Hello!
I am new to this forum, and have just started learning latin. Feel free to remind me why learning latin is a good idea, if you please, as I am getting only negative feedback at the moment: ‘latin is a dead language.’
So, I’ve decided to have a look at the pronunciation first, yet so far I’ve gotten two different guides from two different sources. The one claims that ae sounds like ai in aisle, and in the other it is pronounced as e. Which is correct? Also, I’ve noticed that people are in disagreement about the pronounciation of v. Please explain.
There are plenty of disagreements as to pronunciation here. Many of them aren’t quite as serious as you seem to imply.
As to your questions, for present purposes I think “ae” can best be pronounced as in “eye”.
The sound signified in modern textbooks as “v” is best pronounced as “w”. Although Lucus and others are presently debating the exact position of the lips and the amount of air meant to be blown through, this pronunciation will serve you best and prevent you making a fool of yourself. All of us are in agreement however that you should not pronounce it as a “v” sound, as in the English word “voice”.
As for your question about Latin being a dead language, I have myself made that claim, although only in a wholly jocose fashion. Readers of Roman literature today cannot fail to be struck by the similarity of the characters depicted to people we may recognise in our own lives. Even in translation the relevance of Martial and Juvenal has struck me, and in the original Latin the wit is all the more pungent.
When your motivation begins to flag you can reflect on how much you have already learned, and I’m sure that after a not too long period of study, that you might be able to acquaint yourself with some of Martial’s easier couplets.
Hello!
I am new to this forum, and have just started learning latin.
Excellent! Join the club!
Feel free to remind me why learning latin is a good idea, if you please, as I am getting only negative feedback at the moment: ‘latin is a dead language.’
Learning any language is beneficial. It expands the mind, enriches the spirit, improves your reading and composition skills, enables you to master and increase your verbal skills, provides a broad cultural experience, unlocks a vast array of literature, history, and knowledge. Latin has all these qualities and is a true treasure trove of personal enjoyment. It is a foundation language. It opens the way to much of the history of all kinds of the Western World.
Greek (I hear) is pretty good too.
Turpissimus has given you a good handle on pronunciation and he certainly has a better grasp on it than yours truly. 'Cept v is w.
“RULE BRITANNIA”
[Look there! He’s winking: He’s being humorous!]
Where are all these British types coming from???
Can you tell me, what is “…a chav filled town…”?
A member of Britain’s burgeoning peasant underclass.
Drinking, fighting, cruising around in souped-up automobiles, wearing tasteless jewellery and clad head-to-foot in brand name clothing. You should be able to familiarize yourself with the type from the above website. After all, I’m sure that similar types of people are to be found in the United States. I would like to know from Episcopus what chavs are known as in South Wales, he seems to have had a great deal of experience with them.
Also, Timothy, have you started versifying yet? It’s quite difficult but with the proper links and a good topic the hexameters should be at least a third full.
Where are all these British types coming from???
It is the ubiquity of the Canadians that truly impresses me.
Pretty much all introductory texts will guide you through some type of pronunciation. Don’t stress too much about it: inevitably, you’ll be working on it for a while.
I think the most important thing right now for you is to consistently apply one set of pronunciation rules or another; it will help your memory (otherwise, you’ll learn caelum as ‘kai-loom’, and then a few weeks later wonder what on earth ‘chay-loom’ could mean )
Also, Timothy, have you started versifying yet? It’s quite difficult but with the proper links and a good topic the hexameters should be at least a third full.
Your confidence in me is appreciated, but apparently I’m flying false colors here. I’m still relearning the basics and haven’t started composition yet. I haven’t finished the D’Ooge book yet! (Hey! I’m a working stiff!) My purpose is to read Livy/Caesar/Plautus. If I can speak Classical as well I’ll be very happy. If I can chat without disgracing myself, I’ll consider it a minor miracle. And I’d like to work through the various Latin texts here so that there are keys available and audio. Not too ambitious, right?
Of course, poetry will arise and I’ll take a run at it but, truth be told, I don’t have the soul for it. But who can say? Maybe I will be taken and find a voice I never had before. And prose beckons at the end of the Greenough book.
But right now, I’m campaigning in Gaul with a pair of boys as companions and there’s lots of talk about building bridges and frightened Gauls. Pretty soon now I’ll meet Daedalus and Icarus! I wonder if they’re chavs?
He’s being humorous!]
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