Nomina si nescis, periit et cognitio rerum
(If you don’t know the names, the knowledge of things is lost)
C. Linnaeus - epigraph to the book “Philosophia botanica” (1751)

Basic rules of Latin.
Latin is a centuries-old basis for scientific communication. The terminology of many sciences, including biological ones, is based on Latin. Botanical binary nomenclature is also based on Latin or latinized words.

Complex combinations of vowel sounds (so-called diphthongs) are pronounced:
Ae, like the Russian sound e, aetas—etas
Oh, like the German ö: proelium—prelium
Au, like au with short y: auris—a?ris
Eu, as in eu with the short y: eurus—e?rus.

Two dots above the e in the compounds aë, oë indicate that each letter is pronounced independently: aër—aer, poëma—poem.
The letter c before e, ae, eu, oe, i, y is pronounced as ц, in all other cases as k:
Cicero—Cicero, lac—varnish, vacca—vacca.
The letter s in the middle of a word between two vowels is pronounced loudly like z: rosa—rose, in other cases dullly: censor—tsensor.
The letter u in combinations qu, ngu before vowels is pronounced as in: aqua - aqua, sanguis - sanguis.
The letter q is only used in combination with u.
The letter j (yot) is pronounced like th: major—major. In the initial syllable, this sound merges with the subsequent vowel, Janus.

The syllable ti before the next vowel is pronounced like qi: oratio—oratio, rebutia—rebutia.
Pronounced ti if there is s, t, x before ti: mixtio—mixtio, ostium—ostium, Atticus—Atticus.
The combination ch is pronounced like x: chlorus - chlorus
Ph is pronounced like f: phylio—filio
Th is pronounced like t: phython—phyton, theatrum—theatrum
Rh rrh is pronounced p: Rhodos—Rhodes. These letter combinations and the presence of y (igrek - and Greek) indicate the Greek origin of the words.

Syllables in words can be long or short.
A syllable is considered short: a) if in the syllable the vowel is followed by the vowel v?a.
A syllable is considered long: a) if the syllable contains the diphthong praemium; b) if a syllable contains a vowel followed by one consonant, then the syllable can be short or long, depending on the quality of the vowel itself.
Based on this, there is a rule for emphasis:
1) in two-syllable words, the stress is on the penultimate syllable; mother, rose.
2) in polysyllabic words, the stress is on the penultimate syllable if it is long, if it is short, then the stress is on the third syllable from the end; Romanus, Cer?us.

Nouns have three genders:
feminine - has the endings a, is (mamillaria, rhipsalis);
neuter - has the ending um (gymnocalycium);
masculine - has the ending us (cereus).

Botanical names consist of two words (binary nomenclature). The first word of the noun denotes the genus of the plant and is written with a capital letter. The second word is a specific epithet, which is an adjective and is written with a lowercase letter. The specific epithet may reflect any characteristics of the species (Mamillaria plumosa), may indicate geographic origin (Cereus peruvianus), or show the ecological position (Lobivia saxatila). The epithet can be given in honor of people (Mediolobivia haagei).
To prevent botanical names from being difficult to remember, it is advisable to know the meanings of individual words and roots. And since a relatively small number of Latin and Greek roots are used in the formation of botanical names, occurring in a wide variety of combinations, mastering them helps to comprehend the meaning of the names and thereby facilitate memorization.

Notes: 1). Letters k, y,z were used only in borrowings from Greek. 2). Letter J, j(iota) was introduced in the 18th century to convey the sound [th], before which the letter i was used to convey this sound before vowels. Some textbooks and dictionaries adhere to this tradition and do not introduce the letter, i.e. There are two possible spellings, for example:

justus, iustus (justus) - fair

jam,iam (yam) - already

3). Letter U, u was also introduced in the 18th century, before that u And v did not differ. In Roman inscriptions it is used only v. Before vowels v usually read as [v], in other cases as [y].

Basic reading rules

All letters in the word are readable. There are no "silent" vowels. Most letters are always read the same way and exactly as they are called. Unstressed vowels are pronounced as clearly as stressed vowels. Rule 1. Letter With reads in two ways: as [ts] and as [k]. Before the vowels e, i, y and combinations ae [e] and oe [ö], it is read as [ts], in other cases - as [k].

civis [civis] - citizen centum [centum] - one hundred

Cyprus[Ciprus] - Cypruscorpus[corpus] -body

cuprum[cuprum] – coppernunc[nunc] – now, now

Caesar [Caesar] - Caesar casus [incident] - case

credo [credo] – I believe, I believe

Exercise: read the words.cor(heart)

lac(milk)

vacca(cow)

clarus (light, famous)

medicina(medicine)

cito (quickly) accuso (accuse)

caelum(sky)

decem(ten)

Rule 2. Combination ti before vowels it is read as [qi].ratio [ration] - mind

initium [initium] – beginning.

