Help:IPA/Latin
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 | This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Latin on Wikipedia. It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Latin in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishing consensus on the talk page first. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. |
The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Classical Latin and Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.
See Latin phonology and orthography and Latin regional pronunciation for a more thorough look at the sounds of Latin.
Key
[edit]Consonants
[edit]| Consonants[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | Latin alphabet | Examples | English approximation | |
| Class. | Eccl. | |||
| b | b | bellum | bean | |
| d | d | decem | deck | |
| dz | z[2] | zēlus | adds | |
| dʒ | g[3] | gēns | giant | |
| f | f | faciō | fan | |
| ɡ | g | gravis | gear | |
| h | h[4] | habeō | her orhour | |
| j | i[5] | j[5] | jūvo | yes |
| k | c, k | caput | scar | |
| kʰ | ch[2] | charta | car | |
| kʷ | qu[6] | quattuor | squash | |
| kᶣ | quī | (French)cuisine | ||
| l | l | lītus | leave | |
| ɫ | l[7] | multus | all | |
| m | m[8] | manus | man | |
| n | n[8] | noster | next | |
| ŋ | longus[9] | song | ||
| g | ignis[9] | |||
| ɲ | gn | ignis[9] | onion | |
| p | p | pāx | span | |
| pʰ | ph[2] | pharetra | pan | |
| r | r | regiō | trilled or tapped r | |
| s | s[10] | sum | between sip and ship (retracted) | |
| ʃ | sc[3] | scindō | ship | |
| t | t | tabula | stone | |
| tʰ | th[2] | thalamus | tone | |
| ts | t[3] | portiō | Botswana | |
| tʃ | c[3] | centum | change | |
| w | u[5] | uerbum | west | |
| v | v[5] | vest | ||
| z | z[2] | zēlus | between zone and genre (retracted) | |
| s[10] | miserēre | |||
Vowels
[edit]| Vowels[11] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | Latin alphabet | Examples | English approximation | |
| Class. | Eccl. | |||
| a | a | anima | pasta | |
| aː | ā | ācer, āctus | father | |
| ɛ | e | est | met | |
| e | ae/æ oe/œ e | |||
| eː | ē | ēlēctus | Scottish[12] made | |
| ɪ | i | incipit | mit | |
| i | i y | īra, mīlle | mead | |
| iː | ī | |||
| ɔ | o | omnis | off | |
| o | o | story (short) | ||
| oː | ō | ōrdō | story (long) | |
| ʊ | u | urbs | put | |
| u | u | lūna | cool (short) | |
| uː | ū | cool (long) | ||
| ʏ | y[2] | cyclus | roughly like root (some dialects[13]; short); French tu | |
| yː | ȳ[2] | cȳma | roughly like root (some dialects[13]; long); German über | |
| Vowels that precede vowels[14] | ||||
| e | eV | mea | Scottish[12] mate | |
| i | iV | Italia | peace | |
| Diphthongs | ||||
| ae̯ | ae | caelum | sigh | |
| oe̯ | oe | poena | boy | |
| au̯ | au | aurum | cow | |
| ei̯ | ei | mei | say (most dialects[15]) | |
| eu̯ | eu | deus | roughly like go(some dialects[16]); Spanisheuro | |
| ui̯ | ui | cui | ruin | |
| Nasal vowels[8] | ||||
| ◌̃ː | um un | mōnstrum | long nasal vowels | |
Prosody
[edit]| Prosody | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Examples | Explanation |
| ˈ | Gāius [ˈɡaː.i.ʊs] | stress (placed before the stressed syllable)[17] |
| . | syllable marker, generally between vowels in hiatus[18] | |
Notes
[edit]- ^Geminate (double) consonants are written with a doubled letter except for /jj/ and /ww/: anus[ˈanʊs], annus[ˈannʊs]. In IPA, they may be written as double or be followed by the length sign: /nn/ or /nː/.
- ^ abcdefgOnly found in Greek loanwords.
- ^ abcdIn Classical Latin, ⟨c g t⟩ are always pronounced hard, as [kgt]. In Ecclesiastical Latin, ⟨c g sc⟩ are pronounced as soft[tʃdʒʃ] before the front vowels⟨e i y ae oe⟩, and unstressed ⟨ti⟩ before a vowel is pronounced [tsi].
- ^⟨h⟩ is generally silent. Sometimes, medial ⟨h⟩ is pronounced [k] in Ecclesiastical Latin: mihi[ˈmiki].
- ^ abcdIn Classical Latin, ⟨i u⟩ represent the vowels /ɪiː/ and /ʊuː/, and the consonants /j/ and /w/. Between consonants or when marked with macrons or breves, ⟨i u⟩ are vowels. In some spelling systems, /jw/ are written with the letters ⟨j v⟩. In other cases, consult a dictionary.
- Consonantal ⟨i⟩, between vowels, stands for doubled/jj/: cuius[ˈkʊjjʊs]. The vowel before the double /jj/ is usually short, but 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[traːˈjɛktũː].
- /w/ is doubled between vowels only in Greek words, such as Euander[ɛwˈwandɛr].
- ^The diagraph ⟨qu⟩ is pronounced as labio-velar [kʷ] before the vowels /a,aː,ɔ,oː,ʊ,uː/, and as labio-palatal [kᶣ] before the vowels /ɪ,iː,ɛ,eː/.
- ^/l/ has two allophones in Classical Latin. The clear [l] occurs when geminated to /ll/ and before the vowels /ɪ/ and /iː/, as well as before /ʏ/ and /yː/. Elsewhere, a dark (velarized) [ɫ] occurs: at the end of a word, before another consonant, and before all other native vowels, including /ɛ/ and /eː/.
- ^ abcIn Classical Latin, the combination of a vowel and ⟨m⟩ at the end of a word, or a vowel and ⟨n⟩ before ⟨s⟩ or ⟨f⟩, represents a long nasal vowel.
- ^ abcIn 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.
- ^ abIn Ecclesiastical Latin, ⟨s⟩ between vowels is often pronounced [z].
- ^Classical Latin has 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.
- ^ abAlso most forms of Irish English and Northern England English (excluding Scouse and Mancunian)
- ^ abThese dialects include modern Received Pronunciation and most forms of English English (with some exceptions such as Yorkshire), Australian, New Zealand, White South African, Scottish, Ulster, Southern American, Midland American, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Western Pennsylvania and California English. Other dialects of English, such as Northern American, New York City, New England, African American Vernacular, Welsh and Republic of Ireland English, have no close equiavalent vowel.
- ^In Classical Latin, short ⟨e⟩ and ⟨i⟩ have a more closed articulation, [e] and [i] when they occur before another vowel, instead of their normal Classical values of [ɛ] and [ɪ].
- ^Excluding Scottish English and most forms of Irish English and Northern England English (but not Scouse or Mancunian), which pronounce the vowel of say closer to Latin [eː], listed above.
- ^These dialects include Southern England (including Received Pronunciation), English Midlands, Australian, New Zealand, the Southern American, Midland American, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Western Pennsylvania and younger Californian English. Other dialects of English, such as most other forms of American English, Northern England English, Welsh English, Scottish English and Irish English, have no close equivalent vowel.
- ^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 heavy, and on the antepenultimate syllable otherwise. There are some exceptions, most caused by contraction or elision.
- ^This does not indicate a glottal stop [ʔ]; glottal stops are not reconstructed for Latin prosody in word-internal hiatus.
