Americanized Latin Pronunciation

[JPUSC]

So I guess “Pax nobisy’all” is out then?

Ite missa est. Y’all come back now, ya here. Alleluia, Alleluia.

 

[marytk]

I have been thinking about this. When you hear how differently American English, British English and Australian English are and then think about how far the Roman Empire ranged, there most have been a lot of accents back then and I bet that it was even hard sometimes for people to understand each other. I can picture Romans in Rome sneering at the accents of someone coming from the far reaches of the realm.
A few months ago, my waiter at Big Boy was explaining how HE pronounced his name but it was okay to pronounce it the way his Mexican friends did .(He was from Argentina).

 

[malphono]

I have been thinking about this. When you hear how differently American English, British English and Australian English are and then think about how far the Roman Empire ranged, there most have been a lot of accents back then and I bet that it was even hard sometimes for people to understand each other. I can picture Romans in Rome sneering at the accents of someone coming from the far reaches of the realm.

And hence we have Italian, Portuguese, French, Romansch, Spanish, and Romanian. All Romance languages.

 

[porthos11]

I for one find American-accented Latin really funny, although I’d appreciate the effort. After all, Jesus himself must have had a funny Hebrew accent, being Galilean and all.

 

[RobbyS]

I first noticed it months ago at my parish’s Midnight Mass: Latin being spoken and sung with a distinct “American accent”. Impure vowels, dipthongs, cringe-worthy Rs, etc. “Gl-ohur-ee-uh ihn exshellsees Day-o!”. Now, whenever I’m at my parish (or others, for that matter), I cannot help but notice that this pronunciation seems to be the norm.

Does anyone else encounter this at their parishes? How does it make you feel?

Makes me feel fine. Latin is a “dead language,” and so there are no native speakers of it, no “received” pronunciation, although many prefer the Italiante form. BTW, Cardinal Newman once said that the reason why Latin ceased being a common language of European elites, is the refusal to accept English, or French or German pronounciations, maybe Roman snobbery, forgetting that it was a common written language rather than a common spoken one,

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

Good one!!
I’m saying that Americans in general cannot pronounce Latin (or other foreign languages) properly because of their nasal twang. Although Latin is a dead language it is a European language and can be pronounced better by Europeans.

Like many Americans, I am magically able to eliminate the nasal twang when I speak to someone in German, Spanish, Russian, or Latin. American Catholics are normally taught to pronounce ecclesiastical Latin in the Italian pronunciation. However, nothing grates on the ears worse than hearing an English choir singing “V-EYE–vat Reg-EYE-nuh Elizabeeee-tha.”

 

[Cluny]

I know a rabbi with a deep, Southern US drawl, so I’m going to guess his Hebrew isn’t quite like the Hebrew Jesus spoke.

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I knew a Greek Orthodox priest from Georgia who would chant in Greek with a Southern accent. He’d open his mouth and magnolias would fall out.

 

[Ghoti]

Like many Americans, I am magically able to eliminate the nasal twang when I speak to someone in German, Spanish, Russian, or Latin. American Catholics are normally taught to pronounce ecclesiastical Latin in the Italian pronunciation. However, nothing grates on the ears worse than hearing an English choir singing "V-EYE–vat Reg-EYE-nuh Elizabeeee-tha."

Isn’t that Latin for “Betty lives in Regina (Sask)?”