Combination ti and before a vowel it is read as [ti], if it comes after st, x: bestia [bestia] - beast, mixtio [mixtio] - mixture.

Exercise: Read the words.

revolutio(coup)

administration

amicitia(friendship)

sentiunt(feel)

Horatius, Terentius (Roman names)

Rule 3. Letter Q, q(ku) is found only in the combination qu, which is read as [kv].

aqua [aqua] - water

qui [qui] - which

antiquus [antiquus] – ancient

Exercise: Read the words.

quinque(five)

quarta(quarter)

qualis(what)

quasi (as if, almost)

Rule 4. Before vowels combination gu read [gv]

lingua[lingua] - language

Combination su read [sv]

suavis [svavis] - pleasant

Rule 5. Combination ae reads like [uh]

aetas[ethas] - age, century

Graecia[greecia] - Greece

Letter With before ae is read as [ts]

Caesar[Caesar]-Caesar

Exercise: Read the words.

caerimonia (sacred act) quaestio (interrogation, investigation)

caecus (blind) praesens (present tense) aeger (sick) laetitia (joy)

Note: if over With in combination ae there is some symbol (аë, аē), then the two sounds are read separately: аеr [aer] - air

Rule 6. Combination oh reads like German ö, French [œ] and approximately like the Russian letter e after a consonant:

poena [foam] - punishment.

Exercise: read the words:

proelium (battle), foedus (alliance).

Note: if there is some sign above e (оē, оë), then the two sounds are read separately: poēta [poeta] - poet.

Rule 7. In words borrowed from Greek, there are combinations:

ch- [x]:schola [schola] - school; charta [harta] - paper

ph- [f]:philosophia [philosophia] - philosophy

th - [t]: theatrum [te'atrum] - theater

rh- [p]:rhetor [r`etor] – speaker

Exercise: read the words

pulcher(beautiful)elephantus(elephant)

symphonia (consonance) theologia (theology)

thesis(statement)Rhenus(Rhine)

rhythmus(rhythm)

Rule 8. There were diphthongs in Latin Au, eu, i.e. two vowel sounds were pronounced in one syllable. We pronounce them as a normal combination of two vowels, but the second element is never stressed:

aururn[`aurum] -gold

Europa [Eur'opa] - Europe

Exercise: read the words

nauta (sailor), audio (listening), Euclides (Euclides).

Rule 9. Letter s between vowels is read as [z]:

rosa [rose] - rose hip, causa [k`auza] - reason, deed.

Note. In words borrowed from Greek, this rule does not apply: philosophia- [philosophia].

Rule 10. Letter L It is customary to read softly [l]:

schola [schola], although [schola] is also acceptable;

lux [lux] - light, shine.

Accent

Rule 1A. In Latin the accent is never will not fall on the last syllable.

Exercise: Read the words, paying attention to the stress.

amor (love), caput (head), color (color), carmen (song), credit (believes), audit (listens), terror (fear), docent (teach), student (study), mutant (change), major (larger, older), minor (smaller, junior)

Rule 1B. Stress in Latin can fall only to the penultimate syllable or to the third from the end (i.e. pre-penultimate). Stress depends on the length or shortness of the penultimate vowel. If the penultimate vowel is long, then the stress falls on it; if it is short, the stress falls on the third syllable from the end. We pronounce Latin words without distinguishing between long and short vowels. But according to some rules, it is possible to restore the length or shortness of a vowel.

Rule 2. A vowel that comes before another vowel is always short. If the penultimate vowel is short, then it is unstressed, therefore, the stress shifts to the third syllable from the end.

For example, ratio [р`аціо]: stands before o, therefore, it is short and cannot be stressed, so the stress falls on the third syllable from the end; janua [й'анUA] - door: stands before a vowel and, therefore, it is short and unstressed.

Exercise: Read the words, paying attention to the emphasis.

initium (beginning), audio (listen), quattuor (four), sapiens (wise, intelligent), aureus (golden), linea (line, line).

Rule 3. If a vowel is followed by two or more consonants, then the vowel is long: libertas [lib'ertas] - freedom, because after the penultimate vowel e there are two consonants in a row (rt), then the vowel is long and, therefore, stressed.

Exercise: Read the words, paying attention to the stress.

juventus (youth), honorestus (honest), magister (teacher), puella (girl), theatrum (theater), ornamenrum (decoration).

