Does any one have a link, or a list of what the names of the consonants are?
For example in Greek A=Alpha, B=Beta, etc.
Or do they simply pronounce them like we do in English??
Thanks.
I think the Romans just pronounced them like in English. IIRC, these are the correct ‘names’:
a = a
b = be
c = ce
d = de
e = e
f = ef
g = ge
h = ha
i = i
k = ka
l = el
m = em
n = en
o = o
p = pe
q = qu (cu)
r = er
s = es
t = te
u = u
v = ve
x = ex
y = y
z = zeta
I don’t know about Z, but I’d guess they said ‘zeta’ like the Greeks.
There would be no ‘v’ in Classical Latin; indeed, the Romans did not ever possess a letter which differed in spelling from that of their ‘u’ (the separate letter ‘v’ was invented during the Middle Ages). However, during the later Empire, the sound of our English ‘v’ began to emerge, even though the letter of the alphabet was identical for both sounds ‘u’ and ‘v’. If they would have given this sound a name, it would have been ‘vu’.
‘x’ was pronounced ‘ix’ (ics), and ‘y’ would have been ‘üpsilon’, or however closely the Roman tongue might have managed the sound, as in Greek; and yes, ‘zeta’ was the name of ‘z’.
Speaking of alphabets - does anyone know why the letters come in this particular order? Of course, it’s practical that the order is always the same, but why A, then B, then C et cetera? Is there some sort of logic to it - or is it just the way it is? Just wondering.
I may add here, that the Roman names came somewhat as short names from the Greek ones. Like “de” came from Greek “delta” and “ka” from “kappa”. The order of Latin alphabet follows strict the Greek one, with minor differences like “c” was for gama, which at the beginning was both used for “g” and “k” sounds. Later “g” took the place of eta etc. And last, the order and the names of the Greek alphabet are inherited from the Phoinician one, e.g. Alpha from Aleph, gama from gimel etc. I don’t know if in the Phoinician order is any sense, in Greek it looks like the it’s at random.
Quite so, Thomas. Though I would like to add that the Etruscans and Magna Graecians come between the Romans and Greeks, that the Romans inherited the alphabet from the Etruscans, who got theirs from a “backwater” version of the classic Greek version that the Greek colonists were using in southern Italy.
There would be no ‘v’ in Classical Latin; indeed, the Romans did not ever possess a letter which differed in spelling from that of their ‘u’ (the separate letter ‘v’ was invented during the Middle Ages). However, during the later Empire, the sound of our English ‘v’ began to emerge, even though the letter of the alphabet was identical for both sounds ‘u’ and ‘v’. If they would have given this sound a name, it would have been ‘vu’.
Of course, you’re right. 
I was thinking too much of the English alphabet.
‘x’ was pronounced ‘ix’ (ics), and ‘y’ would have been ‘üpsilon’, or however closely the Roman tongue might have managed the sound, as in Greek; and yes, ‘zeta’ was the name of ‘z’.
Now that you say it, I remember that’s what I learnt too, I forgot it though.
Vox Latina says the alphabet goes like this:
a:, be:, ce:, de:, e:, ef, ge:, ha:, i:, ca:, el, em, en, o:, pe:, cu:, er, es, te:, u:, ex or ix (but more ahead it says “ex” is preferred).
Then it says z was probably called “ze:ta” and y probably “hy”, and when the “h” was not sounded anymore, it changed to “i [y] graeca”.
Neat. I stand corrected.
The first chuck of the alphabet sounds exactly like the German one I learned years ago in High school…except for no J that is.
Yeah! that’s what I noticed, Matt; I had the same feeling. It’s also much like the Spanish alphabet.
Those are the same names as the hebrew alphabet, aren’t they?
Hm, in Spanish it’s said “i griega”. Are we the only ones who keep calling it like that?
Virtually, yes, I would say.
Hm, in Spanish it’s said “i griega”. Are we the only ones who keep calling it like that?
The French call it “i grec,” but the Italians say “ipsilon.”
yes, and in Italian is “i greco” and in French is “i grec” (that’s what the book says!).
But “i graeca” was only when “h” had lost its force. For us classical Latin students its “hy” (so the book says, I haven’t read the whole thing yet).
This page has some links.
http://www.foolswisdom.com/users/sbett/alfa-earliest-order.html
There is a lot of conjecture, of course. What I found compelling was the presentation of an Ugaritic a-b-c “song” –
ALFU BETI
GAMLU HATTI
DAALTU HADDI
WAQEYU ZAGAMI
…
The Greeks called it the “Cadmian letters.” But Venetris decyphered Linear B by finding a parallel to a known Cyrpriot script. So, the alphabet was probably fixed to some degree before loss of Knossos. However, among the many sources cited above, is one that cautions against seeking “the” alphabet, but recognizing that dozens of local alphabets flourished. Once the idea was out, it was adopted and adapted, alphabetical order was generally the same, but not identically so.
What is “alphabetical order” today? Look in a phone book and then take a test at an employment agency. D.E. Cleaners… D E Cleaners … DE Cleaners… D and E … Dande… D’ande… Look in the Oxford English dictionary. Do they not apply different rules to deHaviland than to DeGaulle?
Thanks ThomasGR for that link to the ancient scripts site, the only problem is - I’m not going to get any work done today as I’ll be too busy reading everything on the site! 
Cyborg:
Vox Latina says the alphabet goes like this:
a:, be:, ce:, de:, e:, ef, ge:, ha:, i:, ca:, el, em, en, o:, pe:, cu:, er, es, te:, u:, ex or ix (but more ahead it says “ex” is preferred).
The Weelock’s website has recently added an audio section. It includes the pronunciation of the names of the letters of the alphabet based on Vox Latina.
http://www.wheelockslatin.com/chapters/introduction/introduction.html
Magistra
At http://www.wheelockslatin.com/chapters/introduction/introduction_alphabet.html it says:
The Roman alphabet was like the English alphabet except that it lacked the letters j and w, and the letter v originally represented both the vowel u and the sound of the English consonant w. The Roman > names for the letters > are generally similar to ours (emphasis added)
I am a little confused 
Is the Roman name for the letter B, for instance, be as Vox Latina suggests or is it bee as it is de facto pronounced on the Wheelock web site?
It is “be” with a macron over the “e”. The website warned that it would be very careful with pronunciation, so its “be” may be a little exaggerated.
What I find interesting is that it says the short-V is like in “put” (he says “put” correctly), and then uses some sort of french-O to enuntiate “tum” and “sum”, rendering them as “tom” and “som”. Didn’t the Romans say there is no difference in quality between long and short A, I and V? That “tom” is really weird. And he uses this closed-O everywhere there is a short-V.