by adrianus » Thu Jun 20, 2013 11:00 am
According to the ancient grammarians, there is no difference in sound between long and short vowels, just the length of the sound. I think that is true. I suspect it is a habit of English-speakers to use different sounds to distinguish long and short vowels. That clipping a long, full sound seems to result in a different sound is a separate issue, related to the formation of a full sound over time. I don't think an Italian student of Latin distinguishes long and short in the manner that English speakers were taught to.
Secundum grammaticos antiquos, nullum discrimen exstat inter brevis vocalis sonum et sonum longae, solum est longitudinis vel longinquitatis discrimen. Rectè dicunt, ut opinor. Consuetudo olim erat, ut suspicor, eorum quo anglicè loquuntur ut longitudo vocalis aliter distinguatur. Longa et plena vocalis spatium temporis requirit ut ea planè sonetur, qui correpta aliter sonari videtur. Non novus autem est sonus. De sonis vocalum non itidem sonat italicus latinae linguae discipulus eius qui est anglicus vel americanus.
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.