Latin I Pronunciation

The Alphabet  Same as ours EXCEPT…  “K” is rarely used  There 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: amīcus  ō as in focus: cōgō, bōs  ū as in rude: fūgī  a as in about: pater, ager  e as in fed: mel, petere  i as in fit: bibit  o as in soft: locus  u 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