There is not “one correct way” of pronuncing Latin, it depends on which kind of Latin you are trying to speak.<\/p>\n
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Classical Latin<\/h2>\n
Classical Latin alphabet had these (capital) letters:<\/p>\n
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Y, Z<\/p>\n
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C<\/strong> letter always sounds \/k\/ <\/em>like in car<\/em> although it precedes e<\/em> or i<\/em>. Cicero \/kikero\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
G<\/strong> sounds always \/g<\/em>\/ like in game<\/em>, although it precedes e<\/em> or i<\/em>. Leges \/leges\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
U<\/strong> is always pronunced, also when it is in the QU group. Quintus \/kuintus\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
LL<\/strong> sounds like adouble L (long). Puella \/puella\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
X<\/strong> is sounds like \/ks\/<\/em>. Dixi \/diksi\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
Z<\/strong> sounds like \/ds\/<\/em>. Zephyrus \/dsefyrus\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The emphasis on the Latin words<\/span>:<\/p>\n
In Latin there is no graphic accent as in other romance languages (\u00e1, \u00e0, \u00e9, \u00e8, etc). The accent is marked by the penultimate syllable: if the penultimate syllable is long, that will be the stressed syllable (au-‘tum-nus<\/em>), if the penultimate syllable is short, the stressed syllable will be the antepenultimate. Note that there are no words in Latin stressed in the last syllable.<\/p>\n
Long and short syllables<\/span>:<\/p>\n
In Latin there are long and short syllables. Long syllables are those containing a long vowel or diphthong, the short syllables are the ones containing a short vowel. The general rules for determining the kind of vowels are:<\/p>\n
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The diphthongs are always long. The classical Latin diphthongs are ae, au, oe, eu (caelum)<\/em>.<\/li>\n
A vowel followed by two or more consonants or double consonant is long (ancilla<\/em>).<\/li>\n
A vowel followed by another vowel is short (philia<\/em>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Ecclesiastical Latin<\/h2>\n
The ecclesiastical Latin has the same pronunciation of modern Italian.<\/p>\n
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C<\/strong> <\/strong>followed by e, i, \u00e6 and \u0153, sounds like english “ch” in “cherry”. Caelo \/t\u0283e-lo\/<\/em>,\u00a0 sanctificetur \/sanktifit\u0283etur\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
For the vowels, we have the following: a<\/strong>, e<\/strong>, i<\/strong>, o<\/strong>, u<\/strong>, are the same as in Spanish, Italian…, but also we have two fusions: \u00e6<\/strong> and \u0153<\/strong>, which formerly, in Roman times, had the value of \/ai\/<\/em> and \/oi\/<\/em>, respectively, but in ecclesiastical Latin they are pronounced simply as \/e\/<\/em>. Caelo \/t\u0283e-lo\/<\/em>, poena \/pena\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
J<\/strong> is semi-consonant, and has the value of a y<\/em>. Alleluja \/alleluya\/<\/em>, Jesus \/Yesus\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
U<\/strong> is always pronunced, also when it is in the QU group. Quintus \/kuintus\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
G<\/strong> followed by e<\/em> or i<\/em> sounds like ginger<\/em> in English. Regina \/re-d\u0292i-na\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
G<\/strong> followed by n<\/em> sounds like Spanish \u00f1<\/em>. \/\u0272\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
H<\/strong> has two different sounds in ecclesiastical Latin. Germans tend to pronounce it like in English: hodie \/hodie\/<\/em>. Italians, French and Spanish tend to make it mute: hodie \/odie\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
T<\/strong> followed by i + a, e, o, u<\/em>, takes a complex sound: \/ts\/<\/em>. Tentationem \/tentatsionem\/.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Anglo-Latin<\/h2>\n
Anglo-Latin is the name given to Latin words used in English non-liturgical contexts, as some mottos or phrases directly adopted from Latin.<\/p>\n
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C<\/strong> before e<\/em> or i<\/em> or diphthongs ending in e<\/em> sound like \/s\/<\/em>.<\/li>\n
G<\/strong> <\/em>ibefore e<\/em> or i<\/em> sounds like dg (\/d\u0292<\/em>\/)<\/em> in judge<\/em>.<\/li>\n
Diphthongs ending in -e<\/em> sound like ee<\/em> in English see<\/em>…\u00a0 For example, “annuit coeptus” on the reverse of the dollar bill is pronounced in Anglo-Latin as “an’-yew-it sep’-tus”, with stress as in classical Latin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There is not “one correct way” of pronuncing Latin, it depends on which kind of Latin you are trying to speak. Classical Latin Classical Latin alphabet had these (capital) letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Y, Z C…<\/p>\n