Ch 11 · Lesson 3Latin · Chapter 11 · Lesson 3 · Grammar primer
How church Latin sounds: vowels, and which when
is CHEH-lee at mass and KAI-lee in a classroom. The vowels that move, the sounds both systems share, and when to use each.
The short version
Church Latin says ae as a plain e
- CHEH-lee mass, KAI-lee classical Latin
Why?Hide
Classical Latin says ae like the vowel of eye; Church Latin flattens it to e, so is CHEH-lee at mass. Stress, qu and the rolled r do not change: only about a dozen sounds differ between the two systems, and the grammar is identical.
Two Latins: pick one per sentence
excelsis - ek-SHEL-sees mass, eks-KEL-sees the classroom
Why?Hide
Ecclesiastical Latin is essentially Italian applied to Latin: is CHEH-lee, is GRAH-tsee-ah. Classical is reconstructed from ancient evidence: KAI-lee, GRAH-tee-ah, and v sounds like w. Both are legitimate; the only sin is mixing them mid-sentence. At mass, go Italianate; reading Caesar, go classical.
The vowels: ae, oe and y
| Spelling | Classical | Church Latin |
|---|---|---|
| as in eye: KAI-lee | e: CHEH-lee |
| as in boy: POI-nah | e: PEH-nah |
hymnus | French u | i: EEM-noos |
Collapsing ae into e has a cost: (fair) and (horse) sound the same in church Latin. Classical Latin keeps them apart.
What both systems share
Most of Latin sounds the same either way:
| Feature | Both systems | Example |
|---|---|---|
| stress | never the last syllable | DOH--noos |
| qu | kw | |
| r | tapped or rolled | |
| i as a consonant | y, as in yes | |
| double letters | held long | |
The stress rule is the same too: on the second-to-last syllable if it is heavy, otherwise on the third-to-last. A syllable is heavy if its vowel is long or if two consonants (or x) follow it, even after a short vowel. So salutare is sa-loo-TAH-reh in both, and fenestra (window) is feh-NEH-strah, because the s and t make the short e heavy.
Words you may already know
| Word | Classical | Church Latin |
|---|---|---|
Cicero | KEE-keh-roh | CHEE-cheh-roh |
| KAI-lee | CHEH-lee |
| ANG-noos | AH-nyoos |
| GRAH-tee-ah | GRAH-tsee-ah |
| MIH-hee | -kee |
| WEH-nee | VEH-nee |
| KREH-doh | KREH-doh |
The last row is a reminder: only the highlighted letters move, and has none.
Which one when
- Reading Caesar or Virgil
- Reading the Vulgate aloud
- Singing a Palestrina motet
- Mass responses and chant
Pick one system at the start of a piece and keep it to the end. A choir that sings VEH-nee and then KAI-lee in one phrase sounds like a mistake rather than a choice. The mass responses are said in church Latin.
This course's speaks classical Latin, because the course is built for reading texts, where long and short vowels carry grammar. (Some one-syllable clips such as and come from a different voice; where a clip and these rules disagree, trust the rules.) For church use, apply the eight changes in the first table.
Going further: c and g: hard or soft and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
10-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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