Veni vidi vici in latin letters3/16/2024 ![]() I also pronounce it with a slight glottal stop before vocalizing. Thus, oowee-ta (instead of wee-ta), where the oo diphthong is "unlong". ![]() English V is of course a fricative and is (IMPO) simply the wrong sound to make for Latin U (in CL pronunciation). When I pronounce a word like vita the U sound starts farther back than a W. To be impolite, pronouncing the U in Latin as though it were English W just sucks. I made some research about that hated "u" sound and I discovered that it was most likely pronounced neither as English " wine" nor as Italian " vino". There was of course some inaccuracy, but if I had put on my constructed Swedish accent prior to arriving in Sweden, my accent would surely have been far more accurate than one of me not bothering to even try and giving out Anglican dog swedish vowels which will not work if you experiment with words such as "hus" "syster" "själv" or even simple adverbs or demonstratives such as "här" and "det där" respectively. However it is worth noting that I was in Sweden a few weeks ago also, and my guesses as to the true pronunciation of Swedish were quite accurate. The same might go for pronunciation to some extent. One Professor actually said that no one knows really what the poets were trying to say - in ambiguous language one can only speculate, and ponder all of the possible interpretations of text. It is either that the greatest minds in classics can not be bothered, or that they accept one can never be sure as to exactly how the Romans pronounced their language, and so they see no point in trying. And to think, I was insecure, fearing lest my spoken latin should be criticized. However in terms of vowels and pronunciation overall there seemed to be no effort it was spoken as if english. ![]() I was in Cambridge a few weeks ago, the greatest classical centre on the face of the earth, and I found that consonantal u was indeed pronounced u (I did not even consider that any one might pronounce it as english v). Your point above Bardo is, sadly, a valid one. Thomas Aquinas with j's and v's.ītw, I take it that when my source says that u and v are used in modern texts, what is meant is "modern printing of classical latin texts" Read Cicero with i's and u's, but read St. The latter are certainly modern, the former were more of a necessity as latin evolved, and then became conventionalized during the Middle Ages.īut, I totally agree in that there should be no mixing of alphabets. Granted, the introduction of j's and v's was pragmatic, but not in the sense that they were intended to improve our ability to pronounce the language, as is the case with the macrons. Why not argue that we should read Cicero in Italian since that is the "natural evolution of the language?" No, just kidding. Your first link even says that the 'j' is used for "convenience" and that 'u' and 'v' are used in "modern texts." To impose them on classic works is artificial, since they were not originally there, and thus "retrofitting" someone's work with them is analogous to the use of macrons. Naturally to read in translation does not offer even half the experience.Īmadeus - Just because those letters appeared in the Middle Ages doesn't mean it wasn't pragmatic. However, I completely agree with the point of your last sentence. Indeed, since writing 'j' and 'v' is the same thing as writing short 'i' and 'u', they are not in principle artificial any more than these other conventions — their fault is in their lack of aesthetic appeal, and the confusion which later arrises, in my opinion. Thus macrons, certainly punctual in nature, have a place among such conventions, in my opinion, until they are no longer needed. Using miniscule and majuscule letters in writing Latin, to say nothing of punctuation and spaces, are also modern conventions that make reading easier. Why not argue that we should read Cicero in Italian since that is the "natural evolution of the language?" Amadeus - Just because those letters appeared in the Middle Ages doesn't mean it wasn't pragmatic.
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