How to Read in
Latin
Consonants and Vowels
Word Stress
References
• 1. http://linguaeterna.com/vocabula/alph.php
• 2. https://www.online-latin-dictionary.com/
• A, B, C, D, E, F,
Lingua Latina G, H [гх], I, J, K,
Latin alphabet, also L, M, N, O, P, Q,
called Roman alphabet,
the most widely used R, S, T, U, V, X,
alphabetic writing system in
the world, the standard Y (ипсилон), Z (
script of the
English language and the зэта)
languages of most of
Europe and those areas
settled by Europeans.
How to pronounce consonants
• 1. Latin letter h is pronounced as Ukrainian г or German h.
• 2. Letter k is kept in only one word Kalendae (first day of every
month).
• 3. Letter l should be pronounced softly as in Russian Лена,
Лариса, люстра. Liber (book), lex (law), libum (cake)
• 4. Letters y and z were used in words of Greek origin.
• 5. Proper names, geographical names, names of nations, months
are written in capital letters. Theodorus- (philosopher), Caesar,
populus Romanus (people of Rome)
Latin vowels
• There are 4 diphthongs in Latin:
• au – is pronounced as [au]-Aurora (goddess of dawn), aurum (gold)
• eu -- is pronounced as [eu]- Europa, euripus (strait)
• ae -- is pronounced as Russian [э]. Praemium- (award), Caesar
• oe -- is pronounced as German [ö] or Kyrgyz [ө]. Oedipus (name of a
king), poena (punishment)
• But if these combination of vowels are placed in different syllables
they are read separately, they have marks of long vowel sound ¨ or
shortness ˘.
E.g poēta [poeta] poet; coĕmo [ко'эмо] I am buying.
Reading rules
• C - [ts] before letters e, i, y and diphthongs ae, oe. E.g. centum
[tsentum] hundred, circulus [tsirculus] circle, Cyclops [tsiklops]
one- eyed creature, Caesar [tsezar], coeptum [tseptum] start.
• In all other cases C is pronounced as [к]: clarus [klarus]
magnificent, cura [кura] care, casa [кaza] inn, causa [кauza]
cause, reason, collega [коlega] fellowman
• The following combination belongs to words of Greek origin:
• ph [f]: philosophus [filosofus] philosopher;
• rh [r]: rhetor [retor] teacher of refined speech;
• th [t]: theatrum [teatrum] theatre.
Reading rules
• ch - [h]: pulcher [‘pulher] beautiful;
• ti before the vowel- [tsi]: ratio [‘ratsio] ratio, reason, scientia
[ski’entsia] knowledge,
• BUT totius (from totus (wholesome) and other words of Greek origin
like Miltiades [mil’tiades] and after letters s, t, x combination ti is
pronounced as [ti ]: bestia [‘bestia] animal.
• Соmbination ngu is pronounced as [ŋgv]: lingua [l’ingva] language.
• Letter q is always used in combination with letter u and is pronounced
as [kv]: quinque [‘kvinke] five, quid [kvid]- what
Reading rules`
• su in words suadeo [sv’adeo] I advise, suavis [sv’avis]
pleasant, consuesco [коnsv’esko] I get used.
• In all other cases this combination is pronounced as [su] –
suus [s’u:s] mine, his, hers.
• S is pronounced as z between vowels: casa [к’аzа] inn.
• In all other cases -as [s]: stare [st’are] to stand, sanus
[s’anus] healthy, vesper [‘vesper] evening.
Stress in words
• 1. Stress is never placed on the last syllable.
• 2. In Latin, the stress on a word is placed on only one of two syllables,
the one before the last syllable: pa-pa (honorary title), vi-a (road), au-
rum (gold)
• 3. In words consisting of three and more syllables stress is placed on
second syllable from the end:
• а) stress is placed on second syllable from the end if the vowel is long:
for-tū-na – (destiny), ma-gis-ter –(teacher);
• б) stress is placed on third syllable from the end if the vowel is short:
po-pŭ-lus – (people), ra-tĭ-o –(reason).
