Editing Latin phonology and orthography (section)

====Ecclesiastical pronunciation====
{{see also|Ecclesiastical Latin}}
Since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an Italianate pronunciation of Latin has grown to be accepted as a universal standard in the [[Catholic Church]]. Before then, the pronunciation of Latin in church was the same as the pronunciation of Latin in other fields and tended to reflect the sound values associated with the nationality and native language of the speaker.{{sfn|Brittain|1955}} Other ecclesiastical pronunciations are still in use, especially outside the Catholic Church.

A guide to this Italianate pronunciation is provided below. Since the letters or letter-combinations {{angbr|b}}, {{angbr|d}}, {{angbr|f}}, {{angbr|m}}, {{angbr|n}}, {{angbr|ph}} and {{angbr|v}} are pronounced as they are in English, they are not included in the table.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Consonants
|-
! Grapheme
! Pronunciation 
! Context
! Example
! English approximation
|-
! rowspan="2" |{{angbr|c}}
! {{IPA|[t͡ʃ]}}
| Before {{angbr|ae}}, {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|oe}}, {{angbr|y}}
| lang="la" | pro<u>c</u>ella
| '''''ch'''ange''
|-
! {{IPA|[k]}}
| Before {{angbr|a}}, {{angbr|o}}, {{angbr|u}}
| lang="la" | <u>c</u>arnem
| rowspan="2" | ''s'''k'''y'' (never aspirated as in '''''k'''ill'')
|-
! {{angbr|ch}}
! {{IPA|[k]}}
| Always
| lang="la" | Antio<u>ch</u>ia
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|g}}
! {{IPA|[d͡ʒ]}}
| Before {{angbr|ae}}, {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|oe}}, {{angbr|y}}
| lang="la" | a<u>g</u>ere
| '''''g'''em''
|-
! {{IPA|[ɡ]}}
| Before {{angbr|a}}, {{angbr|o}}, {{angbr|u}}
| lang="la" | plaga
| '''''g'''ate''
|-
! {{angbr|gn}}
! {{IPA|[ɲ(ː)]}}
| Always
| lang="la" | si<u>gn</u>um
| ''ca'''ny'''on'' (roughly); precisely Italian {{lang|it|'''gn'''occhi}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |{{angbr|h}}
! ∅
| In nearly all cases
| lang="la" | <u>h</u>ora
| (silent)
|-
! {{IPA|[k]}}
| Between vowels in a few words
| lang="la" | mi<u>h</u>i
| ''s'''k'''y'' (never aspirated as in '''''k'''ill'')
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|i}}
! {{IPA|[j]}}
| Beginning of a word and before a vowel
| lang="la" | <u>i</u>anua
| '''''y'''ard''
|-
! {{IPA|[jː]}}
| Between vowels
| lang="la" | Ga<u>i</u>us
| Doubled, as in ''to'''y y'''acht''
|-
! {{angbr|k}}
! {{IPA|[k]}}
| Always
| lang="la" | <u>k</u>alendae
| ''s'''k'''y'' (never aspirated as in '''''k'''ill'')
|-
! {{angbr|l}}
! {{IPA|[l]}}
| Always
| lang="la" | pau<u>l</u>um
| ''s'''l'''ip'' (never 'dark' as in ''poo'''l'''s'')
|-
! {{angbr|p}}
! {{IPA|[p]}}
| Always
| lang="la" | <u>p</u>raeda
| ''s'''p'''y'' (never aspirated as in '''''p'''ill'')
|-
! {{angbr|qu}}
! {{IPA|[kʷ]}}
| Always
| lang="la" | at<u>qu</u>e
| '''''qu'''ick'' (never as in ''anti'''qu'''e'')
|-
! {{angbr|r}}
! rowspan="2" | {{IPA|[r]}}
| rowspan="2" | Always
| rowspan="2" lang="la" | <u>r</u>egina
| rowspan="2" | (rolled like Italian or Spanish {{lang|es|'''r'''ana}})
|-
! {{angbr|rh}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|s}}
! {{IPA|[s]}}
| Always (formally)
| lang="la" | <u>s</u>anctum
| '''''s'''ing''
|-
! {{IPA|[z]}}
| Between vowels (informally)
| lang="la" | mi<u>s</u>er
| ''tea'''s'''e''
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|sc}}
! {{IPA|[ʃ]}}
| Before {{angbr|ae}}, {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|oe}}, {{angbr|y}}
| lang="la" | a<u>sc</u>endit
| '''''sh'''ade''
|-
! {{IPA|[sk]}}
| Before {{angbr|a}}, {{angbr|o}}, {{angbr|u}}
| lang="la" | pa<u>sc</u>unt
| '''''sc'''are''
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|t}}
! {{IPA|[t]}}
| Generally
| lang="la" | <u>t</u>ironibus
| ''s'''t'''ay'' (never aspirated as in '''''t'''able'' nor soft as in ''na'''t'''ion'')
|-
! {{IPA|[t͡s]}}
| Before unstressed {{angbr|i}} and not after {{angbr|s}}, {{angbr|t}}, {{angbr|x}}
| lang="la" | na<u>ti</u>onem
| ''pi'''zz'''a''
|-
! {{angbr|v}}
! {{IPA|[v]}}
| Always
| lang="la" | conser<u>v</u>are
| preser'''v'''e
|-
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|x}}
! {{IPA|[ks]}}
| Generally
| lang="la" | de<u>x</u>tro
| ''fo'''x'''''
|-
! {{IPA|[ɡz]}}
| Word internally before a stressed vowel
| lang="la" | e<u>x</u>audi
| ''e'''x'''amine''
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{angbr|xc}}
! {{IPA|[ksk]}}
| Generally
| lang="la" | e<u>xc</u>lamavit
| ''e'''xc'''laim''
|-
! {{IPA|[kʃ]}}
| Before {{angbr|ae}}, {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|oe}}, {{angbr|y}}
| lang="la" | e<u>xc</u>elsis
| ''thi'''ck sh'''ell''
|-
! {{angbr|z}}
! {{IPA|[d͡z]}}
| Always
| lang="la" | <u>z</u>ona
| la'''ds'''
|}
{| class=wikitable
|+ Vowels
! Grapheme
! Pronunciation
! English approximation
|-
! {{angbr|a}}
! {{IPA|[ä]}}
| ''f'''a'''ther'' (roughly)<br/>precisely Spanish {{lang|es|r'''a'''mo}}
|-
! {{angbr|ae}}
! rowspan="3" | {{IPA|[ɛ]}}/{{IPA|[e]}}
| rowspan="3" | ''p'''e'''t''
|-
! {{angbr|oe}}
|-
! {{angbr|e}}
|-
! {{angbr|i}}
! {{IPA|[i]}}
| ''s'''ee'''k''
|-
! {{angbr|o}}
! {{IPA|[ɔ]}}/{{IPA|[o]}}
| ''s'''o'''rt''
|-
! {{angbr|u}}
! {{IPA|[u]}}
| ''c'''oo'''l''
|-
! {{angbr|y}}
! {{IPA|[i]}}
| ''s'''ee'''k''
|}
{| class=wikitable
|+ Diphthongs
! Grapheme
! Pronunciation
! English approximation
|-
! {{angbr|au}}
! {{IPA|[au̯]}} 
| ''<u>ou</u>t''
|-
! {{angbr|ay}}
! {{IPA|[ai̯]}} 
| ''b<u>uy</u>''
|-
! {{angbr|ei}}
! {{IPA|[ɛi̯]}}
| ''th<u>ey</u>''
|-
! {{angbr|eu}} 
! {{IPA|[ɛu̯]}}
| ''hello'' as pronounced by [[Elmer Fudd]]: ''h<u>ew</u>wo''
|-
! {{angbr|ui}}
! {{IPA|[ui̯]}}
| ''Gr<u>uy</u>ère''
|}