Rule 4. In those words for which rules 2 and 3 do not apply, longitude and brevity are usually indicated. Long vowels are indicated by a straight line above (ā, ī, ē, ō, ū); diphthongs au and eu, as well as sounds denoted by the combinations ae - [e] and oe - [e] are always long. Short vowels are indicated by a ˇ symbol at the top: (ǎ, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ). In some textbooks and dictionaries, only brevity is indicated (less often, only longitude).

Exercise: read the words

amīcus (friend) medicus (doctor)

corōna(wreath)littĕra(letter)

disciplina (teaching) veritas (truth)

civīlis (civilian) popŭlus (people)

audīre. (listen)domīnus (master)

humānus(human)ocŭlus(eye)

EXERCISE

1. Read and transcribe the words /in Russian letters in square brackets with emphasis/:

Civis, circus, amīca, tunĭca, color, caput, civĭtas, civīlis, oceănus, cursus, Cyclŏps, centum, causa, nunc, lac, sic, occĭdo, ocсasio, necessĭtas, necessarius, accentus, vaccīna, caelum, delictum, inimīcus, Cicĕro, Graecus, cylindrus, corōna, medicus.

2. Read the words, giving the transcription in Russian letters:

Discipŭlus,Juppĭter,domĭnus,justitia,injuria,labor,laurus,ocŭlus,bestia,quaestio,negotium,arbĭter,sphaera,aetas,aequus,praesens,quercus,antiquĭtas,furor,tabŭla,triumphus,monumentum,ornamentum,mystĭcus,Romānus, chimaera,Bacchus,urbs,haud,quamquam,quidquid,unguis,ignis,quinque,unguentum,agricŏla,poena,aurōra,caelicŏla,aes,proelium,aura,auris,ratio,amicitia,popŭlus,levis,dexter,oboedientia,poēta, bacŭlus,beātus,laetitia,consuetūdo,causa,ianua,iambus,coeptum,thesaurus,caecus,pinguis.

3. Read and transcribe the proverbs:

Scientiapotentiaest. Knowledge (is) power.

Repetitio est mater studiōrum. Repetition (is) the mother of learning.

Omneinitiumdifficile. Every beginning is difficult.

Aquilanoncaptatmuscas. The eagle doesn't catch flies.

Malaherbacitocrescit. Bad grass grows quickly.

Nihilhabeo,nihiltimeo. I have nothing, I’m not afraid of anything.

Quodnocet, docet. What harms, teaches.

Philosophiaestmagistravitae. Philosophy is the teacher of life.

4. Read and transcribe geographical names, translate them into Russian:

Roma, Carthāgo, Cyprus, Corinthus, Athenae, Aegyptus, Caucăsus, Scythia, Thermopylae, Rhenus, Ephesus, Syracūsae, Lutetia, Assyria, Libia, Rhodos, Sicilia, Chersonēsus, Tanais, Troia, Thebae.

5. Read and transcribe the names, translate them into Russian:

Gaius Iulius Caesar, Marcus Tullius Cicĕro, Titus Livius, Publius Cornelius Tacĭtus,

Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Portius Cato Major, Lucius Annaeus Senĕca, Publius Ovidius Naso, Tiberius Gracchus, Augustus, Xerxes, Aesōpus, Anaxagŏras, Demosthĕnes, Prometheus, Aristophănes, Socrătes, Aristotĕles, Xenŏphon, Pyrrhus, Pythagŏras.

(If a Latin name ends in –ius, then in Russian it ends in

Iy: Valerius-Valery; if on -us, without a preceding i, then the ending is discarded: Marcus-Mark).

6. Find in previous tasks the words from which the famous

you words of Russian, English, French and other languages ​​known to you.

Odessa, Ukraine, November 2006

INTRODUCTION

The history of the Latin language goes back more than one thousand years. The language changed over time, changing depending on the territory. " ... The Latin language penetrated into the conquered territories over a number of centuries, during which it itself, as a base language, was somewhat modified and entered into complex interaction with local tribal languages ​​and dialects.", page 12. The pronunciation also changed. It makes no sense to question whether any of them is correct. They are ALL correct.

There are only two main trends today - this is restored pronunciation - pronunciation of the 1st century. BC with its own, by the way simpler, reading rules, but in compliance with the number of syllables, etc. Sinaloifs - continuous reading of words, when the previous word ends with a vowel, and the next one begins with a vowel. Poems of the classical era practically do not require any special reading, compared to everyday speech. Latinists around the world at congresses dedicated to living Latin accepted this pronunciation as the basic one, since in slightly later eras the language began to differentiate along national or territorial grounds. The Lingua Latina Aeterna website is focused specifically on this pronunciation; this choice was made by the site’s creator, M.P. Polyashev. The following section is devoted to a description of this pronunciation.

