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Help:IPA/Latin
Wikipedia key to pronunciation of Latin
 | This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Latin on Wikipedia.It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Latin in popflock.com resource articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or its value without establishing consensus on the talk page first. | |
The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Classical Latin and Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciations in popflock.com resource articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to popflock.com resource articles, see {{IPA-la}} and popflock.com Resource: Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.
See Latin spelling and pronunciation and Latin regional pronunciation for a more thorough look at the sounds of Latin.
|
Vowels[11] |
---|
IPA |
Latin alphabet |
Examples |
English approximation
|
---|
Class. |
Eccl.
|
---|
a
|
a
|
anima
|
pasta
| a:
|
?
|
|
?cer
|
father
| ?
|
e
|
|
est
|
met
| e
|
|
e:
|
?
|
|
?l?ctus
|
Scottish made
| ?
|
i
|
|
incipit
|
mit
| i
|
|
i y
|
?ra
|
meet
| i:
|
?
|
| ?
|
o
|
|
omnis
|
off
| o
|
|
o
| o:
|
?
|
|
?rd?
|
RP or Australian law
| ?
|
u
|
|
urbs
|
put
| u
|
|
u
|
l?na
|
cool
| u:
|
?
|
| ?
|
y[2] |
cyclus
|
Scottish cute
| y:
|
?[2] |
c?ma
|
Scottish cued
| Diphthongs
|
---|
ae?
|
ae
|
|
aet?s
|
sigh
| oe?
|
oe
|
poena
|
boy
| au?
|
au
|
aurum
|
cow
| eu?
|
eu
|
seu
|
no English equivalent; Spanish euro
| ui?
|
ui
|
cui
|
no English equivalent; Spanish muy
| Nasal vowels[8] |
---|
:
|
|
|
monstrum
|
long nasal vowels
|
Prosody
|
---|
IPA |
Examples |
Explanation
|
---|
'
|
G?ius ['?a:.i.?s]
|
stress (placed before the stressed syllable)[12] | .
|
syllable marker, generally between vowels in hiatus[13] |
|
Notes
- ^ Geminate (double) consonants are written with a doubled letter except for /jj/ and /ww/: anus /'an?s/, annus /'ann?s/. In IPA, they may be written as double or be followed by the length sign: /nn/ or /n:/.
- ^ a b c d e f g Only found in Greek loanwords.
- ^ a b c d In Classical Latin, ⟨c g t⟩ are always pronounced hard, as /k g t/. In Ecclesiastical Latin, ⟨c g sc⟩ are pronounced as soft [t? d? ?] before the front vowels ⟨e i y ae oe⟩ and unstressed ⟨ti⟩ before a vowel is pronounced [tsi].
- ^ ⟨H⟩ was generally silent. Sometimes medial ⟨h⟩ is pronounced in Ecclesiastical Latin (mihi); it was pronounced faintly in Classical Latin.[clarification needed]
- ^ a b c d In Classical Latin, ⟨i u⟩ represent the vowels /? i: and /? u:/, and the consonants /j/, and /w/. Between consonants or when marked with macrons or breves, ⟨i u⟩ are vowels. In some spelling systems, /j w/ are written with the letters ⟨j v⟩. In other cases, consult a dictionary.
- Consonantal ⟨i⟩, between vowels, stands for doubled /jj/: cuius ['k?jj?s]. The vowel before the double /jj/ is usually short, but it is sometimes marked with a macron. When a prefix is added to a word beginning in /j/, the /j/ is usually single: tr?-iectum [tra:'j?kt?:].
- /w/ is doubled between vowels only in Greek words, such as Euander [?w'wand?r].
In Ecclesiastical Latin, ⟨i⟩ represents the vowel /i/, ⟨j⟩ represents the consonant /j/, ⟨u⟩ represents the vowel /u/ or (in the combinations ⟨gu su qu⟩) the consonant /w/, and ⟨v⟩ represents the fricative /v/.
- ^ The labialized velar /k?/ was pronounced as labio-palatalized [k?] before the vowels /?, i:, ?, e:/.
- ^ /l/ has two allophones in Classical Latin: velarized , at the end of a word or before another consonant, and plain in other positions.
- ^ a b c In Classical Latin, the combination of a vowel and ⟨m⟩ at the end of a word, or a vowel and ⟨n⟩ before ⟨s⟩ or ⟨f⟩, represents a long nasal vowel.
- ^ a b c In both Classical and Ecclesiastical Latin, /n/ is pronounced as before /k, ?/. The digraph ⟨gn⟩ is pronounced as [?n] in Classical Latin but [?] in Ecclesiastical Latin.
- ^ a b In Ecclesiastical Latin, /s/ between vowels is often pronounced .
- ^ Classical Latin has long and short vowels. If vowel length is marked, long vowels are marked with macrons, ⟨?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?⟩, and short vowels with breves, ⟨?, ?, ?, ?, ?, y?⟩. Ecclesiastical Latin does not distinguish between long and short vowels.
- ^ In words of two syllables, the stress is on the first syllable. In words of three or more syllables, the stress is on the penultimate syllable if heavy, on the antepenultimate syllable otherwise. There are some exceptions, most caused by contraction or elision.
- ^ This does not indicate a glottal stop [?]; glottal stops are not reconstructed for Latin prosody in word-internal hiatus.