* Vowel length is not phonemic. As a result, the automatic [[stress accent]] of Classical Latin, which was dependent on vowel length, becomes a phonemic one in Ecclesiastical Latin. (Some Ecclesiastical texts mark the stress with an [[acute accent]] in words of three or more syllables.)
* Word-final {{angbr|m}} and {{angbr|n}} are pronounced fully, with no [[nasal vowel|nasalization of the preceding vowel]].

In his ''{{lang|la|Vox Latina}}: A guide to the Pronunciation of Classical Latin'', [[William Sidney Allen]] remarked that this pronunciation, used by the Catholic Church in Rome and elsewhere, and whose adoption [[Pope Pius X]] recommended in a 1912 letter to the [[Archbishop of Bourges]], "is probably less far removed from classical Latin than any other 'national' pronunciation"; but, as can be seen from the table above, there are, nevertheless, very significant differences.<ref>{{Harvnb|Allen|1978|p=108}}</ref> The introduction to the {{lang|la|[[Liber Usualis]]}} indicates that Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciation should be used at Church liturgies.<ref name="Liber Usualis2">[http://www.musicasacra.com/pdf/liberusualis.pdf Liber Usualis], p. xxxvj</ref> The [[Pontifical Academy for Latin]] is the [[pontifical academy]] in the Vatican that is charged with the dissemination and education of Catholics in the Latin language.

Outside of Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia, it is the most widely used standard in [[choir|choral]] singing which, with a few exceptions like [[Stravinsky]]'s {{lang|la|[[Oedipus rex (opera)|Oedipus rex]]}}, is concerned with liturgical texts.{{citation needed |date=December 2020 }} [[Anglican]] choirs adopted it when classicists abandoned traditional English pronunciation after World War II. The rise of [[historically informed performance]] and the availability of guides such as Copeman's ''Singing in Latin'' has led to the recent revival of [[Latin regional pronunciation|regional pronunciations]].