American Guild
of Organists
Pronunciation
of Church Latin
Vowels and Diphthongs
Consonants
Vowels and Diphthongs
Each vowel has one sound; a
mixture or sequence of sounds would be fatal to good Latin pronunciation;
this is far more important than their exact length.
It is of course difficult
to find in English the exact equivalent of the Latin vowels. The examples
given here will serve as an indication; the real values can best be learned
by ear.
A is pronounced
as in the word Father; never as in the word can.
We must be careful to get this open, warm sound, especially when A
is followed by M or N as in Sanctus, Nam,
etc.
E is pronounced as
in Red, men, met; never with the suspicion of a second sound
as in ray.
I is pronounced as
ee in Feet; never as i in milk or tin.
O is pronounced as
in For; never as in go.
U is pronounced as
oo in Moon; never as u in custom.
Y is treated as the
Latin I.
The pronunciation given for
I, O, U, gives the approximate "quality" of the sounds,
which may be long or short. Care must be taken to bring out the accent
of the word.
mártyr = márteer
As a general rule when two
vowels come together each keeps its own sound and constitutes a separate
syllable.
diéi = di-é-i
fílii = fí-li-i
eórum = e-órum
This applies to OU
and AI
prout = pro-oot
coutúntur = co-oo-toón-toor
áit = áh-eet
But notice that AE
and OE are pronounced as one sound, like E above.
caelum
In AU, EU,
and AY, the two vowels form one syllable, but both vowels must
be distinctly heard. The principle emphasis and interest belongs to
the first which must be sounded purely. If on such a syllable several
notes are sung, the vocalization is entirely on the first vowel, the
second being heard only on the last note at the moment of passing to
the following syllable.
Examples: Lauda, Euge
EI is similarly treated
only when it occurs in the interjection Hei. Otherwise Mei
= Me-i, etc.
U preceded by Q
or NG and followed by another vowel as in words like qui
and sanguis, keeps its normal sound and is uttered as one syllable
with the vowel which follows: qui, quae, quod, quam, sanguis.
But notice that cui forms two syllables, and is pronounced as
koo-ee. In certain hymns, due to the metre, this word must be
treated as one syllable (Cf. Major Bethlem cui contigit. Lauds
for the Epiphany).
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Consonants
The consonants must be articulated with a certain crispness; otherwise
the reading becomes unintelligible, weak and nerveless.
C coming before e,
ae, oe, i, y is pronounced like ch in church.
caelum = che-loom
Cecília = che-chée-lee-a
CC before the same
vowels is pronounced t-ch.
ecce = et-che
síccitas = seét-chee-tas
SC before the same
vowels is pronounced like sh in shed.
Descéndit = de-shén-deet
Except for these cases C
is always pronounced like the English K.
cáritas = káh-ree-tas
CH is always like
K (even before E or I).
Cham = Kam
máchina = má-kee-na
G before e, ae,
oe, i, y, is soft as in generous.
mági, génitor,
Regína
Otherwise G is hard
as in Government.
Gubernátor, Vigor,
Ego
GN has the softened
sound given to these letters in French and Italian.
agneau, Signor, Monsignor
The nearest English equivalent
would be N followed by y.
Agneau = Ah-nyoh
Regnum = Reh-nyoom
Magníficat = Mah-nyeé-fee-caht
H is pronounced K
in the two words nihil (nee-keel) and mihi (mee-kee) and
their compounds. In ancient books these words are often written nichil
and michi. In all other cases H is mute.
J often written as
I, is treated as Y, forming one sound with the following
vowel.
jam = yam
alleluia = allelóoya major = ma-yor
R when with another
consonant, care must be taken not to omit this sound. It must be slightly
rolled on the tongue e.g. Carnis.
Care must be taken not to
modify the quality of the vowel in the syllable preceding the R:
Kyrie: Do not say
Kear-ee-e but Kée-ree-e.
Sápere: Do not say Sah-per-e but Sáh-pe-re.
Dilígere: Do not say Dee-lee-ger-e but Dee-lée-ge-re.
S is hard as in the
English word sea but is slightly softened when coming between two vowels.
misericórdia
TI standing before
a vowel and following any letter (except S, X, T) is pronounced tsee.
Patiéntia = pa-t-see-én-t-see-a
Grátia = Grá-t-see-a
Constitútio = Con-stee-tú-t-see-o
Laetítia = Lae-tée-t-see-a
Otherwise the T is like the English T.
TH is always simply
T.
Thómas, Cathólicam
X is pronounced
ks, slightly softened when coming between two vowels.
exércitus
XC before e, ae, oe,
i, y = KSH.
Excélsis = ek-shél-sees
Before other vowels XC
has the ordinary hard sound of the letters composing it.
excussórum = eks-coos-só-room
Y in
Latin is reckoned among the vowels and is
sounded like I.
Z is pronounced dz.
zizánia
All the rest of the consonants
B, D, F, K, L, M, N, P, Q, V are pronounced as in English.
Double Consonants must be
clearly sounded.
Bello = bel-lo, not
the English bellow
Abbas, Joánnem,
Innocens, piíssime, terra
In the pronunciation and singing
of a word the "Golden Rule" must always be kept:
"Never take a breath just
before a fresh syllable of a word."
A person who is unable to
sing this phrase from the quarter-bar to the end in one breath, must be
careful not to breathe just before a fresh syllable (at a or b).
The lesser evil would be to breathe after the long note and off
its value:
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Courtesy of
American Guild of Organists
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