User:Nicodene/sandbox4

__NOINDEX__ Latin phonology and orthography is the system of sounds found in Latin and the system of spelling used to represent them.

Classical
This part of the article deals with what can be deduced of the pronunciation of the educated classes around the first century BC. In this period the spelling system was largely phonemic. A notable exception is its rendition of vowels, which generally were not distinguished as long or short.

Consonants
Consonants in brackets are disputed, at least as phonemes, and those in braces are found mainly or exclusively in loanwords from Greek.

Spellings and interpretations

 * $⟨b p⟩$ stood for.
 * would often assimilate to a following consonant.
 * $⟨c g⟩$ stood for.
 * They had no ‘soft’ variants before front vowels.
 * $⟨d t⟩$ stood for . They were likely dental.
 * would often assimilate to a following consonant.
 * $⟨f⟩$ stood for . It was likely labiodental.
 * $⟨gn⟩$ likely stood for.
 * Apparent minimal pairs with versus  have been used to argue for a phonemic.
 * It has been claimed that $⟨gn⟩$ lengthened preceding vowels but this seems doubtful.
 * $⟨h⟩$ stood for.
 * There was a strong tendency for the sound to be lost in medial position.
 * $⟨h⟩$ after $⟨p t c⟩$ denoted aspiration and after $⟨r⟩$ possibly nothing. See $⟨ph th ch⟩$ and $⟨rh⟩$ below.
 * $⟨i u⟩$, as consonants, stood for.
 * Scholars disagree on whether these were phonemes or simply allophones of the vowels.
 * Between vowels $⟨i⟩$ normally stood for a geminate . $⟨u⟩$ stood for in Greek words like Euander.
 * In some cases $⟨i⟩$ after a consonant stood for.
 * $⟨k⟩$ stood for . It occurred before $⟨a⟩$ in a few words like kalendae.
 * $⟨l⟩$ stood for ‘dark’ i.e. velarized before other consonants, at the end of a word, and likely before the vowels $⟨e a o u⟩$. In the geminate $⟨ll⟩$ and before $⟨i⟩$ it had a ‘clear’ quality, either  or.
 * $⟨m⟩$ stood for.
 * $⟨n⟩$ stood for . It was dental or alveolar.
 * $⟨ph th ch⟩$ stood for the aspirates . They were found in borrowings from Greek. Sometimes they replaced Latin $⟨p t c⟩$.
 * $⟨qu gu⟩$ stood for either or . There is no scholarly consensus on the matter.
 * The $⟨u⟩$ in $⟨qu gu⟩$ was apparently lost via dissimilation before a following $⟨u⟩$.
 * The $⟨u⟩$ in $⟨qu gu⟩$ may have been palatalised to a sound like the Greek $⟨υ⟩$ (that is, like ).
 * $⟨r⟩$ likely stood for an alveolar trill . A flap and a variable  have also been suggested.
 * $⟨rh⟩$ was found in borrowings from Greek. It seems unlikely to have been pronounced differently from $⟨r⟩$.
 * $⟨s⟩$ stood for . It was likely dental or alveolar.
 * It remained voiceless between vowels.
 * $⟨x⟩$ stood for.
 * $⟨z⟩$ stood for . It was found in borrowings from Greek.
 * Between vowels it stood for a geminate.

Other theories

 * Intervocalic might have been somewhat aspirated.
 * Intervocalic might have been fricatives or approximants.

Phonotactics

 * The following geminates could occur [...]
 * Syllabification [...]
 * Stress assignment [...]

Spellings and interpretations

 * $⟨i e a o u⟩$ represented two sets of vowels, the short and the long.
 * In the pairs each short vowel was lax relative to the corresponding long vowel:  versus.
 * Sometimes the long vowels were indicated with apices, as in $⟨é á ó ú⟩$. For long there was a separate symbol $⟨ꟾ⟩$.
 * $⟨y⟩$ appeared in loanwords from Greek. It would have been pronounced by the educated.

Post-Classical
Important changes include palatalization and the loss of phonemic vowel length. For more information, see the articles linked above.

Modern Ecclesiastical
An Italian rendition is described below. A notable difference from Italian proper is that it lacks the stressed vowels.

