Expert: Maria - 9/6/2010

Question
Maria,

I am struggling to determine the correct Latin spelling for this word. The Zeeland coat of arms reads "Luctor".
But I believe the proper spelling in Latin would be Lvctor.

Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hello,

“Luctor”  in “Luctor et emergo” ("I struggle and I emerge") as we read in the Zeeland coat of arms,is the correct spelling of this verb, although LVCTOR is the spelling we could read in a Latin inscription on a Roman monument.

Here’s the reason of this statement:

-In ancient times there were only capital letters, while the small letters were introduced and used later.

-Therefore the Romans only had one letter,V, which originally denoted the vowel sound 'u' (oo) and  was both a consonant and a vowel as the Romans did not have the letter "u" as we have.

-It was only later  that were introduced the small letters and then "V" continued  to be  capital letter as a consonant, while "u" was the small letter  to distinguish its use as a vowel.
For example : "CONSVL" or "VINVM" in capital letters, and "consul" and "uinum" in small letters.

-Finally I have to tell you that the ordinary English sound of ‘v‘ did not exist in classical Latin, where ‘V’  and ‘u’ were probably pronounced like the “oo” or “w” in English.

To conclude, “Luctor” is correct, as it is written in small letters.

Hope this is clear enough, in spite of the difficulty of this matter which is a “vexata quaestio” (“A disputed question”) among the scholars.

Best regards,
Maria