Roman Army Drill

[M. CVRIVS ALEXANDER]

To begin with, we really don't know exactly how Classical Latin in Julius Caesar's or Cicero's, or the Kings' era, or Hadrian's day was pronounced, or how these might have differed.

True, but I know that native English speakers say "-ay" for long "e" for Spanish and French words, for instance, while a native Spanish or French speaker does not (please correct me if I am wrong). Hence the suspicion that this tendency/error was carried over to Latin.