To Start a Fight
Did I say two sides of the coin? The Restored Classical and Ecclesiastical pronunciations of Latin? Really?
Yes, I know that The quickest way to start a fight in any group of Latinists is to bring up the issue of pronunciation. Some insist that the Restored Classical Pronunciation is the only correct way to go. Others will aver just as fiercely that the Ecclesiastical Pronunciation is the real way to speak the language. And those are only two of the many ways that Latin has been spoken over the past twenty centuries.
Happily, there’s no need to take to the barricades to defend the exclusivity of either of the currently popular methods. Each has certain points in its favor. Both have their place.
Two Sides of the Coin
And what is the place of each? I go into greater detail in some of the resources below, but here’s the short version:
The Restored Classical can plausibly argue that it’s our best approximation of the sound of Cicero’s speeches and Vergil’s Aeneid in the 1st century BC, the Golden Age of Latin literature. Today it is by far the most common method of speaking Latin in the academic world.
The Ecclesiastical tradition embraces the voluminous literary, religious, and musical Latin texts of the past millennium, without excluding earlier works. It is also the living Latin that is still part of the ongoing liturgical and musical life of the Catholic Church.
A Foot in Each Camp
I myself have a foot in each camp. I use the Restored Classical Pronunciation in my high school Latin classes, but revert to Ecclesiastical in church and in other contexts. The Ecclesiastical Pronunciation is also my default here on this website, for reasons I explain in detail below.
The good news is, you can enjoy and benefit from the Latin language whichever method of pronunciation you use. Accordingly, I have resources related to both below.
The Two Traditions
The first two are pronunciation guides to both the Restored Classical and the Ecclesiastical methods. There is a chart showing the sounds of different letters and letter combinations, as well as a series of videos for each.
I threw together the current videos during the COVID lockdowns when I was desperately looking for ways to connect with remote students. These were part of the process of teaching myself video editing. I was learning along the way, and the product reflects that: the technical quality is not that great (especially the sound), and I wasn’t terribly concerned about copyright issues, since I only intended to show them to my own students.
I am currently in the process of creating a new series with better production values and using only royalty-free and public domain resources. In the meanwhile, these videos may be of some benefit to those who are learning about Latin pronunciation.
Two Sides –Links to Pronunciation Pages:
Latin For Altar Boys
Those of you who are interested in the Ecclesiastical Pronunciation will find this resource helpful. It is a guide to proper pronunciation for altar boys published in 1915. At that time altar boys were responsible for saying a large number of responses in Latin as part of the Catholic Mass.
If and when I come across a comparable resource for pronouncing Classical Latin I’ll post that as well. Feel free to share with me if you know of any other helpful resources.
Link to Latin Pronounced for Altar Boys:
Why Is the Ecclesiastical Mode My Default?
As I’m at pains to say above, I don’t see one method as being inherently superior to the other. Outside of my public school classroom I prefer the Ecclesiastical Method (including, for the most part, this website). I give a full explanation (along with some background to both of the common methods of Latin pronunciation) in the article and video attached below).
