Follow-Ups to Answer from Expert Maria

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Maria wrote at 2009-07-08 07:46:04
To Keiger - Latin 4 H.S. Grad who wrote:



" V's in latin are pronounced like W's. Also, there are no soft consonants in Latin, C is NOT CH it is the C in cat or the K in kid.

EXAMPLE:

The phrase Vani Vidi Vici is actually pronounced

Way-knee Weedy Weeky".

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First of all the Latin sentence “Veni, vidi, vici” that Caius Julius Caesar is said to have written to Roman Senate in 47 BC after he defeated  at the first assault king Pharnaces in the battle of Zela (Asia Minor), as we read in Suetonius,  Life of Julius Caesar, chapter 37, 2, sounds correctly “Veni (not’vani’), vidi, vici”.



Second, no one can know for sure the exact Latin pronunciation, of course, so that this is still today a really “vexata quaestio”, although the discipline of Historical Linguistics aims at pronouncing classical Latin by comparing  some Latin and Ancient Greek words or Indo-European terms.



For example, some scholars say that the V in classical Latin term “VIMINALIS” must be pronounced like the English “W”, just because the equal ancient Greek word was  written “Ouiminalis” (Ïὐéìßíáëéò ).



Also the C in classical Latin word “cellarium”(cellar) should be pronounced “Kellarium”, simply because in German we have the noun “keller” (cellar).



So, I must repeat that this is a VEXATA QUAESTIO, indeed!

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