Thank you! I wish it could be soft( 
) but I’m glad to know how it’s supposed to be pronounced, so that I can do it right from the very beginning.
Keesa
[quote author=Lumen_et_umbra link=board=3;threadid=424;start=15#3585 date=1060640188]
Italian pronunciation is not really similar to that of Latin at all.
For instance, in Italian, the letter c, followed by an i or an e, makes a ch sound.
E.G. Piacere Pee-AH-chay-ray
(Latin always pronounces the c as a k)
cito - Kit-aw
And, in Italian, the three letters “gli” are pronounced as the -lli- in million when two vowels surround the three letters.
Also, most of the time, Italian vowels are pronounced long, whereas, vowels in Latin - without a macron - are pronounced short. Besides these, there are many other pronunciation rules in Italian that conflict with those of Latin.
[/quote]
Very true, but the vowels are still almost exactly the same and most of the consonants haven’t changed too drastically. I actually think that Spanish has preserved Latin better than Italian, but that is open to debate. The main thing is that Italian or Spanish sound more like Latin than any other language does.
Well, if we are attempting to determine which language’s pronunciation is least disparate to that of Latin, then I would be inclined to submit to you that Romanian or some Russian language’s pronunciation is thus (in my opinion).
Spanish and Italian, while still very close, are both equally dissimilar in their pronunciations compared to the other’s and compared to Latin’s.
Gemelo - Hey-MAY-low Spanish (H sound)
Giacomo - Jeeh-ah-CO-mo Italian (Soft G sound)
Genus - Gen-us Latin (Hard G)
Ha! I think it sounds somewhat like Russian as well…
The real problems for most people are the v c and g. Greek transcriptions tell us that these should be pronounced as w k and gh but the natural desire to pronounce a consonantal u as v and to soften c and g before i and e obviously affected Latin speakers as that is the way the consonants ended up being pronounced.
The palatalisation of consonants in Italian, gl and gn, is reproduced in other romance languages e.g. nh in Portuguese or n(tilde) in Spanish.
The mythical history of the ceceo espanol is well documented but is probably a further development of the softening c like the ch sound in Italian. Remember Cicero died a good two millenia ago.
[quote author=benissimus link=board=3;threadid=424;start=15#3642 date=1060664726]
Ha! I think it sounds somewhat like Russian as well…
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Oh finally when some one else says it you agree but hear not Episcopum!
Italian accent is more like Latin than that of Spanish by far.
¿Qué es “Ceceo Español” este del que has hablado?
What is this “ceco español” of which you have spoken?
Jamás he oído hablar de esa cosa.
[quote author=Lumen_et_umbra link=board=3;threadid=424;start=15#3639 date=1060663605]
Well, if we are attempting to determine which language’s pronunciation is least disparate to that of Latin, then I would be inclined to submit to you that Romanian or some Russian language’s pronunciation is thus (in my opinion).
[/quote]
My older brother speaks Russian-how convenient! I’ll just get him to teach me how to pronounce it…if he can take time from his inestimably busy college schedule for his little sister! 
Keesa