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ArchivesRe: Pronunciations
in reply to a message by Miranda
Iúile is oo-IL-ah (very soft on the end, I almost wrote -eh)
Elysia is eh-loo-see-ah in Greek, the Y being said as in the French 'rue'. Most don't know Greek though and so the usual English take on it is eh-lee-see-ah
I'm assuming you want old Latin (the 'real' pronunciations, not just what is said now) but language evolves so Latin is loosely classed into Classical (as spoken until the 3rd C. or so) and Ecclesiastical (spoken from the 3rd/4th C. to today) and then there's the hybrid and much debated 'Modern' Latin, nicely cleaned up for English speakers. Here is my brief and pragmatic breakdown:
Classical was simpler and owed much to the Greeks:
Caelius - Kay-le-us
Caecilius - Kay-kee-le-us
Ecclesiastical was softer and segues nicely into Italian:
Caelius - Chey-le-us
Caecilius - Chey-chee-le-us
Which leads nicely into the modern pronunciation of
Caelius - Sey-le-us
Caecilius - Sey-see-le-us
Latin is a say what you see language - just pronounce all the letters you see (save AE/OE - those are said as the vowel sound in 'they') and whatever you do don't emphasis the last syllable ;o) You'll find people arguing the merits and authenticity of Kay-le-us vs. Sey-le-us vs. Chey-le-us. Just learn all three and then you can arch your eyebrow and say 'Ah, I see you speak Ecclesiastical....I'm a classical fan myself.' But be careful, if you look good and say things like this, true Latin freaks tend to follow you home ;o)
Devon
Elysia is eh-loo-see-ah in Greek, the Y being said as in the French 'rue'. Most don't know Greek though and so the usual English take on it is eh-lee-see-ah
I'm assuming you want old Latin (the 'real' pronunciations, not just what is said now) but language evolves so Latin is loosely classed into Classical (as spoken until the 3rd C. or so) and Ecclesiastical (spoken from the 3rd/4th C. to today) and then there's the hybrid and much debated 'Modern' Latin, nicely cleaned up for English speakers. Here is my brief and pragmatic breakdown:
Classical was simpler and owed much to the Greeks:
Caelius - Kay-le-us
Caecilius - Kay-kee-le-us
Ecclesiastical was softer and segues nicely into Italian:
Caelius - Chey-le-us
Caecilius - Chey-chee-le-us
Which leads nicely into the modern pronunciation of
Caelius - Sey-le-us
Caecilius - Sey-see-le-us
Latin is a say what you see language - just pronounce all the letters you see (save AE/OE - those are said as the vowel sound in 'they') and whatever you do don't emphasis the last syllable ;o) You'll find people arguing the merits and authenticity of Kay-le-us vs. Sey-le-us vs. Chey-le-us. Just learn all three and then you can arch your eyebrow and say 'Ah, I see you speak Ecclesiastical....I'm a classical fan myself.' But be careful, if you look good and say things like this, true Latin freaks tend to follow you home ;o)
Devon
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