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Latin has 20 basic sounds and 8 combined sounds. Click on the words basic sounds or combined sounds to learn about the sounds of Latin.
© Anotek, Inc. - Copyright
1999 - Patent Pending
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The basic sounds are distributed in Vowels (6 sounds) and Consonants (14 sounds).
Click the
green phonetic symbol to hear sound
Click the picture to hear sound
Vowels are either short or long and are pronounced
accordingly. The difference in the duration of the pronunciation of a vowel
is called
quantity. Each vowel exists in two
forms: short and long, according to the time occupied in pronouncing the
vowel. In our examples, long vowels are marked with a colon following
the vowel.
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| (may be referred to using ||) |
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(way, passage, road) |
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(little child, infant, baby) |
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(lyre) |
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(court) |
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(town, city) |
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(fight, battle) |
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(I) |
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(drunk) |
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(olive) |
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(bridge) |
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(love, desire) |
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(shepherd) |
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(ox, bull, cow) |
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(panis) |
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(house, home) |
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(tunic => a loose-fittng garment that entends to the knees) |
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(hen) |
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(deer) |
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(cat) |
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(sun) |
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(sea) |
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(nest) |
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(milk) |
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(ruler, king, chief) |
(but probably closer to a rolling r than standard English r) |
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(young person - man or woman) |
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(fox) |
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The sound combinations are distributed in Vowel Combinations (6 sounds) and Consonant Combinations (2 sounds).
Vowel combinations are called diphthongs. In the diphthongs,
both vowel sounds are heard, one following the other in the same syllable.
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||
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(house) |
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(laurel) |
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(gods) |
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(cheese) |
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(battle, fight) |
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(snake) |
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Consonant combinations occur with two double consonants
of the alphabet:
x and
z.
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(fruit, produce) |
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(Amazon) |
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