The Latin Language/Pronunciation

If you wish to delve deeply into the subject of Latin pronunciation, see Wikipedia.

How to pronounce Latin: two major pronunciations

There are currently two main ways to pronounce Latin. These are:

Classical Latin, spoken roughly between 25 BC and 200 AD,
Ecclesiastical Roman Latin, as used by the Church of Rome.

Classical Latin is the reconstructed pronunciation of the upper class of ancient Rome. Ecclesiastical pronunciation is the received pronunciation in use in the Catholic Church of Rome. There are other pronunciations that are less common now. The Roman use was urged as a standard in the Catholic Church in the 20th century, whereas classical was adopted by many schools in the same period.

Warning: In the following tables, the "Sounds like" column presents an English word that contains the sound we are trying to demonstrate. However, due to the immense number of regional variations of English, it is not likely that the sound you make when pronouncing the word will match the sound anyone else makes. Also, we don't expect you to be familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet, so we will not use that notation. Instead, we will provide one or more audio samples demonstrating the sound.

Vowels

There are two types of vowels in Latin: long and short. Forget everything you know about English long and short vowels. Long and short for Latin vowels simply means the length of time that the vowel is held for. A long Latin vowel is indicated by a macron, which is a line over the vowel, as in these: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ȳ. Some books (and Vicipaedia) use an accent mark, as in á, é, í, ó, ú, ý. These marks were typically not written in Latin, but they are in this book as an aid to pronunciation. When you read actual Latin, you will find that they are only written when there would be confusion between words if the mark were not there.

In most English and American books you will find a table that looks different from this one.

Vowel	Latin example	Classical^[1]		Ecclesiastical^[2]
Vowel	Latin example	Sounds like	Listen	Sounds like	Listen
a	ballista	father	listen	father	listen
ā	fābula	father	listen	father	listen
e	September	met	listen	met	listen
ē	mēnsis	met	listen	met	listen
i	dictātor	machine	listen	machine	listen
ī	dīvīsor	machine	listen	machine	listen
o	bonus	dog	listen	dog	listen
ō	sōl	dog	listen	dog	listen
u	lupus	rude	listen	rude	listen
ū	lūna	rude	listen	rude	listen
y	mysticus	über^[3]	listen	meet	listen
ȳ	Dionȳsus	über^[3]	listen	meet	listen
All the vowels		listen		listen

Practice

Choose your preferred pronunciation method: Classical or Ecclesiastical. Then attempt to pronounce the following words before listening to them. Don't worry about the correct pronunciation of the consonants or syllable stresses at this point; just pay attention to the vowels.

Word	Classical	Ecclesiastical
secundus	listen	listen
proximitās	listen	listen
perpendiculum	listen	listen
dīvīnitās	listen	listen
Hēraclītus	listen	listen
mīrāculum	listen	listen
amygdalum	listen	listen
ūmidus	listen	listen
pila	listen	listen
pīla	listen	listen
papȳrus	listen	listen
potēns	listen	listen
pōtus	listen	listen
locus	listen	listen
lōcustā	listen	listen

Diphthongs

Two vowels together usually are pronounced as distinct vowels. Thus, the word radiī is pronounced ra•di•ī. However, some combinations have a pronunciation in which the first vowel glides into the second vowel: they are diphthongs.

Diphthong	Latin example	Classical^[4]		Ecclesiastical^[5]
Diphthong	Latin example	Sounds like	Listen	Sounds like	Listen
ae	paenīnsula	by	listen	Pronounce as ē	listen
au	automaton	how	listen	how	listen
eu^[6]	Eurōpa	Pronounce as eū	listen	Pronounce as eū	listen
oe	oeconōmia	foil	listen	Pronounce as ē	listen
ua, ue, ui, uo after q or ng	aequilībrium	kw + vowel	listen	kw + vowel	listen

There are a few exceptions, such as the word āēr, which you might see as aër in Vicipaedia or āër in other books. The marks indicate that the vowels are pronounced separately as ā•ēr, not as the diphthong ae. When we encounter other such words, we'll point them out, otherwise these tables would get very complicated very quickly.

Practice

Once again, attempt to pronounce the following words before listening to them. Don't worry about the correct pronunciation of the consonants or syllable stresses at this point; just pay attention to the vowels.

Word	Classical	Ecclesiastical
Februārius	listen	listen
cooperātor	listen	listen
aestuārium	listen	listen
praedictum	listen	listen
āëroplānum	listen	listen
nautilus	listen	listen
neuter	listen	listen
Euboea	listen	listen
strēnuitās	listen	listen
quiētūdo	listen	listen
rēliquiae	listen	listen

Consonants

Try to pronounce these words before listening to them.

