Latin I

Pronunciation

The Alphabet

Same as ours EXCEPT…“K” is rarely usedThere is no “J” or “W”“Y” and “Z” only appear in words

borrowed from Greek

Vowels

ā as in father: māter, clārus

ē as in hey, or as a in fate: tē, accēpit

ī as in marine: amīcusō as in focus: cōgō,

bōsū as in rude: fūgī

a as in about: pater, ager

e as in fed: mel, petere

i as in fit: bibito as in soft: locusu as in put: apud,

tenuit

Diphthongs

ae as in ai in aisle, or the long i in high: saevus

au as in ou in loud: laudo

ei as in eight: eius

eu as Latin e plus u pronounced quickly together: neu

oe as in oi in oil: foedus

ui as Latin u and i pronounced quickly together: huic, explicuit

Consonants

b before s and t, like p: urbs (urps)

c always hard, as in cat: circum

g always hard, as in girl:gignō

h lightly aspirated, as in history: haec

i before a vowel pronounced y, between two vowels, pronounced as a double i, pronounced like y—y in toy yacht:māior, eius

q always followed by u and pronounced kw, as in liquid:equus, quis

More Consonants

r trilled: agrīs t like t in tight; never

like sh, as in mention: potuit

v like w, as in wine: video

X the equivalent of cs or gs: dīxit

ch as k plus h, as in look here, never as in chicken: māchina

ph as p plus h, as in clap hands, never like f: triumphus

th as t plus h, as in not here, never as in myth: theātrum