New Latin Grammar | Page 7

containing a short vowel followed by two consonants, as ng, is long, because such a syllable requires more time for its pronunciation; while a syllable containing a short vowel followed by one consonant is short, because it takes less time to pronounce it. In case of the common syllables, the mute and the liquid blend so easily as to produce a combination which takes no more time than a single consonant. Yet by separating the two elements (as ag-r??) the poets were able to use such syllables as long.
ACCENT.
6. 1. Words of two syllables are accented upon the first; as, t??git, m??��rem.
2. Words of more than two syllables are accented upon the penult (next to the last) if that is a long syllable, otherwise upon the antepenult (second from the last); as, am??��v??, am??ntis, m?-serum.
3. When the enclitics -que, -ne, -ve, -ce, -met, -dum are appended to words, if the syllable preceding the enclitic is long (either originally or as a result of adding the enclitic) it is accented; as, miser??��que, homin?-sque. But if the syllable still remains short after the enclitic has been added, it is not accented unless the word originally took the accent on the antepenult. Thus, p?3rtaque; but m?-ser??que.
4. Sometimes the final -e of -ne and -ce disappears, but without affecting the accent; as, tant??��n, ist???��c, ill???��c.
5. In utr???��que, each, and pl?��r???��que, most, -que is not properly an enclitic; yet these words accent the penult, owing to the influence of their other cases,--ut??rque, utr?omque, pl?��r?omque.
VOWEL CHANGES.[9]
7.. 1. In Compounds,
a) ?? before a single consonant becomes ?-; as,--
collig? for con-leg?.
b) ?? before a single consonant becomes ?-: as,--
adig? for ad-ag?.
c) ?? before two consonants becomes ?��; as,--
expers for ex-pars.
d) ae becomes ??; as,--
conqu??r? for con-quaer?.
e) au becomes ??, sometimes ?; as,--
concl??d? for con-claud?; expl?d? for ex-plaud?.
2. Contraction. Concurrent vowels were frequently contracted into one long vowel. The first of the two vowels regularly prevailed; as,--
tr?��s for tre-es; c?pia for co-opia; m?l? for ma(v)el?; c?g? for co-ag?; am?st?? for am?(v)ist??; c?m? for co-em?; d?��be? for d?��(h)abe?; j??nior for ju(v)enior. n??l for nihil;
3. Parasitic Vowels. In the environment of liquids and nasals a parasitic vowel sometimes develops; as,--
vinculum for earlier vinclum.
So per??culum, saeculum.
4. Syncope. Sometimes a vowel drops out by syncope; as,--
?rdor for ?ridor (compare _?ridus_); vald?�� for valid?�� (compare _validus_).
CONSONANT CHANGES[10]
8. 1. Rhotacism. An original s between vowels became r; as,--
arb?s, Gen. arboris (for arbosis); genus, Gen. generis (for genesis); dirim? (for dis-em?).
2. dt, tt, ts each give s or ss; as,--
p?��nsum for pend-tum; versum for vert-tum; m??les for m??let-s; sessus for sedtus; passus for pattus.
3. Final consonants were often omitted; as,--
cor for cord; lac for lact.
4. Assimilation of Consonants. Consonants are often assimilated to a following sound. Thus: accurr? (adc-); agger? (adg-); asser? (ads-); all?tus (adl-); apport? (adp-); attul?? (adt-); arr??de? (adr-); affer? (adf-); occurr? (obc-); supp?n? (subp-); offer? (obf-); corru? (comr-); coll?tus (coml-); etc.
5. Partial Assimilation. Sometimes the assimilation is only partial. Thus:--
a) b before s or t becomes p; as,--
scr??ps?? (scr??b-s??), scr??ptum (scr??b-tum).
b) g before s or t becomes c; as,--
?ctus (?g-tus).
c) m before a dental or guttural becomes n; as,--
eundem (eum-dem); pr??nceps (pr??m-ceps).
PECULIARITIES OF ORTHOGRAPHY.
9. Many words have variable orthography.
1. Sometimes the different forms belong to different periods of the language. Thus, quom, voltus, volnus, volt, etc., were the prevailing forms almost down to the Augustan age; after that, cum, vultus, vulnus, vult, etc. So optumus, maxumus, lubet, lub??d?, etc. down to about the same era; later, optimus, maximus, libet, lib??d?, etc.
2. In some words the orthography varies at one and the same period of the language. Examples are exspect?, expect?; exsist?, exist?; epistula, epistola; adul?��sc?��ns, adol?��sc?��ns; paulus, paullus; cott??di?��, cot??di?��; and, particularly, prepositional compounds, which often made a concession to the etymology in the spelling; as,--
ad-ger? or agger?; ad-ser? or asser?; ad-lici? or allici?; in-l?tus or ill?tus; ad-rog?ns or arrog?ns; sub-move? or summove?; and many others.
3. Compounds of jaci? were usually written ?��ici?, d?��ici?, adici?, obici?, etc., but were probably pronounced as though written adjici?, objici?, etc.
4. Adjectives and nouns in -quus, -quum; -vus, -vum; -uus, -uum preserved the earlier forms in -quos, -quom; -vos, -vom; -uos, -uom, down through the Ciceronian age; as, ant??quos, ant??quom; saevos; perpetuos; equos; servos. Similarly verbs in the 3d plural present indicative exhibit the terminations -quont, -quontur; -vont, -vontur; -uont, -uontur, for the same period; as, relinquont, loquontur; v??vont, metuont.
The older spelling, while generally followed in editions of Plautus and Terence, has not yet been adopted in our prose texts.
* * * * *


PART II.
* * * * *
INFLECTIONS.
* * * * *
10. The Parts of Speech in Latin are the same as in English, viz. Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections; but the Latin has no article.
11. Of these eight parts of speech the first four are capable of Inflection, i.e. of undergoing