| Restored Classical Pronunciation
of Latin
by Robert P. Sonkowsky
Thanks to the progress of scholarship and the development
of new approaches to the study of Latin Literature, we can today
bring into the classroom two powerful new tools:
- The Restored Classical Pronunciation of Latin, and
- Oral interpretation of Latin Texts.
The Restored Classical Pronunciation is very important both for
the teaching and learning of Latin. The ancient Classical literatures
were oral in their nature and origin. Even after its invention,
writing was for centuries used only for storage of texts, not for
their consumption, and silent reading was almost non-existent. The
literatures were composed by ear and for the voice in a living language.
Today we have sufficient evidence of the sounds of Classical Latin
to be able to pronounce them with a high degree of probable accuracy.
Scholars have analyzed:
- The statements of the ancients themselves about these sounds
- Ancient spellings in contemporary stone inscriptions
- Representations of Latin in other languages
- Historical developments in the Romance languages
- Puns and acoustical imitations
- Internal structural features of the language, including metrics.
As students and teachers, we are in a position to use the results
of this scholarship for the true appreciation of Classical masterpieces.
We must always keep in mind that our goal is indeed to appreciate
the aural artistry of the authors. Although we do not have time
in our curriculum to do as much with conversational practice as
the modern languages, the speaking of Latin, at least in oral reading,
is paradoxically even more important for Latin because of the oral
nature of Classical literature.
It is important therefore for Latin teachers today to make the
effort to come as close as possible to the generally agreed upon
values of the restored sounds in their pronunciation so that gradually
a generation of students can be brought up who can produce those
sounds. Fortunately, they do not differ in great number from the
best traditional American scholastic pronunciation as ideally practiced.
The most salient difference is the treatment of word-final "m"
not as a bilabial hum but as a sign of nasalization of the preceding
vowel.
In order to master these differences as well as to read aloud in
the truly quantitative rhythm of Classical Latin, teachers and students
at all levels have, of course, certain habits to overcome. The various
discrepancies that exist today are historical and geographic and
worthy of study themselves, but the rewards for gaining mastery
over them are tremendous.
Along with the other well-known side-benefits of the study of Latin,
such as English vocabulary building, students can now acquire experience,
skill, and knowledge about their own personal phonetic habits by
comparing and contrasting them with Latin. In this way we can extend
one of the most solid values of studying Latin, that is to be able
to become receptive to aesthetic diversity and the wisdom of diverse
cultures.
We can assimilate these restored sounds into our own oral reading
or speaking of Latin and make them a part of the oral interpretation
of Latin Literature.
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