Latin I/Pronunciation Consonants
Consonants
| Consonant | Latin example | Classical[1] | Ecclesiastical[2] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sounds like | Listen | Sounds like | Listen | ||
| b | barbaria | bob | bob | ||
| c followed by e, i, ae, oe, y | caelestis | cat | chat | ||
| c otherwise | cattus | cat | cat | ||
| d | dīrēctus | dad | dad | ||
| f | fānāticus | fun | fun | ||
| g followed by e, i, ae, oe, y | genus | gag | gerbil | ||
| g otherwise | gubernātor | gag | gag | ||
| h | herba | honey | honor[3] | ||
| i at beginning of word, j[4] | Jēsūs | yes | yes | ||
| k | Kalendae | keep | keep | ||
| l | littera | loll | loll | ||
| m | maximus | mom | mom | ||
| n | numerus | nun | nun | ||
| p | populus | pop | pop | ||
| q | quantum | quiet | quiet | ||
| r[5] | religiō | roar | roar | ||
| s | miser | sassy | sassy | ||
| t followed by i and another vowel and preceded by any letter other than s, t, x | differentia | tatter | tsetse | ||
| t otherwise | toga | tatter | tatter | ||
| v[6] | vīvārium | wow | vine | ||
| x in words beginning with ex followed by a vowel, h, or s | exhālō | axe | eggs | ||
| x otherwise | extrā | axe | axe | ||
| z | zōdiacus | adze | adze | ||
More information
For a much fuller version of this guide, see this Wikibooks page.
Notes
- ↑ 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.