Help:IPA for Latin

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The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Classical Latin and Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. See Latin spelling and pronunciation for a more thorough look at the sounds of Latin, and see Latin regional pronunciation for information on the traditional pronunciation systems used in Europe.

Consonants[1]
IPA Latin
alphabet
Examples English approximation
Classical Ecclesiastical
b b bellum bean
d d decem deck
dz z zēlus adze
[2] g gēns giant
f f faciō fan
ɡ g gravis gear
h[3] h habeō her; hour
j[4] i iūs yodel
k c, k caput scar
ch charta car
[5] qu quattuor squash
l l locus leave
ɫ[6] l multus all
m m[7] manus man
n n[7] noster next
ŋ longus[8] song
g ignis
ɲ gn ignis onion
p p pax span
ph pharetra pan
r r regiō trilled or tapped r
s[9] s sum send
ʃ[2] sc scindō sharp
t t tabula stone
th thalamus tone; stone
ts[2] t port Botswana
[2] c centum change
w u[4] uerbum west
v v vest
z z zēlus zest
s miserere
Vowels[10]
IPA Latin
alphabet
Examples English approximation
Classical Ecclesiastical
a a charta bra (but shorter)
ā fāta father; bra
ɛ e ae/æ
oe/œ
e
est met
ē sē similar to made
ɪ i timida[4] mit
i i meet
ī dī need
ɔ o omnis caught
ō nōlō similar to code (American English)
ʊ u nunc[4] put
u u moose
ū lūna food
ʏ y cyclus cute
ȳ cȳma cued
ae̯ ae laetus sigh; sed
oe̯ oe poena boy; e in neighbor
au̯ au causa cow
eu̯ eu seu eh-oo
ui̯ ui cui oo-ee
◌̃ː Vm
Vn
monstrum long nasal vowels[7]
Prosody
IPA Examples
ˈ Gāius
/ˈɡa.i.us/
Stress (placed before the stressed syllable)[11]
. Syllable marker, generally used between vowels in hiatus

Notes

  1. Geminate (double) consonants are written with a doubled letter, except for /jj/ and /ww/: anus /ˈa.nʊs/, annus /ˈan.nʊs/. In IPA, they may be written as double or followed by the length sign: /nn/ or /nː/.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 In Classical Latin, ⟨c g t⟩ are always pronounced hard, as /k g t/.
    In Ecclesiastical Latin, ⟨c g sc⟩ are pronounced as soft [tʃ dʒ ʃ] before the front vowels ⟨e i y ae oe⟩, and ⟨ti⟩ before a vowel is pronounced [tsi].
  3. Generally silent. Sometimes medial ⟨h⟩ was pronounced [k] in Ecclesiastical Latin (e.g. mihi), whereas it was silent in Classical Latin.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 In Classical Latin, ⟨i u⟩ represented the vowels /ɪ iː and /ʊ uː/, and the consonants /j/, and /w/. Between consonants, and when marked with macrons or breves, ⟨i u⟩ are vowels. In some spelling systems, /j w/ are written with the letters ⟨j v⟩. In other cases, consult a dictionary.
    In Ecclesiastical Latin, ⟨i⟩ represents the vowel /i/, ⟨j⟩ represents the consonant /j/, ⟨u⟩ represents the vowel /u/ or /w/, and ⟨v⟩ represents /v/ in Ecclesiastical Latin.
    • In Classical Latin, consonantal ⟨i⟩ between vowels stands for doubled /jj/: cuius [ˈkujjʊs]. The vowel before the double /jj/ is short, though it is sometimes marked with a macron. When a prefix is added to a word beginning in /j/, the /j/ is usually single: trā-iectum [traː.jɛkˈtũː].
    • In Classical Latin, /w/ was doubled between vowels only in Greek words, such as Euander /ɛwˈwan.dɛr/.
    • In Ecclesiastical Latin, consonantal ⟨v⟩ is pronounced as a fricative /v/, except in the combinations ⟨gu su qu⟩, which are pronounced /gw sw kw/.
  5. The labialized velar /kʷ/ was pronounced as labio-palatalized [kᶣ] before the vowels /ɪ, iː, ɛ, eː/, as in qvī [kᶣiː].
  6. /l/ had two allophones in Classical Latin: velarized [ɫ] at the end of a word or before another consonant, plain [l] in other positions.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 In Classical Latin, a vowel and ⟨m⟩ at the end of a word, or a vowel and ⟨n⟩ before ⟨n⟩ or ⟨f⟩ represents a long nasal vowel.
  8. In both Classical and Ecclesiastical Latin, /n/ is pronounced as [ŋ] before /k, ɡ/.
    The digraph ⟨gn⟩ is pronounced as [ŋn] in Classical Latin, but [ɲ] in Ecclesiastical Latin.
  9. In Ecclesiastical Latin, /s/ between vowels is often pronounced as [z].
  10. Classical Latin had long and short vowels. If vowel length is marked, long vowels are marked with macrons, ⟨ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ȳ⟩, and short vowels with breves ⟨ă, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ, y̆⟩. Ecclesiastical Latin does not distinguish between long and short vowels.
  11. In words of two syllables, the stress is on the first syllable. In words of three or more syllables, the stress is on the penultimate syllable if this is heavy, otherwise on the antepenultimate syllable. There are some exceptions to this rule, mainly due to contraction or elision.