Pronunciation from the official Wheelock's latin site

[zhongv1979]

http://www.wheelockslatin.com/chapters/ ... owels.html

I found the audio files of the Latin pronunciations from this website. Is the pronunciation here the right one? Or is it an anglicized version?

It sounds me that the person pronounces the long and short vowels just as them in British English. Is that really the case? I've heard from many that the long and short vowels in Latin are of the difference of the quantity not the quality, although in the pronunciation in that site indicates that the quality is also different.

[Lucus Eques]

You are absolutely correct, Zhong; the pronunciation there, though attempting to follow the restored rules, is painfully afflicted by a horrifically strong Angloamerican accent. The voice we hear, in fact, is following the Wheelock pronunciation rules precisely — one of the reasons I feel it necessary to discredit Wheelock.

The Wheelock vowels are the worst part of that certain pronunciation. The Roman grammarians were extremely clear, and they described their vowels in a manner which perfectly matches the vowel system of Italian — which should come as no surprise. Actually, reading those precise descriptions of ancient Roman vowel formation brought me to pronounce Italian much better.

You are right in asserting that vowel quantity does almost nothing to change vowel quality.

[Amadeus]

the pronunciation there, though attempting to follow the restored rules, is painfully afflicted by a horrifically strong Angloamerican accent.

I don't know, Lucus. It didn't sound that horrible to me. In fact, I think it was pretty good for an american. After all, we don't wanna condemn non-latins because their pronounciation does not match 100% the italian one. Am I right? *silence* I said, am I right? *more silence*.

[Lucus Eques]

Heh, that's true, Amadeus. I personally found it somewhat offensive, but then again I have to deal with it on a common basis in my country. However, though a perfectionist of sorts, I am also very accepting, and I love accents. Ultimately we all will have a foreign accent in our Latin. But the Wheelock model compares to those Italian-born English teachers who pass on their painfully strong accents to their students. It causes problems tenfold.

[Amadeus]

Now here's one I don't care for:

http://www.pyrrha.demon.co.uk/psound7.html

[GlottalGreekGeek]

This is something of a tangent, but I was quite shocked when an Italian train conductor, after realizing we were tourists, switched from his native Italian to perfect British English.

But then of course, my mother was surpised to find an TrenItalia ticket seller who could speak good Hebrew. I think that was in Firenze.

[Lucus Eques]

You get a lot of variety.

[Rindu]

The Wheelock vowels are the worst part of that certain pronunciation. The Roman grammarians were extremely clear, and they described their vowels in a manner which perfectly matches the vowel system of Italian.

But these grammarians were writing pretty late.

[Adelheid]

After all, we don't wanna condemn non-latins because their pronounciation does not match 100% the italian one

However well I pretend to speak English, when I was in England and bought something from a market stand, the seller asked me immediately: "Are you Dutch?"

Let's not be presumptuous. Foreigners, unless e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y talented or e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y singleminded, will never be able to speak another than their own lanuguage without an accent.

Or will they? I just don't think so.

[William]

Foreigners, unless e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y talented or e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y singleminded, will never be able to speak another than their own lanuguage without an accent.

I think you're mostly right, but I've known people who have had accent reduction classes after being immersed in a language, and they sounded – for stretches – like they were close to native speakers.

There was a goalkeeper who played in England who was Danish who always fooled me when he began to speak in interviews. He sounded English, but then a word or two would give him away as a foreigner.

WB