Editing Latin phonology and orthography (section)

===Spelling===
====Letters====
Modern usage, even for classical Latin texts, varies in respect of {{angbr|I}} and {{angbr|V}}. During the Renaissance, the printing convention was to use  {{angbr|I}} (upper case) and {{angbr|i}} (lower case) for both vocalic {{IPA|/i/}} and consonantal {{IPA|/j/}}, to use {{angbr|V}} in the upper case and in the lower case to use {{angbr|v}} at the start of words and {{angbr|u}} subsequently within the word regardless of whether {{IPA|/u/}} and {{IPA|/w/}} was represented.<ref>For example, Henri Estienne's {{lang|la|Dictionarium, seu Latinae linguae thesaurus}} (1531)</ref>

Many publishers (such as Oxford University Press) have adopted the convention of using {{angbr|I}} (upper case) and {{angbr|i}} (lower case) for both {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/j/}}, and {{angbr|V}} (upper case) and {{angbr|u}} (lower case) for both {{IPA|/u/}} and {{IPA|/w/}}.

An alternative approach, less common today, is to use {{angbr|i}} and {{angbr|u}} only for the vowels, and {{angbr|j}} and {{angbr|v}} for the approximants.

Most modern editions, however, adopt an intermediate position, distinguishing between {{angbr|u}} and {{angbr|v}}, but not between {{angbr|i}} and {{angbr|j}}. Usually, a non-vocalic {{angbr|v}} after {{angbr|q}}, {{angbr|g}} or {{angbr|s}} is still printed as {{angbr|u}} rather than {{angbr|v}}, likely because these did not change from {{IPA|/w/}} to {{IPA|/v/}} post-classically.{{efn|This approach is also recommended in the [[:la:Vicipaedia:Commendationes paginarum recte scribendarum|help page]] for the [[:la:|Latin Wikipedia]].}}

====Diacritics====
Textbooks and dictionaries usually indicate the length of vowels by putting a [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] or horizontal bar above the long vowel, but it is not generally done in regular texts. Occasionally, mainly in early printed texts up to the 18th century, one may see a [[circumflex]] used to indicate a long vowel where this makes a difference to the sense, for instance, {{lang|la|Româ}} {{IPA|/ˈroːmaː/}} ('from Rome' [[Ablative case|ablative]]) compared to {{lang|la|Roma}} {{IPA|/ˈroːma/}} ('Rome' [[Nominative case|nominative]]).<ref>{{Harvnb|Gilbert|1939}}</ref>

Sometimes, for instance in Roman Catholic service books, an [[acute accent]] over a vowel is used to indicate the stressed syllable. It would be  redundant for one who knew the classical rules of accentuation and made the correct distinction between long and short vowels, but most Latin speakers since the 3rd century have not made any distinction between long and short vowels, but they have kept the accents in the same places; thus, the use of accent marks allows speakers to read a word aloud correctly even if they have never heard it spoken aloud.