Latin regional pronunciation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Latin pronunciation both in the classical and post-classical age, has varied across different regions and different eras. Latin still in use today is often pronounced differently in various regions of the world.
While it impossible to know exactly how Latin was pronounced centuries ago, singers and choirs in especially Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music often use what little is known to produce as authentic Latin as possible.
The following table shows the main differences between different regions with the International Phonetic Alphabet. This is far from a complete listing and lacks the local variations exhibited through centuries, but should give an outline of main characteristics of different regions.
| Sign | Example | Classical | Italian | French | Slavic | German | Nordic | English | Iberian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ae | bonae | /ai/ | /eː/ | /e/ | /e/ | /eː/ or /ɛː/ | /e/ | /ei/ or /iː/ | /e/ |
| ce/ci | benedicimus | /k/ | /tʃ/ | /s/ | /ts/ | /ts/ | /s/ | /s/ | /s/ or /θ/ |
| ge/gi | agimus | /g/ | /dʒ/ | /ʒ/ | /g/ | /g/ | /g/ | /dʒ/ | /h/ or /x/ or /ʒ/ |
| gn | magnum | /ŋn/ | /ɲ/ | /ɲ/ | /gn/ | /ŋn/ | /ŋn/ | /gn/ | /gn/ |
| h | hominibus | /h/ | - | - | /h/ or /x/ | /h/ | /h/ | /h/ | - |
| u/ū | ut, sumus | /u/ or /uː/ | /u/ or /uː/ | /y/ or /yː/ | /u/ | /u/ or /uː/ | /u/ or /uː/ | /ʌ/ or /juː/ | /u/ |
| xc | excelsis | /ksk/ | /kstʃ/ | /ks/ | /ksts/ | /ksts/ | /ks/ | /ks/ | /ks/ or /sθ/ |
| ch | pulcher | /k/ | /k/ | /k/ | /x/ | /x/ | /k/ | /k/ | /k/ |
| qu | quis | /kʷ/ | /kw/ | /kw/ | /kv/ | /kv/ | /kw/ | /kw/ | /k/ |
Note that in ecclesiastical use, the Italian model is often followed even for speakers of English.
[edit] See also
[edit] References/further reading
- Singing Early Music, ed. Timothy McGee, Indiana University Press.
