New answers tagged pronunciation
7
In a third-conjugation verb, a [g] sound at the end of a present stem generally alternates with a [k] sound, written as ⟨c⟩, before the [t] of the past participle/supine suffix. I believe the phonemic representations of these sounds would usually be given as /g/ and /k/ respectively; if that is correct, this is not a case where "/g/ is written as c"...
13
In Greek compounds, if a stem that begins with rho is preceded by an element that ends in a simple vowel (not a diphthong), the rho is doubled. Likewise, in inflected forms where a simple vowel is added before initial rho. Or, as Smyth, Greek grammar §80 puts it:
An initial ρ is doubled when a simple vowel is placed before it in inflection or composition. ...
7
For the doubled "r," that is a spelling convention dating back to Ancient Greek, inherited by Botanical Latin - preferred, but optional. Reference Botanical Latin (4th ed.) by William T. Stearn (p. 261).
For Botanical Latin, any consistent, intelligible style of pronunciation is acceptable, with some preferred conventions. Refer to Botanical Latin ...
7
There is probably no fixed standard, and I am not sure there is any authority that might set one. I believe many Latin speakers do not leave out the anno.
However, when Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation in Latin, he did use this precise format (no mensis, no anno), and as luck would have it, he read it out loud. (There are better versions, but I ...
4
For the most part, the upper classes in Rome still spoke Classical Latin in the 2nd century AD.
Features in common with Classical Latin
c - hard, as /k/. The softening came much later.
g - hard, as /g/ (although whether it was still /ŋ/ before "n", or had become a simple /g/ there too by this time, is unclear).
h - the educated élite probably ...
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