User:Gheuf/sandbox/pronunciation of classical names in english

This article is about how to figure out the standard anglicized pronunciation of a classical name based on its spelling. It is not about the original classical pronunciation, or approximations thereof.

The method works for both Latin and Greek.

1.TRANSLITERATION If the name is Latin, skip this step. If the name is Greek, transliterate the Greek word into Latin, retaining vowel length. Omega and eta are always long. For the other vowels, look them up in the dictionary to see if they have a macron. Alpha-iota becomes "ae", omicron-iota becomes "oe", upsilon becomes "y", omicron-upsilon becomes "u", epsilon-iota becomes "i". The nominative case-ending of the 2nd declension omicron-sigma becomes "us"; the nominative case ending of the 1st declension eta usually becomes short "a", but may remain long "e" (decided on a word-by-word basis). 2. SYLLABICATION Break the word up into syllables. "i" or "e" before another vowel is "consonantal" does NOT form a separate syllable for our purpose. 3.STRESSING. Make sure the word has all appropriate long marks marked. If the word has one syllable, stress that syllable. If the word has two syllables, stress the second-to-last syllable. If the word has three syllables, determine whether the second-to-last syllable is heavy or light. A syllable is heavy if and only if: a) It contains a long vowel (all vowels marked by a macron, as well as the diphthongs "ae" and "oe") b) It is closed by a consonant (a consonant followed by "consonantal" "i" or "e" and does NOT close a syllable) If the second-to-last syllable is heavy, stress it. Otherwise, stress the third-to-last syllable. 4. SECONDARY STRESSING Stress every other syllable before the main stress with a secondary stress. If the second syllable of the word ends up with a secondary stress, check to see if it is heavy. If so, the stress stays. If not, the stress moves back to the first syllable. If the word has three syllables and is stressed on the second-to-last syllable, the first syllable may be "protonic": if so, assign a secondary stress to it. (This is determined on a word-by-word basis.) If the last syllable is heavy, give it secondary stress. 5.DETERMINE PROPER ENGLISH VOWEL QUALITY a. Rewrite "ae" and "oe" as "e". Rewrite intervocalic "i" as the consonant "j". b. Mark the vowel as tense if: i. It has primary stress, is in the second-to-last syllable, and the second-to-last-syllable is open ii. It is in a "protonic", open syllable with a secondary stress. iii. It is in a syllable with secondary stress and is followed immediately by a vowel. Mark all other vowels lax. c. If the vowel is tense, use the following table: c. If the vowel is lax, use the following table: d. For unstressed vowels, rewrite as schwa. 6. DETERMINE THE PROPER ENGLISH CONSONANT This is obvious except for a) the case of "c" "g" "sc" and "s". C and G are pronounced "soft" before "i" and "e"; otherwise hard. "sc" is pronounced as "s" in front of "i" and "e", otherwise as "sk". "s" is pronounced as "z" next to a voiced consonant, or intervocalically; elsewhere as "s". b) Palatalization. Some consonants followed by the "consonantal" i and e palatalize. "c" or "t" becomes "sh", "s" becomes "zh", "g" becomes "dzh". In many cases this palatalization is optional; if palatalization takes place, the "consonantal" i or e may either be pronounced as a separate syllable, or else deleted. Otherwise, "consonantal" i or e is pronounced as a separate syllable, or as a glide.
 * Exception: when "on" occurs at the end of a word, it may be given secondary stress.
 * Exception: If u occurs before a consonant and "consonantal" i, it is lax.
 * Exception, the unstressed Greek termination -eus may be pronounced /ju:s/.