Visitors ask...How do you pronounce "Humanae Vitae?"
This is one I should have seen coming! And now, the didacticism must be brought in.
Latin as a language underwent development as in any other language. The Church uses a pronunciation called "Ecclesiastical Latin." Many of the courses taught to young people reading Caesar and Virgil were taught the "Classical Latin" pronunciation.
Here are two great sites to check Latin pronunciation. The first is focused on pronouncing Ecclesiastical Latin--Church Latin. This site has a nice listing of Latin prayers including more basic prayers such as the Pater Noster (Our Father). The pronunciation would utilize that taught by the Church and used in the Mass.
This site is the National Shrine of the Franciscans in San Francisco and does a splendid job in differentiating "ecclesiastical Latin" pronunciation from "classical Latin."
So, what does this have to do with "humanae vitae?" The Church pronounces the phrase using the "ecclesiastical form": Who-mah'-nay Vee'-tay
I would pronounce it (out of olden habit) in the "classical form": Who-mah'-nigh Vee'-tigh' . The diphthong "ae" was pronounced "aye" (as in the "igh" in the word "high") in the classical Latin I learned, and it is hard to get rid of that which was drummed into me over years.
The phrase means "Of (or On) Human Life."
Latin as a language underwent development as in any other language. The Church uses a pronunciation called "Ecclesiastical Latin." Many of the courses taught to young people reading Caesar and Virgil were taught the "Classical Latin" pronunciation.
Here are two great sites to check Latin pronunciation. The first is focused on pronouncing Ecclesiastical Latin--Church Latin. This site has a nice listing of Latin prayers including more basic prayers such as the Pater Noster (Our Father). The pronunciation would utilize that taught by the Church and used in the Mass.
This site is the National Shrine of the Franciscans in San Francisco and does a splendid job in differentiating "ecclesiastical Latin" pronunciation from "classical Latin."
So, what does this have to do with "humanae vitae?" The Church pronounces the phrase using the "ecclesiastical form": Who-mah'-nay Vee'-tay
I would pronounce it (out of olden habit) in the "classical form": Who-mah'-nigh Vee'-tigh' . The diphthong "ae" was pronounced "aye" (as in the "igh" in the word "high") in the classical Latin I learned, and it is hard to get rid of that which was drummed into me over years.
The phrase means "Of (or On) Human Life."
If you pronounced it in the "classical form" you would say "wee" and not "vee," though, right?
ReplyDeletehttp://la.raycui.com/alphabet.html
ReplyDeleteThis site has a nice compare/contrast with Latin pronunciations. I'd suggest you check it over. It gives details on both Classical and Liturgical pronunciations and even gives "audio feedback."
D.v.