The Pronunciation of Ecclesiastical Latin and Classical Latin

A detail from a painting by Giovanni Cimabue, in the lower level of the Basilica at Assisi.

The National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi in San Francisco

The Pronunciation of
Ecclesiastical Latin and Classical Latin

Latin was the everyday language of the Roman Empire in which the Roman Catholic Church developed. With the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, Latin “died” as a popular, spoken language. But Latin was retained as the universal language of the Church, and, over time, ecclesiastical Latin developed some pronunciation differences that distinguish it from Classical Latin.

Latin—like Spanish, and unlike English—is pronounced exactly as it is spelled.

Consonants

Most of the consonants are pronounced as in English, except for the following (differences between ecclesiastical and classical are marked in red):

Ecclesiastical Latin Classical Latin

c always hard, as in catechism, except before e, i, ae, or oe; then like ch as in church: caelum. always hard, as in catechism.

g always hard, as in God, except before e, i, or y; then like j as in Job: angelus. always hard, as in God.

The combination gn is like ny in canyon: regnum. The combination gn is like ngn in hangnail.

h always sounded, as in hope: hora. always sounded, as in hope.

j like y in yet: Jesus. like y in yet.

q only found in the combination qu, pronounced kw, as in quick. only found in the combination qu, pronounced kw, as in quick.

r like English, but lighly rolled: laetare. like English, but lighly rolled

s as in sit: sede. as in sit.

v as English v: exaltavit. pronounced as English w.

z like dz in adze: baptizo. (only found in words transliterated from Greek)

Vowels

Latin has two ways to pronounce vowels: long and short, referring to the “length” of time spent in voicing the vowel, which changes the sound. (Differences between ecclesiastical and classical are marked in red.)

Ecclesiastical Latin Classical Latin

a long, as in father: amen. long, as in father.

a short, as in ago: Maria. short, as in ago.

e long, as in they: credo, deposuit. long, as in they.

e short, as in get: et, ex, est. short, as in get.

i long, as in machine: Maria. long, as in machine.

i short, as in sit: fecit, deposuit. short, as in sit.

o long, as in no: credo, deposuit. long, as in no.

o short, as in soft: recordatus. short, as in pot.

u long, as in tuba: deposuit. long, as in tuba.

u short, as in put: eius. short, as in put.

y occurs only as a vowel, in words transliterated from Greek; pronounced like the short form of i: hymn. occurs only as a vowel, in words transliterated from Greek; pronounced like the short form of i: hymn.

Diphthongs

(Differences between ecclesiastical and classical are marked in red.)

Ecclesiastical Latin Classical Latin

ae like long e, as in they: saecula. as in high.

au as in out: laudo. as in out.

oe like long e, as in they: oecumenicus. as in joy.

ui like wi- in dwindle: huic. like short u-short i.

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