The second trend is medieval Latin. The rules of reading have become simpler in a number of respects; on the contrary, they have become more complex in a number of respects. The duration of the syllable is not reproduced. Classical poetry must be read according to special rules, otherwise it simply does not sound. However, medieval poetry sounds great. It is this pronunciation that has been used by many millions of people for many centuries. Authors who used this particular pronunciation wrote many works. After all, this is the language of the church. The main problem with this pronunciation is the presence of many national schools that do not agree on details. For a description of the medieval pronunciation of the Russian school, see the Appendix.

Unfortunately, many excellent textbooks of the Russian school introduce confusion into the chronology of Latin phonetics. So in the section "Brief information from the history of the Latin language" in , pp. 10 - 11 it is declared that

The term “classical Latin” means a literary language that reached its greatest expressiveness and syntactic harmony in the prose works of Cicero (106 - 43 BC) and Caesar (100 - 44 BC) and in the poetic works of Virgil (70 - 19 BC), Horace (65 - 8 BC) and Ovid (43 BC - 18 AD). The Latin literary language of this particular period serves as the subject of study in our higher educational institutions.

The so-called Late Latin is distinguished as a separate period in the history of the Latin language, the chronological boundaries of which are the 3rd - 6th centuries...

My emphasis is Yu. Semenov.

And already on page 20 in the section "Phonetics" you can read the following

In the Latin language of the classical period c in all positions meant the sound [k]...

In Latin no earlier than the 4th - 5th centuries AD. there are cases of the sound [k] transitioning into an affricate [ ts] before e And i; Much later, this phenomenon becomes widespread...

c: c before e, i, y, ae, oe reads like a Russian letter ts [ts]; in other cases (i.e. before a, o, u, before a consonant and at the end of a word) - like Russian To[k].

Personally, I see a serious contradiction in these two quotes from the same textbook. Meanwhile, this is one of the best textbooks of the Russian school.

Restored pronunciation

The description of the restored pronunciation is based on materials from the Schola Latina Universalis (SLU).

The main sources of information about the pronunciation of the classical era for its restoration are: methods of historical and comparative linguistics, surviving works of Latin grammarians, which often describe the articulation of Latin speech, the study of typical errors in written documents of different eras, the study of poetry of the classical era.
For more information about this, see.

Vowels

Latin has 6 vowels

a e i o u y

with the last letter found only in words borrowed from Greek, and 12 basic vowel sounds - 6 short and 6 long

a e i o u y

The duration of vowels is indicated by a horizontal line above the letter, in accordance with the traditions of the Russian school. It should be noted that SLU recommends a different longitude designation, which has its own advantages and disadvantages

Short vowels differ from long ones not only in duration, but also in timbre.

Vowel corresponding to Latin y neither in Russian nor in English. English people are advised to round their lips as to pronounce oo in goose, but to pronounce ee as in geese. Russians can be advised to pronounce and, fix the position of the tongue and round the lips, as with y. Or pronounce yu without the initial y.

In addition, Latin has 4 more nasal sounds that appear only in the last syllable ending in -m (so-called m caduca) if the next word begins with a vowel or h.

Am -em -im -um

In this case, -m is not pronounced and the vowel becomes nasal. If the next word begins with a consonant other than h, then -m is pronounced, but is likened to this consonant.

tam pulper[tam."pʊɫ.kɛɾ]
tam turpis[tan."tʊr.pɪs]
there castus[taŋ."kas.tʊs]

There are no words ending in -om or -ym in Latin.

Diphthongs

There are 6 diphthongs in Latin

ae oe au eu ej uj

The second vowel of a diphthong is pronounced very briefly, almost like a semivowel

If the pair of adjacent vowels listed does not form a diphthong, and each of them is pronounced separately, forming its own syllable, then a separation sign or a vowel duration sign is placed above one of the vowels, for example

a ër or a ēr

Consonants

There are 19 consonants in Latin

b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v x z

Let's consider the pronunciation of individual consonants and their combinations.

Doubled consonants are always pronounced doubled.

Among the consonant sounds there is the so-called. mute (closed), these are b, p, d, t, g, c and smooth l And r. Ancient grammars designated stops by the term muta, and smooth ones by liquida. The combination of silent and smooth is usually called muta cum liquida. Such combinations play an important role in syllable division.

