Latin Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Vowels=== ====Simple vowels==== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- ! !! Front !! Central !! Back |- ! Close | {{IPAlink|iː}} {{IPAlink|ɪ}} || || {{IPAlink|ʊ}} {{IPAlink|uː}} |- ! Mid | {{IPAlink|eː}} {{IPAlink|ɛ}} || || {{IPAlink|ɔ}} {{IPAlink|oː}} |- ! Open | || {{IPAlink|a}} {{IPAlink|aː}} || |} In Classical Latin, {{angbr|U}} did not exist as a letter distinct from V; the written form {{angbr|V}} was used to represent both a vowel and a consonant. {{angbr|Y}} was adopted to represent [[upsilon]] in loanwords from [[Greek language|Greek]], but it was pronounced like {{angbr|u}} and {{angbr|i}} by some speakers. It was also used in native Latin words by confusion with Greek words of similar meaning, such as {{lang|la|sylva}} and {{lang|grc|ὕλη}}. Classical Latin distinguished between [[vowel length|long and short vowels]]. Then, long vowels, except for {{angbr|i}}, were frequently marked using the [[apex (diacritic)|apex]], which was sometimes similar to an [[acute accent]] {{angbr|Á É Ó V́ Ý}}. Long {{IPA|/iː/}} was written using a taller version of {{angbr|I}}, called {{lang|la|i longa}} "[[long I]]": {{angbr|ꟾ}}. In modern texts, long vowels are often indicated by a [[macron (diacritic)|macron]] {{angbr|ā ē ī ō ū}}, and short vowels are usually unmarked except when it is necessary to distinguish between words, when they are marked with a [[breve]] {{angbr|ă ĕ ĭ ŏ ŭ}}. However, they would also signify a long vowel by writing the vowel larger than other letters in a word or by repeating the vowel twice in a row.<ref name="Wheelock 7th ed." /> The acute accent, when it is used in modern Latin texts, indicates stress, as in Spanish, rather than length. Although called long vowels, their exact quality in Classical Latin is different from short vowels. The difference is described in the table below: {| class="wikitable" |+ Pronunciation of Latin vowels ! Latin<br />grapheme ! Latin<br />phone ! modern examples |- ! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|a}} ! {{IPA|[a]}} | similar to the ''a'' in ''part'' (/paɹt/) |- ! {{IPA|[aː]}} | similar to the ''a'' in ''father'' (/fɑːðəɹ/) |- ! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|e}} ! {{IPA|[ɛ]}} | as ''e'' in ''pet'' (/pɛt/) |- ! {{IPA|[eː]}} | similar to ''e'' in ''hey'' (/heɪ/) |- ! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|i}} ! {{IPA|[ɪ]}} | as ''i'' in ''pit'' (/pɪt/) |- ! {{IPA|[iː]}} | similar to ''i'' in ''machine'' (/məʃiːn/) |- ! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|o}} ! {{IPA|[ɔ]}} | as ''o'' in ''port'' (/pɔɹt/) |- ! {{IPA|[oː]}} | similar to ''o'' in ''post'' (/poʊst/) |- ! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|u}} ! {{IPA|[ʊ]}} | as ''u'' in put (/pʊt/) |- ! {{IPA|[uː]}} | similar to ''ue'' in ''true'' (/tɹuː/) |- ! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|y}} ! {{IPA|[ʏ]}} | does not exist in English, closest approximation is the ''u'' in ''mule'' |- ! {{IPA|[yː]}} | does not exist in English, closest approximation is the ''u'' in ''cute'' |} This difference in quality is posited by [[W. Sidney Allen]] in his book ''Vox Latina''. However, Andrea Calabrese has disputed this assertion, based in part upon the observation that in Sardinian and some Lucanian dialects, each long and short vowel pair merged, as opposed to