The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Classical Latin and Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

See Latin phonology and orthography and Latin regional pronunciation for a more thorough look at the sounds of Latin.

Key[edit]

Consonants[1]
IPA Latin
alphabet		 Examples English approximation
Class. Eccl.
b b bellum bean
d d decem deck
dz z[2] zēlus adds
dʒ g[3] gēns giant
f f faciō fan
ɡ g gravis gear
h h[4] habeō her or hour
j i[5] j[5] jūvo yes
k c, k caput scar
kʰ ch[2] charta car
kʷ qu[6] quattuor squash
kᶣ quī (French) cuisine
l l lītus leave
ɫ l[7] multus all
m m[8] manus man
n n[8] noster next
ŋ longus[9] song
g ignis[9]
ɲ gn ignis[9] onion
p p pāx span
pʰ ph[2] pharetra pan
r r regiō trilled or tapped r
s s[10] sum between sip and ship (retracted)
ʃ sc[3] scindō ship
t t tabula stone
tʰ th[2] thalamus tone
ts t[3] portiō Botswana
tʃ c[3] centum change
w u[5] uerbum west
v v[5] vest
z z[2] zēlus between zone and genre (retracted)
s[10] miserēre
Vowels[11]
IPA Latin
alphabet		 Examples English approximation
Class. Eccl.
a a anima pasta
aː ā ācer, āctus father
ɛ e est met
e ae/æ
oe/œ
e
eː ē ēlēctus Scottish made
ɪ i incipit mit
i i
y 		īra, mīlle mead
iː ī
ɔ o omnis off
o o
oː ō ōrdō RP or Australian law
ʊ u urbs put
u u lūna cool
uː ū
ʏ y[2] cyclus Scottish cute
yː ȳ[2] cȳma Scottish cued
Vowels that precede vowels[12]
e eV mea Scottish mate
i iV Italia peace
Diphthongs
ae̯ ae caelum sigh
oe̯ oe poena boy
au̯ au aurum cow
ei̯ ei mei say
eu̯ eu deus no English equivalent; Spanish euro
ui̯ ui cui ruin
Nasal vowels[8]
◌̃ː um
un 		mōnstrum long nasal vowels
Prosody
IPA Examples Explanation
ˈ Gāius
[ˈɡaː.i.ʊs] 		stress (placed before the stressed syllable)[13]
. syllable marker, generally between vowels in hiatus[14]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Geminate (double) consonants are written with a doubled letter except for /jj/ and /ww/: anus /ˈanʊs/, annus /ˈannʊs/. In IPA, they may be written as double or be followed by the length sign: /nn/ or /nː/.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Only found in Greek loanwords.
  3. ^ a b c d In Classical Latin, ⟨c g t⟩ are always pronounced hard, as /k g t/. In Ecclesiastical Latin, ⟨c g sc⟩ are pronounced as soft [tʃ dʒ ʃ] before the front vowels ⟨e i y ae oe⟩, and unstressed ⟨ti⟩ before a vowel is pronounced [tsi].
  4. ^ ⟨H⟩ is generally silent. Sometimes medial ⟨h⟩ is pronounced [k] in Ecclesiastical Latin (mihi).
  5. ^ a b c d In Classical Latin, ⟨i u⟩ represent the vowels /ɪ iː/ and /ʊ uː/, and the consonants /j/ and /w/. Between consonants or when marked with macrons or breves, ⟨i u⟩ are vowels. In some spelling systems, /j w/ are written with the letters ⟨j v⟩. In other cases, consult a dictionary.
    • Consonantal ⟨i⟩, between vowels, stands for doubled /jj/: cuius [ˈkʊjjʊs]. The vowel before the double /jj/ is usually short, but it is sometimes marked with a macron. When a prefix is added to a word beginning in /j/, the /j/ is usually single: trā-iectum [traːˈjɛktũː].
    • /w/ is doubled between vowels only in Greek words, such as Euander [ɛwˈwandɛr].
    In Ecclesiastical Latin, ⟨i⟩ represents the vowel /i/, ⟨j⟩ represents the consonant /j/, ⟨u⟩ represents the vowel /u/ or (in the combinations ⟨gu su qu⟩) the consonant /w/, and ⟨v⟩ represents the fricative /v/.
  6. ^ The labialized velar /kʷ/ was pronounced as labio-palatalized [kᶣ] before the vowels /ɪ, iː, ɛ, eː/.
  7. ^ /l/ has two allophones in Classical Latin. The clear [l] occurs when geminated to /ll/ and before the vowels /ɪ/ and /iː/, as well as before /ʏ/ and /yː/. Elsewhere, a dark (velarized) [ɫ] occurs: at the end of a word, before another consonant, and before all other native vowels, including /ɛ/ and /eː/.
  8. ^ a b c In Classical Latin, the combination of a vowel and ⟨m⟩ at the end of a word, or a vowel and ⟨n⟩ before ⟨s⟩ or ⟨f⟩, represents a long nasal vowel.
  9. ^ a b c In both Classical and Ecclesiastical Latin, /n/ is pronounced as [ŋ] before /k, ɡ/. The digraph ⟨gn⟩ is pronounced as [ŋn] in Classical Latin, but [ɲ] in Ecclesiastical Latin.
  10. ^ a b In Ecclesiastical Latin, /s/ between vowels is often pronounced [z].
  11. ^ Classical Latin has long and short vowels. If vowel length is marked, long vowels are marked with macrons, ⟨ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ȳ⟩, and short vowels with breves, ⟨ă, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ, y̆⟩. Ecclesiastical Latin does not distinguish between long and short vowels.
  12. ^ In Classical Latin, short ⟨e⟩ and ⟨i⟩ have a more closed articulation, [e] and [i] when they occur before another vowel, instead of their normal Classical values of [ɛ] and [ɪ].
  13. ^ In words of two syllables, the stress is on the first syllable. In words of three or more syllables, the stress is on the penultimate syllable if heavy, and on the antepenultimate syllable otherwise. There are some exceptions, most caused by contraction or elision.
  14. ^ This does not indicate a glottal stop [ʔ]; glottal stops are not reconstructed for Latin prosody in word-internal hiatus.

See also[edit]

Comparisons
Introductory guides
Category