Latin: French Baroque (late 17th - early 18th century)

(e.g. Charpentier, Campra, Rameau)

Letter

Examples in text

Pronunciation

A

peccata

As in French salle

Æ

ædes

As in French été

Æ (in closed syllable)

æs

As in French père

AM, AN (if final or followed by a vowel, M, N, or -QUE)

tam, tamque, annuntiate, stellam, flammam

Not nasal - pronounced as for Italianate Latin

AM, AN (if followed by another consonant)

ante, lætantur, hanc, plorans, sanctus

Nasal, as in French ancien, ample

AU

aut, aurum

As in French sauter

E

credo

As in French été

E(in closed syllable)

sedet

As in French père

EM, EN (if final or followed by a vowel, M, N, or -QUE)

Amen, pacem, dicent, dicens

Not nasal - pronounced as for Italianate Latin

EM, EN (if followed by another consonant)

semper, lætentur, redemptor, sacramentum

Nasal, as in French rien, bien, faim (not as in embouchure)

-ER, -ES, -EL

est, dispersit

As in French bête

EU (as monophthong)

euripus

As in French eux

EU (as diphthong)

Deus, meus

Pronounce diphthong: déüs

I (as final vowel)

respexit

As in French rire (i.e. long)

I (otherwise)

humilitatem

As in French si (i.e. short)

IM, IN (in final position)

in, enim

Not nasal - pronounced as for Italianate Latin

IM, IN (otherwise)

ingratus, imperium

Nasal, as in French important, incurable

O

post, liberos, amando, illo

As in Italian molto, but long and short variants depending on position - as in Italianate Latin

Œ

pœnitet

Behaves as E

OM, ON (if followed by m or n; or if it is a final -OM)

omnes, commutare, connubium

Not nasal - pronounced as for Italianate Latin

OM, ON (otherwise)

montem, fons

Nasal - as in French prononce

ON (exceptions)

non, Sion

Not nasal - as in Italianate Latin

U

Deus, unus, fluvius, manu

As in modern French volume, or in modern German über, but long and short variants as per O

UM, UN (if final or followed by a vowel, M, N, or -QUE)

cum, dum, autumnus

Not nasal, but U changes to O sound (cum = kom)

UM, UN (otherwise, apart from being followed by -C)

sunt, mundi

Slightly nasal, but U changes to O sound (sunt = son)

UNC

tunc, cuncti, defunctus

Completely nasal as in French un

Y

Behaves as I

C, SC (before E, I, Æ, Œ, Y)

ancilla, ascendit

Sibillant: anssilla, assendit

C (otherwise)

cum, consilio

Hard: kum, konsilo

CH

archangelum, brachio

Always hard: brakio

CC (before E, I, Æ, Œ, Y)

accedo, ecce

Pronounced ks: aksedo, ekse

CC (otherwise)

ecclesium, accanto

Hard: eklesium, akanto

G (before E or I)

genitum, agimus

As in modern French argent

G (otherwise)

gloria

Hard: ghloria

GN

agnus, signifer, regnum

As in modern French signe (i.e. as per usual Italianate pronunciation)

GU (before A, E, I)

sanguine

As per Italianate pronunciation: sangwine

GU (before O, U)

arguo, ambiguus

Hard g and umlaut ü: arghüo

H

mihi

Not sounded: mii (BUT, Hiersulalem as consonantal I/J)

I/J (consonantal)

Ierusalem, Jesus, ejus

As in modern French joli

QU (before A, Æ, E, I, O, )

quo, qui, quem, quæ

As in modern English question

QU (before u)

As in modern French qui

R

Trilled (not as in modern French)

S (in final position)

tollis

Never dropped - always sounded, so tolleess

S (between vowels)

Jesus

Pronounced z, even if the vowels are in seprate words and separated by a final s, so: quia nullus est is kwia nüllüz est

S (otherwise) and PS (as initial letters)

est, psallite

Sibillant: esst, ssallite

T, TH

et, resurrexit

As in modern English; final T is not dropped

TI (followed by vowel)

etiam

As in modern French station

STI

creasti

As per Italiantate pronunciation: -sti

XTI

commixtio

As per Italiantate pronunciation: -ksti

X

exaudio

BUT: ex + vowel = gz (egzaudio)

General

Chri - stum; a - scen - dit