AboutMichael Expertise Ph.D. Cand. in Latin. Conversant with all forms of the language: classical, mediaeval, and modern. My purpose is to provide information on the Latin language of all periods. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT REQUESTS FOR TRANSLATIONS. If you need assistance for a translation projects, there are other resources that provide that service, such as Vivat Latina! at www.traditio.com/latin.htm.
Experience I have 45 years of teaching at all levels from public school through university postgraduate. I read, write, and speak Latin daily.
Expert: Michael Date: 6/28/2008 Subject: Pronunciation of "s" in Church Music
Question i teach diction courses in the music school at northwestern university in evanston, illinois ... in modern church latin, s is normally given as always[s], never [z] ... i am wondering about latin as sung in italy ... in rome, intervocalic s is [s], but in most of italy it is usually [z] ... when latin is sung outside of rome, is it pronounced [s] or [z]?
thank you
Answer A good source for questions of this kind is Robert S. Hines' "Singers Manual of Latin: Diction and Phonetics" (Schirmer Books, c. 1975). Ordinarily, "s" is a voiceless sibilant [IPA "s"] except in two instances, when it is the voiced sibilant (IPA "z"]: (1) when intervocalic (between two vowels), e.g., Iesu, miser; (2) when it ends a word and is preceded by a voiced constant, e.g., omnipotens, prudens. The [z] in practice is usually rendered as something between [s] and [z], that is, lightly, not strongly, voiced.