2) Still, most likely the sound [d] from was similar to aspiration, in the sense that doubling sounded not like (such a combination is hard to pronounce!), but similar to the fact that the combination θθ was pronounced like tth. I thank M. Ledysheva for the discussion and idea.

Syllable division and number of syllables

Each vowel (or diphthong) of a word has its own syllable. The syllable division occurs:

• before the next vowel or diphthong
• before a single consonant
• before combinations of consonants ch, ph, th, qu, sometimes before gu or su
• before combinations muta cum liquida

If a syllable ends with a consonant, it is called closed, otherwise it is called open. An open syllable with a short vowel is short. All other syllables are long. A closed syllable with a short vowel is long “by position”.

Stress rules

As a rule, stress can fall on the last syllable only in monosyllabic words. There are several polysyllabic words with stress on the last syllable, for example: il- līc, Ar-pī- nās. These are exceptions and should be remembered separately.

The stress falls on the penultimate syllable if it is long.

In all other cases, the stress falls on the third syllable from the end.

Sinaloifa

Synaloepha - This is a continuous pronunciation of two words, characteristic of the Latin pronunciation of the classical era, the first of which ends with a vowel, and the next one begins with a vowel. The first vowel sound is pronounced, but becomes very short, almost turning into a semi-vowel. In this case, the number of syllables does not change. Sinaloifa is not an elision, since the vowels are not lost but become short, and it is not a diphthongization, since in diphthongization, not the first, but the second vowel is pronounced as a semivowel.

APPLICATION

Medieval (school, church) pronunciation of the Russian school

The description of medieval pronunciation is based on materials from the textbook.

Vowels

Classical Latin distinguished between long and short vowels. In medieval Latin, the distinction between vowels by number was lost. In school Latin, the number of vowels is indicated when it is necessary to determine the form of the word and place stress. There are 6 monophthongs in Latin: a, e, i, o, u, y. The accents are placed in the same place as in classical Latin.

There are rules that make it possible to find out the brevity of monophthongs.

1. In words containing more than one syllable, any long vowel in a closed syllable was shortened before any final consonant, except s. In monosyllabic words, contraction occurred only before m And t.
2. Long vowel before combinations nt And nd was shrinking.
3. Short, as a rule, is the vowel before the vowel or h.

Diphthong au corresponds to the Russian monosyllabic [а́у] in the two-syllable word "pau-za".

An extremely rare diphthong eu corresponds to the Russian monosyllabic [eu].

Diphthongs ae And oe turned into monophthongs, depicted by two letters (digraphs). Digraph ae means sound [e], Russian [e]. Digraph oe read as German and French [ø:] or English [ə:]. If in graphic combinations ae And oe each vowel is pronounced separately, above e a trema or sign is placed indicating the number of vowels.

Consonants

In Russian educational practice, a double reading of the Latin letter has been established c: before e, i, y, ae, oe it reads like a Russian letter ts. In other cases - like a Russian To.

Combination ti reads like qi, however, in positions before the vowel in combinations sti, xti, tti reads like you.

l It is customary to pronounce it softly, as in German or French.

Combinations qu, gu, su are read as in classical Latin, but instead of the sound [w] it is customary to use Russian [v].

s between vowels it is pronounced as [z], and in other positions as [s].

Aspirates rh, th read as [p] and [t]. ch pronounced like X, ph- like [f].

LINKS and LITERATURE

1. Textbook of the Latin language, ed. V.N. Yarkho, M., Education, 1969.
2. W. Sidney Allen, Vox Latina, The Pronunciation of Classical Latin, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1989
3. Schola Latina Universalis: Soni - detailed description of the restored pronunciation.
4. Vicipaedia: Pronuntiatio Latina - a brief description of the restored pronunciation.
5. Vicipaedia: Pronuntiatio Ecclesiastica - a brief description of church pronunciation.
6. Ostraca: La pronuncia del latino - a section of an interesting Italian site dedicated to Latin pronunciation.
7. Wikipedia: Latin pronunciation and spelling - article about Latin pronunciation in Russian.

Latin alphabet (table), diphthongs, word stress, letter combinations, pronunciation in Latin.

The Latin alphabet has changed its composition throughout the history of the development of the Latin language. The very first alphabet consisted of 21 letters, then new letters began to be added in different eras. Some of them have fallen out of use, others remain. The result was the classical Latin alphabet, consisting of 23 letters (some of which were given by the Greek language).

After the disappearance of the Roman Empire as a state, the Latin alphabet remained the basis for almost all languages ​​of Europe, but in each of the variants there were some changes (the Romance languages ​​that were closest to the classical version of the Latin alphabet were Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French).

