THE PRONUNCIATION OF LATIN W S Allen and A Baird Cf Vox Latina The Sounds of Classical Latin CONSONANTS b As English before t or s as English abstulit b; p As English hard or c c k ch Consonant + aspirate for Greek charta Perhaps not always used (cf Arrius) d As English or French more dental than English dominus d; f Fricative as in five g / c Developed by adding to c Voiced counterpart to gn dígnus magnus Assimilated: as in -ngn- hangnail h Evidence unclear i As English between vowels = [yy] y; k e.g. kalendae = c l Clear as in dark as in lip, pill Clear when syllable initial sólis cónsulis Dark when syllable sól cónsul m As English m -m Nasalised in classical times únum régem Romance languages for loss of final m Cf Also rules for elision in poetry n Probably dental as in French/Spanish nc ng nq Velar nasal incola Assimilation to nf ínfélíx inscriptions with M/N/ indiscriminately Cf = nasalisation of preceding vowel ns + vowel ménsa quotiéns Aspirated p positus ph Consonant + aspirate for Greek pharetra Perhaps not always used (cf Arrius) Voiced labio-velar stop qu gu quotiés quórum c q and with rounding of lips: English lingua cf quick r Always pronounced or pars ‘rolled’ s s hospes Fricative as in final weak or dropped; never six; pronounced as z t More dental than English táctus th Consonant + aspirate for Greek thús thalamus Perhaps not always used (cf Arrius) u As English w x z From Greek double sounds and Later in Latin e.g. DVXIT/DVCSIT VOWELS
THE PRONUNCIATION OF LATIN Cf W S Allen Vox Latina and A Baird The Sounds of Classical Latin CONSONANTS b As English b; before t or s as English p abstulit c As English hard c or k ch Consonant + aspirate for Greek Perhaps not always used (cf Arrius) charta d As English or French d; more dental than English dominus f Fricative as in five g Developed by adding / to c Voiced counterpart to c gn Assimilated: as -ngn- in hangnail dígnus magnus h Evidence unclear i As English y; between vowels = [yy] k e.g. kalendae = c l Clear as in lip, dark as in pill Clear when syllable initial Dark when syllable sólis cónsulis sól cónsul m As English m -m Nasalised in classical times Cf Romance languages for loss of final m Also rules for elision in poetry únum régem n Probably dental as in French/Spanish nc ng nq Velar nasal incola nf Assimilation to Cf inscriptions with M/N/ indiscriminately ínfélíx ns + vowel = nasalisation of preceding vowel ménsa quotiéns p Aspirated positus ph Consonant + aspirate for Greek Perhaps not always used (cf Arrius) pharetra qu gu Voiced labio-velar stop c and q with rounding of lips: cf English quick quotiés quórum lingua r Always pronounced or ‘rolled’ pars s Fricative as in six; final s weak or dropped; never pronounced as z hospes t More dental than English táctus th Consonant + aspirate for Greek Perhaps not always used (cf Arrius) thús thalamus u As English w x z From Greek double sounds and Later in Latin e.g. DVXIT/DVCSIT VOWELS