Ecclesiastical Latin - Comparison With Classical Latin

Comparison With Classical Latin

The written Latin of today, as used for Church purposes, does not differ radically from classical Latin. Study of the language of Cicero and Virgil suffices adequately for understanding Church Latin. However, those interested only in ecclesiastical texts may prefer to limit the time they devote to ancient authors, whose vocabulary covers matters that, although of importance in that period, appear less frequently in Church documents.

In most countries, those who speak Latin for liturgical or other ecclesiastical purposes use the pronunciation that has become traditional in Rome, giving the letters the value they have in modern Italian, but without distinguishing between open and closed E and O. AE and OE coalesce with E, and before these and I the letters "C" and "G" take the sounds of English CH and J respectively. "TI" followed by a vowel is generally pronounced /tsi/ (unless preceded by "S", "T" or "X"). Such speakers pronounce consonantal "V" (not written as "U") as in English, and double consonants are pronounced as such. No distinction is made between long and short vowels.

However, ecclesiastics in some countries follow slightly different traditions. For instance, in Slavic countries and in German-speaking ones the letter "C" before the front vowels /e/ and /i/ commonly receives the value of /ts/ and speakers pronounce "G" in all positions hard, never as English J. (See also Latin regional pronunciation and Latin spelling and pronunciation: Ecclesiastical pronunciation.)