The modern Latin alphabet consists of 25 letters (if with the letter W, then 26). The letters of the Latin alphabet can be found in the table below:

In Latin the following are written with a capital letter:

1. proper names;
2. names of nationalities and months of the year;
3. adjectives formed from proper names, as well as adverbs: Graecia Antiqua - Ancient Greece, Craece scribere - write in Greek

Diphthongs, letter combinations and pronunciation in Latin

The following diphthongs exist in Latin:

ae – pronunciation is similar to the Russian sound [e]

oe – pronounced like the German ö umlaut or the French diphthong, as in peur

au – similar to a combination of Russian sounds [ау]

ei – reads like [hey]

eu – similar to the sound of Russian sounds [eu]

It is worth noting that if one of the letters in a combination of diphthongs has two dots or a quantity sign, then the sounds in this combination will be pronounced separately: po ë ta, poēta

The letter “c” in Latin is read as [k]: crocodilus, cultura, colonia (knees)

The letter “c” + e, i, y, ae, eu, oe is read as the sound [ts]: Cicero, Cyprus, caelum (tselum)

* The letter h is similar in pronunciation to the Ukrainian sound [g]: humus (humus)

“J” - read as [th]: major. If a word begins with this letter, it is usually merged with the following vowel and pronounced as one sound: Januarius, Juppiter.

** The letter “l” is similar in pronunciation to [la, l]: Latinus (latinus), luna (lune).

l + i gives the sound [li], for example: liber (liber).

*** The letter “q” is always found in the combination qu + consonant and is read as [kv]: quadratus (quadratus). The exception is the word quum (godfather). In many publications you can find this word written as cum.

The letter “s” in Latin is read as: universitas (universitas), if the letter “s” is between two vowels, then it is pronounced as [z]: Asia (Asia).

Please note that the combination of letters ti + vowel is read as [qi]: constitution (constitution). Exceptions are: the word totius (totius), as well as s, x, t + ti, for example: ostium (ostium), Bruttium (bruttium), in Greek words, for example: Boeotia (boeotia).

Pronunciation of letter combinations: ngu and su:

ngu + vowel is read as [ngv]: lingua (lingua)

su + vowel is read as [sv], for example: suadeo (swadeo)

Accent in Latin

In words that consist of two syllables, the stress falls on the second syllable from the end: r o sa. In words that have more than two syllables, the stress falls on the second syllable from the end if it is long: nat u ra. If it is short - on the third from the end: f a brica.

Word + particles que, ve, ne shift the stress to the last syllable of a given word, for example: r o sa, but ros a que. If que is part of a word, then the stress is placed according to the general rule: it a que.

In the next article we will look at pronouns in Latin.

1. Remember the styles and names of the letters of the Latin alphabet.

2. Learn to pronounce the sounds indicated by these letters.

3. Letter and sound are not the same thing. Don't change these concepts.

The Latin alphabet, which is used in modern textbooks, reference books and dictionaries, consists of 25 letters.

Below is the traditional reading of Latin letters, adopted in Russian educational practice.

In Latin, proper names, names of months, peoples, geographical names and adjectives derived from them are written with a capital letter. In pharmaceutical terminology, it is customary to capitalize the names of plants and medicinal substances.

1. Most letters of the Latin alphabet are pronounced the same as in various Western European languages, but some letters in these languages ​​are called differently than in Latin; for example, the letter h is called “ha” in German, “ash” in French, “eich” in English, and “ga” in Latin. The letter j in French is called “zhi”, in English it is called “jay”, and in Latin it is called “yot”. The Latin letter “c” in English is called “si”, etc.

2. It must be borne in mind that the same letter can mean a different sound in these languages. For example, the sound designated by the letter g is pronounced in Latin as [g], and in French and English before e, i - as [zh] or [jj]; in English j is read as [j].

3. Latin spelling is phonetic, it reproduces the actual pronunciation of sounds. Compare: Lat. latina [Latin], English. latin - Latin.

The difference is especially noticeable when comparing vowels in Latin and English. In Latin, almost all vowels are always pronounced the same way as the corresponding vowels in Russian.

4. As a rule, names not from the Latin language, but from other languages ​​(Greek, Arabic, French, etc.) are Latinized, that is, they are formatted in accordance with the rules of phonetics and grammar of the Latin language.

“E e” is read as [e]: vertebra [ve"rtebra] - vertebra, medianus [media"nus] - median.

Unlike Russians, no Latin consonants are softened before the sound [e]: anterior [ante "rior] - front, arteria [arte"ria] - artery.

“I i” is read as [and]: inferior [infe"rior] - lower, internus [inte"rnus] - internal.

