how to pronounce these words ?

[Eli]

So the real pronunciation is Kaysar then.

It's weird that we dont know how the C was pronounced in Latin. Surely there are some surviving texts that talk about the Latin language?

 

[Heretic_Cata]

How do you pronounce Cannae and Issus ?

He is called Issus ? We call him Iisus. (but they sound the same)

That is, English speaking people do not have problems pronouncing Iulius. So why the J?

English is a strange language. We call him Iulius too.

Question (slightly related to the topic): what's up with the "Caius"/"Gaius" Iulius Caesar ? Why do some history books use "Caius" and some "Gaius" ?

 

[Eli]

He is called Issus ?

I think he's talking the town of Issus or the Battle of Issus. Not Jesus.

Question (slightly related to the topic): what's up with the "Caius"/"Gaius" Iulius Caesar ? Why do some history books use "Caius" and some "Gaius" ?

Roman Latin didnt have a G.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

^
That cleard it up. (on both accounts) Thanks.

 

[MCdread]

The English sound for J is actually unusual, and we got it from the French (who have changed theirs to a sort of "zh" sound). The Romans would have pronounced it as a "y" (which is why they used an I to spell it), The Spanish went in another direction and turned it into an "h". I don't know what the Italians do, if they even use the letter.

The italians don't really use the letter "J", the write it Giulio, with "Giu" being pronounced more less as "Joo" in english.

Roman Latin didnt have a G.

Of course it did. Graecia, Gallia, etc. It didn't have originally, but but by the time of the late republic (Caesar's time) it had been already in use for 2 centuries.

Of course, latin evolved over many centuries, and classical latin was pronounced differently than Church's latin in middle ages, but it is generally agreed that in the golden age of classical latin and roman literature, 1st century BC and 1st century AD), letters C and G in Cicero or Germania were pronounced as K and the german G (as in get).

 

[Adler17]

I made my Latinum at the Gymnasium and the very first we learnt was to pronounce them correctly- correctly for the classical Latin (until 500 AD). In this time the C was spelled like a K. So it is not Zizero but Kikero. Also the spelling of the rest of the words are very similar like in German but different to French and English and partly Spanish as well.
Later, in medievel times, the Church Latin or Vulgar Latin was used and the C was now pronounced sometimes as Z. But that is considered bad Latin. It is like talking in a London dialect instead of talking Oxford English.

Adler

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

Here's one that's always bugged me, as I've heard it said both ways:

Aetius (as in Flavius Aetius), is it pronounced like this "I cious" or "A T us".

 

[Peri]

Ive always pronounced ae as eye.
So Kaneye
Eye ti us

 

[shortguy]

Here's one that's always bugged me, as I've heard it said both ways:

Aetius (as in Flavius Aetius), is it pronounced like this "I cious" or "A T us".

AFAIK all t's in classical latin are hard, so it might be a combination of the two.

 

[Adler17]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_spelling_and_pronunciation

It is very interesting!

Adler

 

[sydhe]

The ecclesiastic pronunciation really differs radically from Classical latin. It looks like the medieval Latin pronunciation of Julius Caesar would be Yoo-lee-us Cheezer.

 

[MCdread]

The ecclesiastic pronunciation really differs radically from Classical latin. It looks like the medieval Latin pronunciation of Julius Caesar would be Yoo-lee-us Cheezer.

I always think of the ecclesiastic pronounciation as sounding more less to latin being read in modern italian accent and pronounciation.

 

[Plotinus]

But that is considered bad Latin.

Only by people who assume that classical Latin is "correct" and medieval Latin isn't, which is really just a Renaissance myth. By that argument, Chaucer's English is "correct" and modern English a reprehensible corruption.

It is like talking in a London dialect instead of talking Oxford English.

London dialects are certainly hard to understand, but the Oxford accent is also very strong (a lot like a Somerset accent). Neither is any more "correct" than the other. If there's a standard English pronunciation or dialect it's not associated with any particular place.

 

[Eli]

Only by people who assume that classical Latin is "correct" and medieval Latin isn't, which is really just a Renaissance myth. By that argument, Chaucer's English is "correct" and modern English a reprehensible corruption.

Well, if you're pronouncing people's names you should at least try to do so the way they were originally pronounced.

 

[Plotinus]

I don't see why, to be honest. As long as we know who we're talking about, why does it matter? I think it's largely accepted that the names of historical figures, especially those who used languages that are now either extinct or greatly changed, are generally altered to fit one's own language. For example, no-one calls Jesus or Confucius by the names they themselves would have used. No-one talks about "Aristoteles" except for the Greeks themselves, and even scholars pronounce "Origen" with a soft G even though he was actually "Origenes" with a hard G.

 

[thetrooper]

I, for one, talk about Aristoteles (not Aristotle) and Origenes with a hard G. It's no big deal however.

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

I just wanted to know how to say Aetius in classical Latin for correctness sake. I am rather meticulous in my desire for correctness.

 

[willemvanoranje]

London dialects are certainly hard to understand, but the Oxford accent is also very strong (a lot like a Somerset accent). Neither is any more "correct" than the other. If there's a standard English pronunciation or dialect it's not associated with any particular place.

I'm pretty ok with London dialects.. the real tough thing can be "charcoal" english.. the newcastle-lancashire English.. even Scottish accents are easier.

 

[Adler17]

All what I meant is, that there is in each language a "good" way to pronounce and "bad" way. Slang spoken on the streets has to be seen seperated from the language rules. So a man living in the Bronx is speaking differently than the language rules. A man in the parliament, or better perhaps university, will speak much more within that. So the rules of the pronounciation should be kept, like it was intended- and slang neglected. BTW there is no living Latin slang any more. So speaking a text of Cicero in a slang of the street is IMO a barbary. It should be kept within the pronounciation rules of the Classical Latin.

Adler

 

[Plotinus]

Maybe - but, equally, trying to pronounce Aquinas' Latin as Cicero would have done would be just as wrong.