There are two traditions of Latin pronunciation in common use. One developed during the Middle Ages, when colloquial Latin was developing into Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. It is called the Ecclesiastical Pronunciation (from Ecclesia, “church”) because it is still used in the Catholic church. It is also commonly used in Latin Christmas carols and classical musical compositions set to Latin texts.
Over the past century or so a second tradition has developed, the Restored Classical Pronunciation. This method grew out of the efforts of scholars to reconstruct the sound of Latin in the 1st century BC (the “Golden Age” of Latin literature). This is now the standard usage in most schools and universities, including some Catholic institutions (although many of these still use the Ecclesiastical Pronunciation instead).
I’ve posted a guided to pronunciation below, and some videos* to help with the pronunciation of Restored Classical Latin.
Videos:
The Latin (Roman) Alphabet
Video 1 of 4 on the pronunciation of Classical Latin. Here we look at the history of the Roman Alphabet [now updated!].
History of Latin
Video 2 of 4. Latin through the ages – historical background of Latin pronunciation [now updated!].
Vowel Sounds in Classical Latin
Video 3 of 4. Here we look at vowel sounds in Classical Latin [Update pending].
Consonant Sounds in Classical Latin
Video 4 of 4. The final installment: the pronunciation of consonant sounds in Classical Latin [now updated!].
Featured Image top of page: Cicero Denounces Catiline, by Cesare Maccari, 1888. Public Domain via Wikipedia.