At the beginning of a word or syllable before vowels i is read as a voiced consonant [th]: iugularis [yugulya "rice] - jugular, iunctura [junktu"ra] - connection, maior [ma"yor] - large, iuga [yu"ga] - elevation.

In the indicated positions in modern medical terminology, instead of i, the letter J j - yot is used: jugularis [jugulya "rice", juncture [junktu"ra], major [ma"yor], juga [yu"ga].

The letter j is not written only in words borrowed from the Greek language, since it did not have the sound [th]: iatria [ia "tria] - healing, iodum [io "dum] - iodine.

To convey the sounds [ya], [yo], [ie], [yu], combinations of letters ja, jo, je, ju are used.

Y y (upsilon), in French “y”, reads like [and]: tympanum [ti"mpanum] - drum; gyrus [gi"rus] - gyrus of the brain. The letter "upsilon" is used only in words of Greek origin. It was introduced by the Romans to represent the letter upsilon of the Greek alphabet, which was read as German [i]. If the Greek word was written with i (Greek iota), read as [and], then it was transcribed into Latin with i.

In order to correctly write medical terms, you need to know some of the most common Greek prefixes and roots in which “upsilon” is written:

dys[dis-] – a prefix that gives the term the meaning of a disorder, a disorder of function: dysostosis (dys+ osteon – “bone”) – dysostosis – a disorder of bone formation;

hypo [hypo-] – “under”, “below”: hypoderma (hypo + derma – “skin”) – hypodermis – subcutaneous tissue, hypogastrium (hypo- + gaster – “belly”, “stomach”) – hypogastrium – hypogastro;

hyper [hyper-] – “above”, “over”: hyperostosis (hyper + osteon – “bone”) – hyperostosis – pathological growth of unchanged bone tissue;

syn-, sym [syn-, sim-] – “with”, “together”, “together”: synostosis (syn + osteon – “bone”) – synostosis – connection of bones through bone tissue;

mu(o)[myo-] – the root of a word indicating the relationship to muscles: myologia (myo + logos – “word”, “teaching”) – myology – the study of muscles;

phys [phys-] – the root of the word, indicating in anatomical terms the relation to something growing in a certain place: diaphysis – diaphysis (in osteology) – the middle part of the tubular bone.

In addition to the simple vowels [a], [e], [i], [o], [and], in the Latin language there were also two-vowel sounds (diphthongs) ae, oe, ai, e. In the classical era, they were all pronounced with a non-syllabic second element. Later, the diphthongs ae [from ai] and oe [from oi] began to be pronounced as one sound, that is, they turned into monophthongs depicted by two letters - the so-called digraphs.

The digraph ae is read as [e]: vertebrae [ve "rtebre] - vertebrae, peritonaeum [peritone "um] - peritoneum.

The digraph oe is read as [e], more precisely, like the German o or French oe: foetor [fetor] - bad smell.

In most cases, the diphthongs ae and oe, found in medical terms, served to convey the Greek diphthongs ai and oi in Latin. For example: oedema [ede "ma] - swelling, oesophagus [eso" phagus] - esophagus.

If in the combinations ae and oe the vowels belong to different syllables, that is, they do not constitute a diphthong, then a separation sign (``) is placed over the e and each vowel is pronounced separately: diploе [diploe] - diploe - spongy substance of the flat bones of the skull; аеr [aer] – air.

The au diphthong is read as: auris [au "rice] - ear. The eu diphthong is read as [eu]: ple"ura [ple"ura] - pleura, neurocranium [neurocranium] - brain skull.

A double reading of the letter “С с” is accepted: as [k] or [ts].

How [k] is read before the vowels a, o, and, before all consonants and at the end of a word: caput [ka "put] - head, head of bones and internal organs, cubitus [ku "bitus] - elbow, clavicula [beak" ] - collarbone, crista [kri "sta] - crest.

How [ts] is read before the vowels e, i, y and the digraphs ae, oe: cervicalis [cervical fox] - cervical, incisure [incizu "ra] - notch, coccyngeus [kokzinge "us] - coccygeal, coelia [tse "lia ] – abdominal cavity.

“H h” is read as a Ukrainian sound [g] or German [h] (haben): homo [homo] - man, hnia "tus [gna" tus] - gap, crevice, humerus [gume "rus] - humerus.

“K k” is found very rarely, almost exclusively in words of non-Latin origin, in cases where it is necessary to preserve the sound [k] before the sounds [e] or [i]: kyphosis [kypho"sis] - kyphosis, kinetocytus [kine"tocitus ] – kinetocyte – mobile cell (words of Greek origin). Exception: kalium [ka "lium] (Arabic) - potassium and some other words.