Consonant	Latin example	Classical^[7]		Ecclesiastical^[8]
Consonant	Latin example	Sounds like	Listen	Sounds like	Listen
b	barbaria	bob	listen	bob	listen
c followed by e, i, ae, oe, y	caelestis	cat	listen	chat	listen
c otherwise	cattus	cat	listen	cat	listen
d	dīrēctus	dad	listen	dad	listen
f	fānāticus	fun	listen	fun	listen
g followed by e, i, ae, oe, y	genus	gag	listen	gerbil	listen
g otherwise	gubernātor	gag	listen	gag	listen
h	herba	honey	listen	honor^[9]	listen
i at beginning of word, j^[10]	Jēsūs	yes	listen	yes	listen
k	Kalendae	keep	listen	keep	listen
l	littera	loll	listen	loll	listen
m	maximus	mom	listen	mom	listen
n	numerus	nun	listen	nun	listen
p	populus	pop	listen	pop	listen
q	quantum	quiet	listen	quiet	listen
r^[11]	religiō	roar	listen	roar	listen
s	miser	sassy	listen	sassy	listen
t followed by i and another vowel and preceded by any letter other than s, t, x	differentia	tatter	listen	tsetse	listen
t otherwise	toga	tatter	listen	tatter	listen
v^[12]	vīvārium	wow	listen	vine	listen
x in words beginning with ex followed by a vowel, h, or s	exhālō	axe	listen	eggs	listen
x otherwise	extrā	axe	listen	axe	listen
z	zōdiacus	adze	listen	adze	listen

Consonant combinations

Just as with vowels, most consonant combinations are pronounced no differently than the consonants in isolation. When there are two of the same consonant put together, such as mm or tt, it is almost as if you need to pronounce both consonants without a break, the result being that the sound is held longer than usual. However, there are several combinations which have special pronunciation. Once again, try to pronounce the word before listening to it.

Consonant combination	Latin example	Classical^[13]		Ecclesiastical^[14]
Consonant combination	Latin example	Sounds like	Listen	Sounds like	Listen
cc before e, i, ae, oe, y	ecce	kk	listen	ch	listen
ch	chorda	kk	listen	kk	listen
gn	magnus	ng-n	listen	ny	listen
ph	philosophia	p-h	listen	f	listen
sc before e, i, ae, oe, y	scientia	sk	listen	sh	listen
th	theātrum	t	listen	t	listen

Stress

In Latin, the stress on a word is placed on only one of two syllables: the one before the last syllable (the penultimate syllable, or penult), or the one before that (the antepenultimate syllable, or antepenult). The rules for stress are very simple:

If the vowel in the penult is long or a diphthong, the stress goes on the penult.
If the vowel in the penult is followed by x, z, or any two consonants, with the exception of a stop consonant (b, c, d, g, p, t) followed by a liquid consonant (l, r), the stress goes on the penult.

The letters x and z are treated like two consonants because they sound like two consonants: ks and dz. So the second rule condenses to any vowel followed by two consonants, except a stop-liquid combination. Note that a combination of two of the same consonant is still two consonants.

Here are some examples. We will mark the stressed syllable over its vowel with an accent mark.

pá•pa	Eu•rṓ•pa	fi•gū́•ra	per•sṓ•na	pan•thḗ•ra	hal•lū•ci•nā́•tus
me•mó•ri•a	sí•mi•lis	pa•ra•dóx•us	fun•dā•mén•tum	ū•ni•cór•nis	cál•ci•trō

Practice

Here are some readings to practice pronunciation and word stress on. If you're just starting out, you might want to practice pronunciation first, and after a few repetitions when you're certain you have the pronunciation down, work on stress.

Gallia est omnes dīvīsa in partēs trēs; quārum ūnam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquītānī, tertiam qui ipsōrum linguā Celtae, nostrā Gallī appellantur. Hī omnēs linguā, īnstitūtīs, lēgibus inter sē differunt. Gallōs ab Aquītānīs Garumna flūmen, ā Belgīs Mātrona et Sēquana dīvidit.^[15]

Listen:

Classical

Ecclesiastical

Languēbam: sed tū comitātus prōtinus ad mē

venistī centum, Symmache, discipulīs.

