Wheelock's Latin - Pronunciation and Syllabification

Long ā

Pronounced as in "father"

Short a

Pronounced as in "Cat"

Long ē

Pronounced as in "they"

Short e

Pronounced as in "pet"

Long ī

Pronounced as in "machine"

Short i

Pronounced as in "pin"

Long ō

Pronounced as in "clover"

Short o

Pronounced as in "off" or "orb"

Long ū

Pronounced as in "rude"

Short u

Pronounced as in "put"

Y: short or long

Sound intermediate between u & i and pronounced as in the French "tu"

Diphthongs

Combinations of two vowel sounds that were collapsed together into a single syllable

How many diphthongs are in the Latin language?

Six

Diphthong: ae

Pronounced as "ai" in "aisle"

Diphthong: au

Pronounced as "ou" in "house"

Diphthong: ei

Pronounced as in "reign"

Diphthong: eu

Pronounced rapidly as a single syllable (e+u)

Diphthong: ui

Pronounced as a single syllable like in Spanish "muy"

Diphthong: oe

Pronounced as "oi" in "oil"

A syllable is long by nature if it contains…

A long vowel or a diphthong

A syllable is long by position if it contains…

A short vowel followed by two or more consonants or by "x" (which is a double consonant "ks")