Haus Jakob

Vowels

Each vowel has one sound.

a as in father
e as in red
i as in “ee” in feet
o as in for
u as in “oo” in moon

Diphthongs

When two vowels come together, each generally keeps its own sound (e.g. filii is pronounced fi-li-i), with these exceptions:

æ and œ are pronounced as e; u preceded by q or ng and followed by another vowel is uttered as one syllable with the vowel that follows, e.g. sanguis is pronounced san-gwees.

In au, eu, ui, the two vowels form one syllable, but both vowels must be distinctly heard. The principle emphasis and interest belongs to the first, which must be purely pronounced.

Consonants

Many letters are pronounced as in English, with these exceptions:

c is pronounced like k
c before e, æ, œ, i, and y, like ch in church
cc before e, æ, œ, i, and y, like t-ch; ecce is pronounced et-che
ch is always pronounced like k
g is hard as in government
g before e, æ, œ, i, and y is soft, as in generous
gn has a softened sound, similar to n followed by y, as in canyon
h is silent except in nihil and mihi, where it is pronounced k
j is pronounced like y in yet
r should be slightly rolled as in three
s is hard as in sea; slightly softened when between two vowels, as in misery
sc before e, æ, œ, i, and y, like sh in shed
th is pronounced as t in Thomas
ti before a vowel and after any letter (except s, x, and t) is tsee
x like ks in kicks; slightly softened when between two vowels, as in example
xc before e, æ, œ, i, and y is pronounced k-sh
y is pronounced as i
z is pronounced as dz in adze