Use of the macron: Recommended practice?

Latin Learning Latin
1

Just a quick question about something that has sparked my curiosity from time time. Here at Textkit and on one or two other sites, some posters are in the habit of putting a macron on every long vowel while others are not. I have the impression that this use of the macron is a comparatively recent development. Is that correct?

I apologize if this question has been asked and answered before. It has been many years since I last sat in a Latin class, and at that time we never saw a macron in print outside coursebooks, grammars, and dictionaries. Has that changed? Do recent books from the Loeb Classical Library, for example, now use the macron in their Latin text? I’m sure I have never seen a book of that kind, but I haven’t had the opportunity to examine any of their new books to make sure.

2

No, scholars do not regularly put the macron over vowes. I just checked Reinhart’s edition of Cicero’s Academicus from 2022, and vowels there do not contain a macron.

In academia, using macrons is something reserved for beginners still learning the language (and thus material for beginners). If it shows up elsewhere, the natural assumption is that that person has a fastidious inclination regarding orthography or perhaps is an aficionado of spoken Latin, the latter of which is not something prevalent among typical classicists.

3

Thank you, @cmw. It’s reassuring to learn that I won’t be expected to acquire that new skill.