spanish, for example, have long vowels, and it certainly is not a 'big deal' for those populations.

 

hehe, as a spanish native speaker I know that's not a trouble, but the examples are quite exagerated and the man elongates too much each word with long vowel :P

 

Es verdad, galiciano...es verdad. The examples in the site are quite exaggerated.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
And I was hoping that the "V" being pronounced like a "W" was all nonsense....

 

Now the language seems so hideous...

 

Salve RomanItaly,

 

Au contraire! These are the things that make it beautiful! Latin follows some simple rules of pronunciation, simpler than english. (Go here and go-to cut 8)

 

For Latin, everyone has a favorite, and you've already had lots of guidance on your question (I have my high school latin text books and one latin>english only and other random books) but the little "COLLINS GEM" LATIN dictionary is only $6.95 at B&N and has lots of valuable info. And you can slip it into your car's dash-board or your pocket to have it handy at all times.

 

Valete -

Edited by Faustus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I though Latin pronunciations were simple. The V is actually a W sound. The C is always the hard K sound. G sound is always hard. -us ending really depends on the case and declension. In fact, the -is ending depends whether it is ablative, dative, or sometimes nominative. Depending on the word, the I letter is pronounced more like a Y, e.g iam or iugum. Now if you have -ii ending, a Roman speaker would probably drop the second -i. There's a lot more to it other than what I just mentioned. But that is the easy part.

Hard part is when you read the actual works by Latin scholars. Damn the dactyl spondee and whatever else exists.

Edited by FLavius Valerius Constantinus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Map of the Roman Empire

×