Help:IPA/Latin

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Short description: Wikipedia key to pronunciation

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 {{IPA-la}} and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

See Latin spelling and pronunciation and Latin regional pronunciation for a more thorough look at the sounds of Latin.

Consonants[1]
IPA Latin
alphabet
Examples English approximation
Class. Eccl.
b b bellum bean
d d decem deck
dz z[2] zēlus adds
g[3] gēns giant
f f faciō fan
ɡ g gravis gear
h h[4] habeō her or hour
j i[5] j[5] iūs yes
k c, k caput scar
ch[2] charta car
qu[6] quattuor squash
kᶣ quī French cuisine
l l locus 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 pax span
ph[2] pharetra pan
r r regiō trilled or tapped r
s s[10] sum send
ʃ sc[3] scindō sharp
t t tabula stone
th[2] thalamus tone
ts t[3] port Botswana
c[3] centum change
w u[5] uerbum west
v v[5] vest
z z[2] zēlus zest
s[10] miserere
Vowels[11]
IPA Latin
alphabet
Examples English approximation
Class. Eccl.
a a anima pasta
ā ācer father
ɛ e est met
e ae/æ
oe/œ
e
ē ēlēctus Scottish made
ɪ i incipit mit
i i
y
īra meet
ī
ɔ o omnis off
o o
ō ōrdō RP or Australian law
ʊ u urbs put
u u lūna cool
ū
ʏ y[2] cyclus Scottish cute
ȳ[2] cȳma Scottish cued
Diphthongs
ae̯ ae aetās sigh
oe̯ oe poena boy
au̯ au aurum cow
eu̯ eu seu no English equivalent; Spanish euro
ui̯ ui cui no English equivalent; Spanish muy
Nasal vowels[8]
◌̃ː um
un
monstrum long nasal vowels
Prosody
IPA Examples Explanation
ˈ Gāius
[ˈɡaːɪ.ʊs]
[ˈɡajjʊs]
stress (placed before the stressed syllable)[12]
. syllable marker, generally between vowels in hiatus

Notes

  1. 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/.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Only found in Greek loanwords.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 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 unstressed ⟨ti⟩ before a vowel is pronounced [tsi].
  4. ⟨H⟩ was generally silent. Sometimes medial ⟨h⟩ is pronounced [k] in Ecclesiastical Latin (mihi); it was pronounced faintly in Classical Latin.[clarification needed]
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 In Classical Latin, ⟨i u⟩ represent the vowels /ɪ iː and /ʊ uː/, and the consonants /j/, and /w/. Between consonants or 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.
    • 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].
    In Ecclesiastical Latin, ⟨i⟩ represents the vowel /i/, ⟨j⟩ represents the consonant /j/, ⟨u⟩ represents the vowel /u/ or (in the combinations ⟨gu su qu⟩) the consonant /w/, and ⟨v⟩ represents the fricative /v/.
  6. The labialized velar /kʷ/ was pronounced as labio-palatalized [kᶣ] before the vowels /ɪ, iː, ɛ, eː/.
  7. /l/ has two allophones in Classical Latin: velarized [ɫ], at the end of a word or before another consonant, and plain [l] in other positions.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 In 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.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 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.
  10. 10.0 10.1 In Ecclesiastical Latin, /s/ between vowels is often pronounced [z].
  11. 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.
  12. 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, on the antepenultimate syllable otherwise. There are some exceptions, most caused by contraction or elision.