Centum mē tetigēre manūs Aquilōne gelātae:

nōn habuī febrem, Symmache, nunc habeō.^[16]

Listen:

Classical

Ecclesiastical

Notes

↑ Janson, p. 5
↑ de Angelis, pp. 8-9
↑ English has no equivalent, so we used a German word. You can listen to the basic sound of this vowel on Wikipedia.
↑ Wheelock, p. xli
↑ de Angelis, pp. 9-11
↑ If eu occurs before the last letter in a word, as in -eus or -eum, then this is not a diphthong because the two vowels belong to different syllables: -e•us and -e•um. This will become much more obvious when you get to the chapter on the first and second declension.
↑ Wheelock, p. xlii
↑ de Angelis, pp. 13-21
↑ h is always silent except in the words mihi and nihil, where it is pronounced as k.
↑ There was no letter J in the old Latin alphabet; instead the letter I was used. In fact, J was not even formally considered a separate letter from I in English until 1828 (Sacks, pp. 186, 196). In this book, we will not use J, and so we will use Iēsūs and not Jēsūs. Vicipaedia also does not use J.
↑ Use the alveolar trill (hear this on Wikipedia), and not the retroflex approximant (hear this on Wikipedia).
↑ As with J, the letter V was not considered distinct from U in English until 1828 (Sacks, p. 327). We will use V throughout this book. Vicipaedia also uses V.
↑ Wheelock, p. xlii
↑ de Angelis, pp. 13-21
↑ Caesar, De Bello Gallico (On the Gallic War). Gaul is all divided into three parts; of which the Belgians inhabit one, the Aquitani the other, those who are called in their own language Celts, in ours Gauls, the third. All these differ between themselves in language, institutions, laws. The river Garumna divides the Gauls from the Aquitani, the Matrona and Sequana (divides them) from the Belgians. By the time you complete a formal course in Latin, you may end up getting sick of De Bello Gallico.
↑ Martial, book V, epigram IX. I was languishing: but you, Symmachus, came to me on the spot accompanied by a hundred students. A hundred hands frozen by the North wind handled me: I didn't have a fever, Symmachus, but I do now. This is one of Martial's notable epigrams: it is safe to repeat in mixed company.

References

Allen, William S. (1989). Vox Latina: A Guide to the Pronunciation of Classical Latin (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521379369.
Collins, John F. (1985). A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin. The Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 0813206677.
de Angelis, Michael (1937). The Correct Pronunciation of Latin According to Roman Usage. St. Gregory Guild.
Sacks, David (2003). Letter Perfect. Random House. ISBN 0767911733.
Traupman, John C. (2007). The New College Latin and English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553590128.
Wheelock, Frederic M. (2005). Wheelock's Latin (6th ed.). Harper Collins. ISBN 0060783710.

[1] Janson, p. 5

[2] Angelis, pp. 8-9

[3] English has no equivalent, so we used a German word. You can listen to the basic sound of this vowel on Wikipedia.

[4] Wheelock, p. xli

[5] Angelis, pp. 9-11

[6] If eu occurs before the last letter in a word, as in -eus or -eum, then this is not a diphthong because the two vowels belong to different syllables: -e•us and -e•um. This will become much more obvious when you get to the chapter on the first and second declension.

[7] Wheelock, p. xlii

[8] Angelis, pp. 13-21

[9] s always silent except in the words mihi and nihil, where it is pronounced as k.

[10] There was no letter J in the old Latin alphabet; instead the letter I was used. In fact, J was not even formally considered a separate letter from I in English until 1828 (Sacks, pp. 186, 196). In this book, we will not use J, and so we will use Iēsūs and not Jēsūs. Vicipaedia also does not use J.

[11] Use the alveolar trill (hear this on Wikipedia), and not the retroflex approximant (hear this on Wikipedia).

[12] As with J, the letter V was not considered distinct from U in English until 1828 (Sacks, p. 327). We will use V throughout this book. Vicipaedia also uses V.

[13] Wheelock, p. xlii

[14] Angelis, pp. 13-21

[15] Caesar, De Bello Gallico (On the Gallic War). Gaul is all divided into three parts; of which the Belgians inhabit one, the Aquitani the other, those who are called in their own language Celts, in ours Gauls, the third. All these differ between themselves in language, institutions, laws. The river Garumna divides the Gauls from the Aquitani, the Matrona and Sequana (divides them) from the Belgians. By the time you complete a formal course in Latin, you may end up getting sick of De Bello Gallico.

[16] Martial, book V, epigram IX. I was languishing: but you, Symmachus, came to me on the spot accompanied by a hundred students. A hundred hands frozen by the North wind handled me: I didn't have a fever, Symmachus, but I do now. This is one of Martial's notable epigrams: it is safe to repeat in mixed company.

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