Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

INTRODUCTORY LATIN BOOK.

1. LATIN GRAMMAR treats of the principles of the Latin language.

PART FIRST.

ORTHOGRAPHY.1

ALPHABET.

2. THE Latin alphabet is the same as the English, with

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

1. Diphthongs,-combinations of two vowels in one syllable. The most common are ae, oe, au.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

3. Ch, ph, th, are best treated, not as combinations of letters, but only as aspirated forms of c, p, and t, as h is only a breathing,

1

Orthography treats of the letters and sounds of the language.

SOUNDS OF LETTERS.

5. Scholars in different countries generally pronounce Latin substantially as they do their own languages. In this country, however, two distinct systems are recognized, generally known as the English and the Continental Method. For the convenience of the instructor, we add a brief outline of each.

I. ENGLISH METHOD.

1. Sounds of Vowels.

6. Vowels generally have their long or short English sounds.

7. Long Sound.-Vowels have their long English sounds a as in fate, e in mete, i in pine, o in note, u in tube, y in type-in the following situations:

[ocr errors]

1. In final syllables ending in a vowel:2 se, si, ser'-vi, ser-vo, cor-nu, mi'-sy.

2. In all syllables before a vowel or diphthong: de'-us, de-o'-rum, de'-ae, di-e'-i, ni'-hi-lum.3

3. In penultimate and unaccented syllables, not final, before a single consonant, or a mute with 7 or r: pa'-ter, pal-tres, A'-thos, O'-thrys, do-lo'-ris. But

1) A unaccented has the sound of a final in America: men'-sa. 8. Short Sound. - Vowels have the short English sound -a as in fat, e in met, i in pin, o in not, u in tub, y in myth-in the following situations:

1 Strictly speaking, there is no Continental Method, as every nation on the continent of Europe has its own method.

? Some give to i in both syllables of tibi and sibi the short sound.

3 In these rules, no account is taken of h, as that is only a breathing: hence the first i in nihilum is treated as a vowel before another vowel: for the same reason, ch, ph, and th are treated as single mutes; thus th in Athos and Othrys.

4 Penultimate, the last syllable but one.

1. In final syllables ending in a consonant: a'-mat, a'met, rex-it, sol, con'-sul, Te-thys; except post, es final, and os final in plural cases: res, di'-es, hos, a'-gros.

2. In all syllables before x, or any two consonants except a mute with 7 or r (7, 3): rex'-it, bel'-lum, rex-e'-runt, bello'-1

-rum.

3. In all accented syllables before one or more consonants, except the penultimate: dom'-i-nus, pat'-ri-bus. But

1) A, e, or o, before a single consonant (or a mute with l or r) followed by e, i, or y, before another vowel, has the long sound: a'-ci-es, a'-cri-a, me'-re-o, do'-ce-o.

2) U, in any syllable not final, before a single consonant, or a mute with l or r, except bl, has the long sound: Pu'-ni-cus, sa-lu'bri-tas.

2. Sounds of Diphthongs.

9. Ae and oe are pronounced like e:

1) long: Cae'-sar (Ce'-sar), Oe'-ta (E'-ta).
2) short: Daed-ă-lus (Ded'-a-lus), Oed'-i-pus.

Au as in author: au'-rum.

Eu.. neuter: neu'-ter.1

EXERCISE I.

Give the sounds of the Vowels and Diphthongs in the following words.

1. Men'-sam, men'-sas, men'-sis, men'-sae, men-sal-rum.* 2. Ho'-ram, ho'-ras, ho'-ris, ho'-rae, ho-ra'-rum. 3. Scho'la, scho'-lam, scho'-las, scho'-lis, scho'-lae, scho-la'-rum. 4. Co-ro'-na, co-ro'-nam, co-ro'-nas, co-ro'-nis, co-ro'-nae.9

8

1 Ei and oi are seldom diphthongs; but, when so used, they have the long sound of i: hei, cui.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

3. Sounds of Consonants.

10. The consonants are pronounced in general as in English; but a few directions may aid the learner.

11. C, G, S, T, and X are generally pronounced with their ordinary English sounds. Thus,

1. C and g are soft (like s and j) before e, i, y, ae, and oe; and hard in other situations: ce'-do (sedo), ci'-vis, Cy'-rus, cae'-do, coe'-na, a'-ge (a-je), a'-gi; ca'-do (ka'do), co'-go, cum, Ga'-des.

2. S generally has its regular English sound as in son, thus: sa'-cer, so'-ror, si'-dus. But

1) S final after e, ae, au, b, m, n, r, is pronounced like z: spes, praes, laus, urbs, hi'-ems, mons, pars.

3. T has its regular English sound as in time: ti'-mor, to'-tus. 4. X has generally its regular English sound like ks: rex'-i (rek'-si), ux-or (uk'-sor).

12. C, S, T, and X-Aspirated. Before i, preceded by an accented syllable and followed by a vowel, c, s, t, and x are aspirated,―c, s, and t taking the sound of sh, x that of ksh: so'-ci-us (so'-she-us), Al'-si-um (Al'-she-um), arʼ-tium (ar-she-um); anx'-i-us (ank'-she-us). C has also the sound of sh before eu and yo, preceded by an accented syllable: ca-du-ce-us (ca-du'-she-us), Sic'-y-on (Sish'-e-on).

13. Silent Consonants. - An initial consonant, with or without the aspirate h, is sometimes silent: Cne-us (Ne'us).

EXERCISE II.

Give the sounds of the Letters in the following words.

5

1. Ci'-vis,1 civ'-i-um, civ'-i-bus. 2. Car'-men, car'-minis, car'-mi-ne. 3. Rex, re'-gis, re'-gi, re'-gum. 4. Caput, cap'-i-tis, cap'-i-tum. 5. A'-ci-em, a'-ci-e, a'-ci-es. 6. Ars, ar-tis, ar-tes, ar-ti-um."

[blocks in formation]
« ZurückWeiter »