New Latin Grammar | Page 6

will indicate the relations of the consonant sounds:--
VOICELESS. VOICED. ASPIRATES. p, b, ph, (Labials). Mutes, t, d, th, (Dentals). c, k, q, g, ch, (Gutturals). Liquids, l, r, Nasals, m, n, f, (Labial). Spirants, s, (Dental). h, (Guttural). Semivowels, j, v.
a. The Double Consonants, x and z, being compound sounds, do not admit of classification in the above table.
SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS.
3. The following pronunciation (often called Roman) is substantially that employed by the Romans at the height of their civilization; i.e., roughly, from 50 B.C. to 50 A.D.
1. Vowels.
? as in _father_; ?? as in the first syllable _ah??_; ?�� as in _they_; ?? as in _met_; ?? as in _machine_; ?- as in _pin_; ? as in _note_; ? as in obey, _melody_; ?? as in _rude_; ?- as in _put_; y like French u, German _??_.
2. Diphthongs.
ae like ai in eu with its two elements, ?? and ?-, _aisle_; pronounced in rapid succession; oe like oi in _oil_; ui occurs almost exclusively in ei as in _rein_; cui and huic. These words may au like ow in _how_; be pronounced as though written kwee and wheek.
3. Consonants.
b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, qu are pronounced as in English, except that bs, bt are pronounced ps, pt.
c is always pronounced as k.
t is always a plain t, never with the sound of sh as in Eng. oration.
g always as in _get_; when ngu precedes a vowel, gu has the sound of gw, as in anguis, languidus.
j has the sound of y as in yet.
r was probably slightly trilled with the tip of the tongue.
s always voiceless as in _sin_; in su?de?, su?vis, su?��sc?, and in compounds and derivatives of these words, su has the sound of sw.
v like w.
x always like _ks_; never like Eng. gz or z.
z uncertain in sound; possibly like Eng. zd, possibly like z. The latter sound is recommended.
The aspirates ph, ch, th were pronounced very nearly like our stressed Eng. p, c, _t_--so nearly so, that, for practical purposes, the latter sounds suffice.
Doubled letters, like ll, mm, tt, etc., should be so pronounced that both members of the combination are distinctly articulated.
SYLLABLES.
4. There are as many syllables in a Latin word as there are separate vowels and diphthongs.
In the division of words into syllables,--
1. A single consonant is joined to the following vowel; as, vo-lat, ge-rit, pe-rit, a-dest.
2. Doubled consonants, like tt, ss, etc., are always separated; as, vit-ta, mis-sus.
3. Other combinations of two or more consonants are regularly separated, and the first consonant of the combination is joined with the preceding vowel; as, ma-gis-tr??, dig-nus, m?n-strum, sis-te-re.
4. An exception to Rule 3 occurs when the two consonants consist of a mute followed by l or r (pl, cl, tl; pr, cr, tr, etc.). In such cases both consonants are regularly joined to the following vowel; as, a-gr??, vo-lu-cris, pa-tris, m?-tris. Yet if the l or r introduces the second part of a compound, the two consonants are separated; as, ab-rump?, ad-l?tus.
5. The double consonant x is joined to the preceding vowel; as, ax-is, t?��x-??.
QUANTITY.
5. A. Quantity of Vowels.
A vowel is long or short according to the length of time required for its pronunciation. No absolute rule can be given for determining the quantity of Latin vowels. This knowledge must be gained, in large measure, by experience; but the following principles are of aid:--
1. A vowel is long,[6]--
a) before nf or ns; as, ??nf?ns, ??nferior, c?ns??m?, c?��nse?, ??nsum.
b) when the result of contraction; as, n??lum for nihilum.
2. A vowel is short,--
a) before nt, nd; as, amant, amandus. A few exceptions occur in compounds whose first member has a long vowel; as, n?ndum (n?n dum).
b) before another vowel, or h; as, meus, trah?. Some exceptions occur, chiefly in proper names derived from the Greek; as, Aen?��?s.
B. Quantity of Syllables.
Syllables are distinguished as long or short according to the length of time required for their pronunciation.
1. A syllable is long,[7]--
a) if it contains a long vowel; as, m?ter, r?��gnum, d??us.
b) if it contains a diphthong; as, causae, foedus.
c) if it contains a short vowel followed by x, z, or any two consonants (except a mute with l or r); as, axis, gaza, rest?.
2. A syllable is short, if it contains a short vowel followed by a vowel or by a single consonant; as, mea, amat.
3. Sometimes a syllable varies in quantity, viz. when its vowel is short and is followed by a mute with l or r, i.e. by pl, cl, tl; pr, cr, tr, etc.; as, ??gr??, vol?-cris.[8] Such syllables are called common. In prose they were regularly short, but in verse they might be treated as long at the option of the poet.
NOTE.--These distinctions of long and short are not arbitrary and artificial, but are purely natural. Thus, a syllable