“S s” has a double reading – [s] or [z]. As [s] is read in most cases: sulcus [su"lkus] - groove, os sacrum [os sa"krum] - sacrum, sacral bone; back [fo"ssa] - pit, ossa [o"ssa] - bones, processus [protse"ssus] - process. In the position between the vowels and consonants m, n in words of Greek origin, s is read as [z]: chiasma [chia "zma] - cross, platysma [platy" zma] - subcutaneous muscle of the neck.

“X x” is called a double consonant, since it represents the sound combination [ks]: radix [ra "dix] - root, extremitas [extra "mitas] - end.

“Z z” is found in words of Greek origin and is read as [z]: zygomaticus [zygoma "ticus] - zygomatic, trapezius [trapezius] - trapezoidal.

The letter “Q q” is found only in combination with u before vowels, and this letter combination is read as [kv]: squama [squa "me] - scales, quadratus [quadra "tus] - square.

The letter combination ngu is read in two ways: before vowels as [ngv], before consonants - [ngu]: lingua [li "ngva] - language, lingula [li "ngulya] - tongue, sanguis [sa "ngvis] - blood, angulus [angu" luc] – angle.

The combination ti before vowels is read as [qi]: rotatio [rota "tsio] - rotation, articulatio [article "tsio] - joint, eminentia [emine "ntsia] - elevation.

However, ti before vowels in the combinations sti, xti, tti is read as [ti]: ostium [o"stium] - hole, entrance, mouth, mixtio [mi"xtio] - mixture.

In words of Greek origin there are digraphs ch, рh, rh, th, which are graphic signs for conveying the corresponding sounds of the Greek language. Each digraph is read as one sound:

сh = [x]; рh = [ф]; rh = [p]; th = [t]: nucha [nu"ha] - neck, chorda [chord] - chord, string, phalanx [fa"lanks] - phalanx; apophysis [apophysis] – apophysis, process; thorax [to "raks] - chest entrance, rhaphe [ra" fe] - seam.

The letter combination sch is read as [сх]: os ischii [os and "schii] - ischium, ischiadicus [ischia "dicus] - ischium.

Latin transcription of words of Greek origin depends on sound-letter correspondences in Latin and Greek.

1. The stress is never placed on the last syllable. In two-syllable words it is placed on the first syllable.

2. In three-syllable and polysyllabic words, the stress is placed on the penultimate or third syllable from the end.

The placement of stress depends on the duration of the penultimate syllable. If the penultimate syllable is long, then the stress falls on it, and if it is short, then the stress falls on the third syllable from the end.

Therefore, to place stress in words containing more than two syllables, it is necessary to know the rules for the length or shortness of the penultimate syllable.

Longitude of the penultimate syllable.

1. A syllable is long if it contains a diphthong: peritona"eum - peritoneum, perona"eus - peroneal (nerve), dia"eta - diet.

2. A syllable is long if a vowel comes before two or more consonants, as well as before double consonants x and z. This longitude is called longitude by position. For example: colu"mna - column, pillar, exte"rnus - external, labyri"nthus - labyrinth, medu"lla - brain, medulla, maxi"lla - upper jaw, metaca"rpus - metacarpus, circumfle"xus - circumflex.

If the vowel of the penultimate syllable comes before the combination b, c, d, g, p, t with the letters l, r, then such a syllable remains short: ve"rtebra - vertebra, pa"lpebra - eyelid, tri"quetrus - triangular. Combinations ch , ph, rh, th are considered one sound and do not create the length of the penultimate syllable: chole "dochus - gall.

The vowel that comes before a vowel or the letter h is always short. For example: tro"chlea - block, pa"ries - wall, o"sseus - bone, acro"mion - acromion (brachial process), xiphoi"deus - xiphoid, peritendi"neum - peritendinium, pericho"ndrium - perichondrium.

There are words to which the given rules of syllable length and brevity cannot be applied. This occurs when the vowel of the penultimate syllable is followed by only one consonant. In some words the penultimate syllable is short, in others it is long. In such cases, you need to consult a dictionary, where the longitude of the penultimate syllable is conventionally indicated by a superscript (-), and brevity by a (``).

In addition, it should be remembered that the suffixes of adjectives -al-, -ar-, -at-, -in-, -os are always long and, therefore, stressed. For example: orbita"lis - orbital, articula"ris - articular, hama"tus - hooked, pelvi"nus - pelvic, spino"sus - spinous. The suffix -ic- in adjectives is short and unstressed: ga"stricus - gastric, thora" cicus - chest.