07-16-2001, 12:37 PM
Salve,<br>
<br>
Though it is impossible to reconstruct exactly how Latin would have sounded, there are some clues to the pronounciation due to mistakes made in writing when people used phonetic spelling. Another manner to get a clue about it's pronounciation comes from transliteration of Latin words into Greek. In inscriptions and papyri the use of Latin words written down in the Greek alphabet is quite common, whereas other literary sources like historians usually employ real translations. Thus it appears that the 'C' was pronounced as a 'K' and that the 'AE" combination sounded like 'AI'. A name like Caesar would thus have been pronounced as 'Kaisar' (cf modern German <i> Kaiser</i> for emperor) rather than 'Seasar'. The pronounciation of 'V' like a 'W' is also supported by the use of the "OU" combination to represent this letter in the Greek alphabet.<br>
<br>
A difference between upperclass and lowerclass accents was probably the pronounciation of 'AU' as 'O' based on the fact that patrician Claudii wishing to stand for the tribunate and enrolled as plebeians changed their <i> nomen gentilicium</i>to Clodius. There are several references to local dialects in the sources, but for this you should try to find specialised works. While Oscan and Etrurian are recorded for the late republican period, these apparently died out in the course of the imperial era. The emperor Claudius is recorded as having known Etruscan, which by then was quite rare.<br>
<br>
Latin would be spoken by the elite and by army personel. Even in the east the army administration was partly done in Latin and Latin remained the language of command in the army well into Byzantine times: the only definite Latin army commands known are in fact from the handbook of Mauricius. Some army slang included words of Celtic origin as indicated by Arrian's <i> Tactica</i>. Due to the fact that much Roman weaponry was taken over from other peoples it is not surprising that much of the associated terminology was likewise of foreign origin. Local languages survived for everyday use, Celtic being recorded as spoken in late Roman times as well as local languages in Asia Minor, Latin and Greek serving as a <i> lingua franca</i> in the western and eastern parts of the empire respectively.<br>
<br>
The church Latin in follows the pronounciation according to the Italian manner which evolved in late Antiquity and the early middle ages.<br>
<br>
This page on pronounciation is on the Australian <i> legio</i> VIIII <i> Hispana</i> site:<br>
<br>
www.geocities.com/Athens/...ronunc.htm<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Sander van Dorst <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showLocalUserPublicProfile?login=sandervandorst>Sander van Dorst</A> at: 7/16/01 2:51:08 pm<br></i>
<br>
Though it is impossible to reconstruct exactly how Latin would have sounded, there are some clues to the pronounciation due to mistakes made in writing when people used phonetic spelling. Another manner to get a clue about it's pronounciation comes from transliteration of Latin words into Greek. In inscriptions and papyri the use of Latin words written down in the Greek alphabet is quite common, whereas other literary sources like historians usually employ real translations. Thus it appears that the 'C' was pronounced as a 'K' and that the 'AE" combination sounded like 'AI'. A name like Caesar would thus have been pronounced as 'Kaisar' (cf modern German <i> Kaiser</i> for emperor) rather than 'Seasar'. The pronounciation of 'V' like a 'W' is also supported by the use of the "OU" combination to represent this letter in the Greek alphabet.<br>
<br>
A difference between upperclass and lowerclass accents was probably the pronounciation of 'AU' as 'O' based on the fact that patrician Claudii wishing to stand for the tribunate and enrolled as plebeians changed their <i> nomen gentilicium</i>to Clodius. There are several references to local dialects in the sources, but for this you should try to find specialised works. While Oscan and Etrurian are recorded for the late republican period, these apparently died out in the course of the imperial era. The emperor Claudius is recorded as having known Etruscan, which by then was quite rare.<br>
<br>
Latin would be spoken by the elite and by army personel. Even in the east the army administration was partly done in Latin and Latin remained the language of command in the army well into Byzantine times: the only definite Latin army commands known are in fact from the handbook of Mauricius. Some army slang included words of Celtic origin as indicated by Arrian's <i> Tactica</i>. Due to the fact that much Roman weaponry was taken over from other peoples it is not surprising that much of the associated terminology was likewise of foreign origin. Local languages survived for everyday use, Celtic being recorded as spoken in late Roman times as well as local languages in Asia Minor, Latin and Greek serving as a <i> lingua franca</i> in the western and eastern parts of the empire respectively.<br>
<br>
The church Latin in follows the pronounciation according to the Italian manner which evolved in late Antiquity and the early middle ages.<br>
<br>
This page on pronounciation is on the Australian <i> legio</i> VIIII <i> Hispana</i> site:<br>
<br>
www.geocities.com/Athens/...ronunc.htm<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Sander van Dorst <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showLocalUserPublicProfile?login=sandervandorst>Sander van Dorst</A> at: 7/16/01 2:51:08 pm<br></i>
