Ecclesiastical vs Classical Latin Pronunciation

Firstly, it should be noted that there are some marked differences between Classical Latin and Church Latin pronunciation (Church Latin is also known as Ecclesiastical Latin).

One example of this is the letter ‘v’ which in Classical Latin is pronounced as ‘w’. Hence, Caesar’s famous line, ‘veni, vidi, vici‘ (I came, I saw, I conquered) is pronounced ‘wayn-ee, wee-dee, wee-chee’.

So if you have only been exposed to the Classical Latin of Cicero or Caesar’s Gallic Wars, then you will need to relearn some of the sounds. (If you are searching for a free Classical Latin course, then try LearnLatin.online)

Some Practical Examples

It is not difficult to master Church Latin pronunciation, and those of you who attend the Traditional Latin Mass should be quite familiar with Ecclesiastical Latin. (If you click here and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will find a video of Lesson 1 from my course, Latina Rosarii, which includes the pronunciation outlined below, along with slides.)

You can also watch my Youtube videos to see how individual prayers are said in Latin:

Church Latin Pronunciation

There are a few letters and combinations that differ from English: here are some of the main ones:

Vowels

a – as in fast; example Pater

e – as in they; example Deus

i – as in ravine; example fides

o – as in pour; example ora

u – as in put; example sunt

When two vowels are written side by side, e.g. in Deus and introibo, each vowel is pronounced separately, except for the following combinations:

ae –  as in fade; example caelum

au – as in Faust; example laudamus

Consonants

c –  as in cat unless followed by e, i or ae, when it is pronounced as ch; example: crucifixus but cibus.

g – as in goat unless followed by e or i, when it is pronounced as j; example: gaudium but igitur

j – as y in yellow. J is not always used in Latin; sometimes i is used instead; example: Jesus or Iesus.

ch – as in k; example Christum

t – as in toast unless followed by i, then pronounce as tsee; example: tua but gratia

th – as t in tunic; example: Thomas

gn – as ny in onion; example: dignatus

sc – as in school unless followed by e or i, when it is pronounced as sh; example scola but descendit

TAKEN FROM: Latina Rosarii, the Latin Primer for the Reluctant.