Phonetics

 * voices to between vowels.
 * lengthen between vowels, as in lignum.

Spelling
$⟨h⟩$ is silent except in the words nihil and mihi, where it is stands for.

The table below is based on descriptions and examples from the Liber Usualis. For convenience the abbreviation ᶠᵛ is used for ‘followed by a front vowel’, i.e. followed by or. (Note that these vowels can be spelt in multiple ways.) Conversely, * is used for ‘not followed by a front vowel’.

Phonetics

 * Length is affected by stress, as in Italian.
 * assimilates to a following consonant. may do so as well, but variably.
 * Unstressed are raised while unstressed  remain unchanged in quality.

Spelling
Per the Liber Usualis. Stressed vowels may be marked with an acute accent for didactic purposes.

Pronunciation sample
The following is a reading of The North Wind and the Sun:
 * Olim inter se Aquilo et Sol uter fortior esset certabant, cum viatorem quendam paenula amictum procedentem conspexerunt; atque ipsorum fortiorem existimandum esse consenserunt, qui efficeret ut viator ille paenulam deponeret. Aquilo autem vehementissime furere coepit; sed, quo fortiores flatus emittebat, eo artius viator se circumdabat paenula; tandem, viribus destitutus, propositum suum omisit. Tum Sol caelum clarissima luce illustravit; mox vero viator, calore victus, paenulam exuit. Itaque Aquilo, quamvis invite, confessus est solem esse fortiorem.
 * [ˈɔːli ˌmin̪t̪eɾˈs̪ɛ| ˈaːkwiloe̞t̪ ˈs̪ɔlː| ˈuːt̪e̞ɾ ˈfɔrːt͡s̪jo ˈɾɛs̪ːs̪et̪| t͡ʃeɾˈt̪aːban̪t̪| ˌkuɱviaˈt̪ɔˑɾem ˈkwɛn̪ːd̪am| ˈpɛˑnula ˈmik̟ːt̪um pɾot͡ʃeˈd̪ɛn̪ːt̪em| ˌkon̪s̪pek̟ˈs̪ɛːɾun̪t̪| ˈat̪ːkwe| ipˈs̪ɔːɾuɱ foɾˈt͡s̪jɔːɾem| eɡˌzis̪t̪iˈman̪ːd̪u ˈmɛs̪ːs̪e ˌkon̪s̪en̪ˈs̪ɛːɾun̪t̪| ˈkwi efˈfiːt͡ʃeɾe̞t̪| ˌut̪viˈaːt̪o ˈɾilːle̞| ˈpɛːnulan̪ d̪eˈpɔːneɾet̪‖ ˈaːkwilo ˈaˑu̯t̪eɱ| ˌveemen̪ˈt̪is̪ːs̪ime̞ ˈfuːɾeɾe̞ ˈt͡ʃɛːpit̪| ˈs̪ɛd̪ː kwo̞foɾˈt͡s̪jɔːɾes̪ ˈflaːt̪us̪ ˌemit̪ˈt̪ɛːbat̪| e̞oˈarːt͡s̪juz viˈaːt̪oɾ ˌs̪e̞t͡ʃiɾˈkun̪ːd̪abat̪ ˈpɛːnula| ˈt̪an̪ːd̪eɱ ˈviˑɾibuz ˌd̪es̪t̪iˈt̪uːt̪us̪ pɾoˈpɔːzit̪un̪ ˈs̪uˑu moˈmiːzit̪‖ ˈt̪umː ˈs̪ɔlː| ˈt͡ʃɛːluŋ klaˈris̪s̪ima ˈluːt͡ʃe̞il lus̪ˈt̪raːvit̪| ˈmɔkːs̪ ˈvɛːɾo| viˈaːt̪oɾ kaˈlɔˑɾe ˈvik̟ːt̪us̪| ˈpɛːnula ˈmɛɡːzwit̪‖ ˈiːt̪akwe ˈaːkwilo| ˈkwaɱvi s̪iɱˈviːt̪e̞| koɱˈfɛs̪ːs̪u ˈs̪ɛs̪ːt̪| ˈs̪ɔːlem ˌe̞s̪s̪efoɾˈt͡s̪jɔːɾem]