Editing Latin (section)

=== Consonants ===
The consonant [[phoneme]]s of Classical Latin are as follows:<ref>{{cite book |first=Andrew L. |last=Sihler |title=New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IeHmqKY2BqoC |year=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-508345-3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109231225/https://books.google.com/books?id=IeHmqKY2BqoC |archive-date=9 November 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! plain
! [[Labialisation|labial]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡʷ}}
|
|-
! <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
|
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|kʷ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|
| ({{IPA link|z}})
|
|
|
|
|-
! <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}}
|
|
|
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
|
| ({{IPA link|ŋ}})
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}}
|
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|}

{{IPA|/z/}} was not native to Classical Latin. It appeared in Greek loanwords starting {{circa|the 1st century&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}, when it was probably pronounced (at least by educated speakers) {{IPA|[z]}} initially and [[Gemination|doubled]] {{IPA|[zz]}} between vowels, in accordance with its pronunciation in [[Koine Greek]]. In Classical Latin poetry, the letter {{angbr|{{sqc|z}}}} between vowels always counts as two consonants for metrical purposes.<ref>{{Harvnb|Levy|1973|p=150}}</ref><ref name="Allen Z">{{Harvnb|Allen|1978|pp=45, 46}}</ref> The consonant ⟨b⟩ usually sounds as [b]; however, when ⟨t⟩ or ⟨s⟩ follows ⟨b⟩ then it is pronounced as in [pt] or [ps]. In Latin, ⟨q⟩ is always followed by the [[vowel]] ⟨u⟩. Together they make a [kʷ] sound.<ref name="Wheelock 7th ed.">{{Cite book |last=Wheelock |first=Frederic M. |title=Wheelock's Latin |others=LaFleur, Richard A. |date=7 June 2011 |isbn=978-0-06-199721-1 |edition=7th |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins}}</ref>

In Old and Classical Latin, the Latin alphabet had no distinction between [[letter case|uppercase and lowercase]], and the letters {{angbr|J U W}} did not exist. In place of {{angbr|J U}}, {{angbr|I V}} were used, respectively; {{angbr|I V}} represented both vowels and consonants. Most of the letter forms were similar to modern uppercase, as can be seen in the inscription from the Colosseum shown at the top of the article.

The spelling systems used in Latin dictionaries and modern editions of Latin texts, however, normally use {{angbr|j u}} in place of Classical-era {{angbr|i v}}. Some systems use {{angbr|j v}} for the consonant sounds {{IPA|/j w/}} except in the combinations {{angbr|gu su qu}} for which {{angbr|v}} is never used.

Some notes concerning the mapping of Latin phonemes to English graphemes are given below:

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Notes
! scope="col" | Latin<br />grapheme !!  scope="col" | Latin<br />phoneme !! scope="col" | English examples
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{angbr|c}}, {{angbr|k}}
! style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" | {{IPA|[k]}}
| Always as ''k'' in ''sky'' ({{IPA|/skaɪ/}})
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{angbr|t}}
! style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" | {{IPA|[t]}}
| As ''t'' in ''stay'' ({{IPA|/steɪ/}})
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{angbr|s}}
! style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" | {{IPA|[s]}}
| As ''s'' in ''say'' ({{IPA|/seɪ/}})
|-
! scope="rowgroup" style="text-align:center" rowspan="2" | {{angbr|g}}
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" | {{IPA|[ɡ]}}
| Always as ''g'' in ''good'' ({{IPA|/ɡʊd/}})
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" | {{IPA|[ŋ]}}
| Before {{angbr|n}}, as ''ng'' in ''sing'' ({{IPA|/sɪŋ/}})
|-
! scope="rowgroup" style="text-align:center" rowspan="2" | {{angbr|n}}
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{IPA|[n]}}
| As ''n'' in ''man'' ({{IPA|/mæn/}})
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{IPA|[ŋ]}}
| Before {{angbr|c}}, {{angbr|x}}, and {{angbr|g}}, as ''ng'' in ''sing'' ({{IPA|/sɪŋ/}})
|-
! scope="rowgroup" style="text-align:center" rowspan="2" | {{angbr|l}}
! style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" | {{IPA|[l]}}
| When doubled {{angbr|ll}} and before {{angbr|i}}, as [[Voiced dental, alveolar and postalveolar lateral approximants|"light L"]], {{IPA|[l̥]}} in ''link'' ({{IPA|[l̥ɪnk]}}) ({{lang|la|l exilis}})<ref>{{harvnb|Sihler|2008|p=174}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Allen|1978|pp=33–34}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{IPA|[ɫ]}}
| In all other positions, as [[Voiced dental, alveolar and postalveolar lateral approximants|"dark L"]], {{IPA|[ɫ]}} in ''bowl'' ({{IPA|[boʊɫ]}}) ({{lang|la|l pinguis}})
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{angbr|qu}}
! style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" | {{IPA|[kʷ]}}
| Similar to ''qu'' in ''squint'' ({{IPA|/skwɪnt/}})
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{angbr|u}}
! style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" | {{IPA|[w]}}
| Sometimes at the beginning of a syllable, or after {{angbr|g}} and {{angbr|s}}, as {{IPA|/w/}} in ''wine'' ({{IPA|/waɪn/}})
|-
! scope="rowgroup" style="text-align:center" rowspan="2" | {{angbr|i}}
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{IPA|[j]}}
| Sometimes at the beginning of a syllable, as ''y'' ({{IPA|/j/}}) in ''yard'' ({{IPA|/jɑɹd/}})
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{IPA|[ij]}}
| "y" ({{IPA|/j/}}), in between vowels, becomes "i-y", being pronounced as parts of two separate syllables, as in {{lang|la|capiō}} ({{IPA|/kapiˈjo:/}})
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | {{angbr|x}}
! style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" | {{IPA|[ks]}}
| A letter representing {{angbr|c}} + {{angbr|s}}: as ''x'' in English ''axe'' ({{IPA|/æks/}})
|}

In Classical Latin, as in modern Italian, double consonant letters were pronounced as [[Gemination|long]] consonant sounds distinct from short versions of the same consonants. Thus the ''nn'' in Classical Latin {{lang|la|annus}} 'year' (and in Italian {{lang|it|anno}}) is pronounced as a doubled {{IPA|/nn/}} as in English ''unnamed''. (In English, distinctive consonant length or doubling occurs only at the boundary between two words or [[morpheme]]s, as in that example.)