The rule for where the accent or stress in a Latin word goes is also straight forward. If the word has only two syllables, the accent always falls on the first syllable. For example, amo is pronounced as AH-moe, not ah-MOE. If the word has three or more syllables, then where the stress is applied depends upon whether the syllable second to the last has a long vowel or not. If the second to last syllable has a long vowel in it, then the accent is placed on that syllable. If the second to the last syllable has a short vowel, then the previous syllable (the third syllable from the end). For example, peccata is pronounced pe-CAH-ta, since the a in the second syllable is long, but nomine is pronounced NOH-mi-neh, since the i of the second syllable is short. As I said, a good dictionary is most helpful here.
Pronunciation of the Letters
Since English borrowed its alphabet from Latin, the pronunciation of individual Latin letters is close to that of English. The differences are mainly the vowels and a few consonants.
Vowels
Long
Short
A as in father
A as in Dinah
E as in they
E as in met or pet
I as in machine
I as in pit or hit
O as in note
O as in off
U as in rude
U as in put
The distinction between a short or a long A is how long the vowel is actually pronounced. The long A is simply held longer than a short A, Ahhhhhhh versus ah.
Consonants
Consonants are “hard”, but some consonants take a hard form in front of some vowels and a soft form in front of other vowels:
These consonants are hard before a, o, u, au
And these are soft consonants before ae, e, oe, i:
C = k as in cot
C = ch as in chain
CC = kk as in accord
CC = tch as in catchy
SC = sk as in tabasco
SC = sh as in sheep
G = g as in go
G = soft g as in gentle
GN = “ni” as in onion (ny like sound)
TI - when followed by a third vowel becomes a tsee sound, as in tsetse fly
Sometimes one will see a “j” in Latin. Technically Latin has no letter J. It was introduced in the 13th century or thereabouts to differentiate between the vowel i and the consonant i. The consonantal i is like our y. “Major” in Latin is pronounced as MAH-yor. Until this last century, most printed Latin texts used the j to indicate the different sounds. Today the j’s are usually replaced with the more classical i’s.
Diphthongs
ae - as “ay” in say
au - as “ou” in house
oe - as “ay” in say
So now that we have all these good rules, let’s take some examples. Before we do, however, note one other difference between Latin and English. In English, word order is crucial. Dog bites man means something very different than man bites dog. In English, the word order distinguished who did what to whom. In Latin, it is the ending of the word that indicates who did what to whom. Vir (man) mordet (bites) canem (dog), vir canem mordet, canem vir mordet, canem mordet vir, mordet vir canem, and mordet canem vir all mean the same thing, man bites dog. So when we get to the examples, you will see a very different word order than what is demanded in English.
Now for the examples:
The Sign of the Cross:
Signum
Crucis
SIN-yum
CREW-chis
Latin
In
nomine
Patris,
et
Filii,
et
Spiritus
Sancti.
Amen.Pro:
In
NOH-mi-neh
PAH-tris
et
FEE-li-ee
et
SPEE-ri-toos
SANC-tee
AH-menTrans:
In
the name
of the Father
and
of the Son
and
of the Spirit
Holy.
Amen.
The Minor Doxlogy (Glory Be):
Doxologia
Minor
Docks-oh-loh-GEE-ah
MEE-nor
Latin
Gloria
Patri,
et
Filio,
et
Spiritui
Sancto.
Sicut
eratPro:
GLOH-ri-ah
PAH-tree
et
FEE-li-oh
et
Spee-RI-too-ee
SANC-toh
SEE-cut
EH-ratTrans:
Glory be
to the Father
and
to the Son
and
to the Spirit
Holy.
As
it was
Latin
in
principio
et
nunc
et
semper
et
in
saecula
saeculorumPro:
in
prin-CHI-pi-oh
et
noonk
et
SEM-pair
et
in
SAY-coo-la
say-coo-LO-rumTrans:
in
the beginning
and
now
and
always
and
unto
the ages
of ages*