in Italo-Western languages in which short /i/ and /u/ merged with long /eː/ and /o:/ (c.f. Latin 'siccus', Italian 'secco', and Sardinian 'siccu'). A vowel letter followed by {{angbr|m}} at the end of a word, or a vowel letter followed by {{angbr|n}} before {{angbr|s}} or {{angbr|f}}, represented a short [[nasal vowel]], as in {{lang|la|monstrum}} {{IPA|[mõːstrũ]}}. ====Diphthongs==== Classical Latin had several [[diphthong]]s. The two most common were {{angbr|ae au}}. {{angbr|oe}} was fairly rare, and {{angbr|ui eu ei}} were very rare, at least in native Latin words.<ref name="classical diphthongs">{{Harvnb|Allen|1978|pp=60–63}}</ref> There has also been debate over whether {{angbr|ui}} is truly a diphthong in Classical Latin, due to its rarity, absence in works of Roman grammarians, and the roots of Classical Latin words (i.e. {{lang|la|hui ce}} to {{lang|la|huic}}, {{lang|la|quoi}} to {{lang|la|cui}}, etc.) not matching or being similar to the pronunciation of classical words if {{angbr|ui}} were to be considered a diphthong.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=282713|title=The Diphthong -ui in Latin|journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association|volume=41|pages=19–23|last=Husband|first=Richard|date=1910|doi=10.2307/282713}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The sequences sometimes did not represent diphthongs. {{angbr|ae}} and {{angbr|oe}} also represented a sequence of two vowels in different syllables in {{lang|la|aēnus}} {{IPA|[aˈeː.nʊs]}} "of bronze" and {{lang|la|coēpit}} {{IPA|[kɔˈeː.pɪt]}} "began", and {{angbr|au ui eu ei ou}} represented sequences of two vowels or of a vowel and one of the semivowels {{IPA|/j w/}}, in {{lang|la|cavē}} {{IPA|[ˈka.weː]}} "beware!", {{lang|la|cuius}} {{IPA|[ˈkʊj.jʊs]}} "whose", {{lang|la|monuī}} {{IPA|[ˈmɔn.ʊ.iː]}} "I warned", {{lang|la|solvī}} {{IPA|[ˈsɔɫ.wiː]}} "I released", {{lang|la|dēlēvī}} {{IPA|[deːˈleː.wiː]}} "I destroyed", {{lang|la|eius}} {{IPA|[ˈɛj.jʊs]}} "his", and {{lang|la|novus}} {{IPA|[ˈnɔ.wʊs]}} "new". Old Latin had more diphthongs, but most of them changed into long vowels in Classical Latin. The Old Latin diphthong {{angbr|ai}} and the sequence {{angbr|āī}} became Classical {{angbr|ae}}. Old Latin {{angbr|oi}} and {{angbr|ou}} changed to Classical {{angbr|ū}}, except in a few words whose {{angbr|oi}} became Classical {{angbr|oe}}. These two developments sometimes occurred in different words from the same root: for instance, Classical {{lang|la|poena}} "punishment" and {{lang|la|pūnīre}} "to punish".<ref name="classical diphthongs" /> Early Old Latin {{angbr|ei}} usually monophthongized to a later Old Latin {{angbr|ē}}, to Classical {{angbr|ī}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Allen|1978|pp=53–55}}</ref> By the late Roman Empire, {{angbr|ae oe}} had merged with {{angbr|e ē}}. During the Classical period this sound change was present in some rural dialects, but deliberately avoided by well-educated speakers.<ref name="classical diphthongs" /> {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Diphthongs classified by beginning sound ! !! Front !! Back |- ! Close | || ui {{IPA|/ui̯/}} |- ! Mid | ei {{IPA|/ei̯/}}<br />eu {{IPA|/eu̯/}} || oe {{IPA|/oe̯/}}<br />ou {{IPA|/ou̯/}} |- ! Open | colspan="2" | ae {{IPA|/ae̯/}}<br />au {{IPA|/au̯/}} |} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page