Pronouncing Latin: A Basic Guide & Helpful Tips

Ever run into a Latin quote or motto and wonder how to pronounce it? In some fields, like medicine or botany, you may even run into dozens of Latin terms a day. Latin pronunciation is easy compared to the mess that is English spelling, but it does take some dedication to study since there are no native speakers to guide you. This pronunciation guide focuses on Classical Latin, as scholars think it was spoken by Virgil and other ancient Roman writers. It also includes most of the differences you need to know to speak or sing Church Latin.

Pronouncing Latin Words 101

In Latin, each consonant, vowel, and diphthong is pronounced separately. This means that they all have their own syllables. Similarly, each Latin letter is pronounced almost the same way every time despite the word.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Learning the Consonants

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1
Say V as W. The consonant v is pronounced as the English 'w' as in water. The word via (road), is pronounced "wi-a."
- Original Latin texts used the letter V in place of the vowel U as well (since the letter U did not exist). Modern Latin textbooks typically update the text to use the letter U for the vowel, and V only as the consonant.
2
Pronounce i or j as y when it is a consonant. Latin did not originally have the letter j, but some modern writers use it to avoid confusion. If J does appear, it is always pronounced "y" as in "you." If you are reading Latin as it was originally spelled, the letter i is sometimes this consonant "y," and sometimes a vowel.
- For example, the name Iulius or "Julius" is pronounced "Yoo-lee-us."
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3
Standardize your pronunciations of other consonants. Unlike in English, each Latin letter is almost always pronounced in a consistent way:^{[1]
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- C is always hard, as in "cat." cum (with) = koom
- G is always hard, as in "goal." ago (I drive) = ah-go
- S is always a voiceless "s" sound as in "snake." spuma (foam) = spoo-ma
- R is always rolled. This sound doesn't exist in most English dialects, so beginners can pronounce this as they would normally say "R."
4
Keep your H an H. The only tricky part about a Latin h is that it always stays an h! Don't get fooled by combinations like "th" or "ch" — they do not have any special meaning in Latin. Just pronounce the first consonant as you would normally.
- If you want perfect pronunciation, try to include the h by making the following vowel breathier, as in "hot house" or "uphill"^{[2]
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5
Pronounce other consonants as they appear. Apart from the exceptions above, you can pronounce consonants as you would in "proper" English (the form usually taught in schools).
- Enunciate to keep the sounds distinct. For example, Classical Latin "t" is always pronounced clearly as a hard "t," never softening to a sloppy "d" sound.^{[3]
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- There are a small number of corner cases which are not important for beginners. If you want to become a Latin pronunciation expert, these are covered in the extra rules later on.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Pronouncing Vowels

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1
Find a textbook that marks long and short vowels. The easiest way to learn how to pronounce Latin vowels is to read texts designed for students. Each Latin vowel has a long and short pronunciation. Introductory textbooks often mark the long vowels with a macron (horizontal line) over the vowel, so a is always the short pronunciation and ā is the long one.
- If your main goal is to speak Church Latin, now's a good time to skip down to that section, since the vowel pronunciations are quite different.
- If you cannot find a text like this, speak with an advanced Latin student to get familiar with vowel pronunciation. Most students learn this best through practice and memorization, but you can look up the complex rules for identifying long and short vowels if you prefer that method.
2
Pronounce short vowels. Beginner textbooks either leave short vowels unmarked or top them with a circumflex (˘). When short, these vowels are always pronounced as follows:
- A as in alike
- E as in let
- I as in lick
- O as in off
- U as the "oo" in foot
3
Learn the long vowels. Textbooks mark long vowels with a macron (horizontal line). Long vowels are pronounced as follows:
- Ā as in father (the same sound as short a, but held for a longer time)
- Ē as the "a" in mate
- Ī as the "ee" in beep
- Ō as in only
- Ū as the "oo" in boot
4
Know your diphthongs. A diphthong is a combination of two vowels pronounced as one syllable. Latin pronunciation is much more standardized than English, so you do not have to guess at a vowel sound. These combinations are always pronounced as diphthongs:
- AE as the word eye. saepe (often) = sai-peh
- AU as the word ow. laudat (he/she/it praises) = low-daht
- EI as in ray. eicio (I accomplish) = ay-kee-oh
- OE as in oil.
- In all other vowel combinations, pronounce the vowels as separate syllables. tuus (your) = tu-us
- A combination of short and long vowels do not produce dipthongs. "poēta" (poet) = po-ay-tah

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Learning Word Stress and Extra Rules

