Monday, February 9, 2009

Sissero or Kickero? Sayzar or Kaiser? Which sounds more manly to you, eh?

As a student of the Latin language, I am somewhat conflicted when it comes to pronunciation. There are two ways to pronounce Latin, the Classical, which is as close to original Roman use as we can get, and the Ecclesiastical, which is the pronunciation adopted for use in the Church. Now, the biggest difference between these two, and the one that you'll most often hear new Latin students talk about is the V sound. Classical Latin sounds the V like an English W, Ecclesiastical sounds the V as we would. In Dr. Heckel's Latin I class, we used Ecclesiastical pronunciation, for the most part. Under Dr. Haskell's tutelage here at SU, we use Classical pronunciation. It's fine, I've gotten used to it. I prefer the Ecclesiastical. EXCEPT for the C sound. We did not use the soft C in Dr. Heckel's class, and I am incredibly glad that we didn't. Choral Latin uses the Ecclesiastical pronunciation, and this involves using a soft C in front of e, i, ae, or oe. For example, the word "caeli" starts with a "ch" sound, not a "k." To my ears, this makes Latin sound like Italian. Ok, ok, so Romans, Italians, what's the difference? I don't know, I just think the soft C sounds really ridiculous and wimpy. I really, really, really hate having to sing the soft C in choirs. I just hate it. So, I'll keep my hard C and my English V, put my high horse back in the stable, and go on my merry way. As Dr. Haskell's wife reminded us on the first day of Latin I at SU, everyone who spoke Latin as their native language is dead. They don't care how you pronounce it. SPQR in the house. Where my proconsuls at?

--

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace:
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum
Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:
Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.

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