Ecclesiastical Pronunciation

Ecclesiastical Pronunciation is one of two traditions of Latin pronunciation in common use.  Most public schools and universities use a different method, the Restored Classical Pronunciation. The Restored Classical method attempts to reconstruct the sound of the Latin language in the 1st century B.C. (the “Golden Age” of Roman Latin literature).  The Church (and many Catholic schools) instead use the Ecclesiastical Method. This tradition follows the pronunciation that the Catholic Church has used since the early centuries A.D.  

There are many good reasons to learn this tradition of Latin pronunciation. First of all, this is the proper pronunciation of Latin hymns or prayers. Since Latin has been the official language of the Catholic Church for almost two thousand years, there are a large number of these compositions. You’re likely to encounter them even if you don’t move in Catholic circles. Anyone who celebrates Christmas, for instance, will find themselves singing more than a few Latin carols. Not only that, it’s not unusual to find devotional compositions appear as part of ordinary non-religious musical performances. Think of a concert line-up that includes the Gloria from a Mozart mass, or César Franck’s Panis Angelicus among the secular selections.

I’ve posted a guided to pronunciation below, and some videos* to help with the pronunciation of Ecclesiastical Latin.

Videos:

Featured image top of page: Manuscript Book Mural, by John White Alexander, 1896. Public Domain Via Wikipedia.