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For example, the word Caesar is pronounced KAI-sar. This holds true for all two-syllable words.
2
Identify heavy and light syllables. Latin poets relied on this classification to build their meter. Most Latin students learn to recite poetry eventually, and learning it early helps you with pronunciation as well:^{[4]
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- If a syllable has a long vowel or a diphthong, it is heavy.
- If a syllable is followed by a double consonant, it is heavy. The letter x counts as a double consonant (ks).
- If neither of those is true, the syllable is light.
- (Some teachers refer to this as "long" and "short" syllables, but it's important not to confuse them with long and short vowels.)
3
Stress the second to last syllable if it is heavy. The second-to-last syllable of a word is called the penult. If this syllable is heavy, stress it.
- Abutor (I squander) is pronounced ah-BOO-tor because the penult has a long vowel.
- Occaeco (I make blind) is pronounced ok-KAI-ko because the penult has a diphthong (ae).
- Recusandus (that which must be rejected) is pronounced reh-koo-SAN-dus because the penult is followed by a double consonant (nd).
4
Stress the syllable before it if the penult is light. If the penult is a light syllable (meaning it has a short vowel and is not followed by a double consonant), it is unstressed. Stress the third-to-last syllable instead, called the antepenult.
- Praesidium (guard) is pronounced prai-SI-di-um. The penult is light, so the accent falls on the syllable before it.
5
Learn advanced pronunciation rules. These are rare or low priority corner cases that many Latin students never learn. If you plan to time travel back to ancient Rome, you can impress Caesar with these signs of an excellent accent:
- Double consonants are pronounced twice: reddit (she gives back) is "red-dit," not "re-dit".
- "bt" and "bs" are pronounced "pt" and "ps."^{[5]
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- "gn" was pronounced "ngn" as in "wing nut."^{[6]
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- Some scholars think the letter "m" at the end of a word nasalized the final vowel, as in modern French, and that the combinations "ns" and "nf" had a similar effect.^{[7]
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- "br", "pl", and similar double consonants that "flow" into an l or r do not count as double consonants for syllable stress.^{[8]
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Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Speaking Church Latin

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1
Soften consonants before ae, e, oe, and i. Church Latin, also called Ecclesiastical Latin, has been used in Catholic ritual, song, and church pronouncements for many centuries. Its pronunciation has changed in some respects to match modern Italian, which, after all, is a form of Latin filtered through millennia of change. One of the most noticeable differences from Classical Latin is the appearance of these sounds:^{[9]
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- If C appears before ae, e, oe, and i, pronounce it ch as in chain (instead of a hard c as in cat).
- In the same context, G is soft as in gem instead of hard as in goat.
- SC becomes sh as in sheep instead of sc as in scold.
- CC becomes tch as in catchy instead of cc as in accord.
- XC becomes ksh instead of ksk.
2
Learn your vowel sounds. Church Latin vowels tend to have less difference between the long and short forms than Classical Latin. The exact pronunciation can vary by congregation, so if you follow someone's lead or go with your instincts, you'll probably be fine. Singers especially tend to holding the same sound for a longer or shorter time instead of changing the quality of the vowel. When in doubt, use the following system:
- A as in father.
- E as in red.
- I or Y as the "ee" in sleep.
- O as in for (not as in go).
- U as the "oo" in boot.
Unlike Classical Latin, Church Latin pronounces the letter V as it is in English.
4
Learn to pronounce GN and TI. In Church Latin, these sounds are closer to modern Romance languages:
- GN is always pronounced as the "ni" in onion.
- TI followed by any additional vowel is pronounced as the "tsy" in patsy.
- Exception: TI is still pronounced "tee" if it is at the start of a word, or if it follows s, x, or t.
These two words are pronounced as though the h were a k: nikil and miki. H is silent in all other words.
6
Keep double vowels mostly separate. Church Latin still uses the diphthongs AE and OE, as pronounced in Classical Latin. For AU, EI, AU, and EU, make both vowel sounds distinct. If stressed in a song, hold the note on the first vowel sound, and move through the second for a moment at the end.
- EI is pronounced as a diphthong (one sound) only in the word Hei.

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How do I pronounce the "c" sound in "pacem" in Latin?

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This is one of the big differences between Church Latin and Classical Latin. Catholic worshippers use a "ch" sound when the c is before certain vowels, including "e." Classical Latin students always pronounce c as a hard "k" sound, no matter what.

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How can I pronounce the words of the coronation mass?

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The Mozart Coronation Mass is presented on YouTube according to the pronunciation used in the Roman Catholic Church. The ecclesiastical pronunciation is tempered by the softer Italian idiom. Church websites are eager to share their pronunciation -- check those out.

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How do you pronounce the "g" in "resurget"?

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In Church Latin, the "g" in "resurgent" is pronounced like the "j" in the word "jet." If the "g" comes before the vowels "a," "o," "u" or "au," then it's pronounced like the "g" in the word "go." If the "g" is before the vowels "ae," "e," "oe" or "i" (like in this case), then it is pronounced like the "j" in "jet."

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Tips

Remember, Latin was once a language spoken by Roman humans. Try not to make it sound robotic. Practice your words over and over until your pronunciation becomes fluid.

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The pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar of Latin has changed enormously over its time as a living language (~900BC to the 1600sAD), and there were many regional variations. The "Classical" pronunciation here is the way Latin is usually taught in non-religious American schools, based on scholarly interpretations of highbrow Italian Latin around the first century B.C. to the third century A.D. Other countries often teach different pronunciations.

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Warnings

Don't insist on pronouncing every word with Latin origins according to the rules above. When a word has been adopted into everyday usage, standard English pronunciations are appropriate.

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