How to emphasize in Latin?

As you know, the Latin language in the modern world is dead. That is, they do not speak it. But it all turned out that this language is actively used in medical terminology. No philologist can not do without knowledge of the language, even elementary: reading and writing. The stress in Latin is one of the most complicated phonetic characteristics. This article is about him.

History of the language

Latin language belongs to the Indo-European family. It is named after the name of the tribe of the Latins, who inhabited the tiny area of Italy - Latium.

Latin has become a state language in much of Europe, as well as in North Africa, in parts of Asia. In the II century BC. E. There is a mutual enrichment of Greek and Latin languages, because during this period Greece was conquered by Rome. This is the reason for the significant number of borrowings of Greek words in Latin, as well as Greek medical terminology.

Latin remains the main source for the artificial creation of new medical terms in modern languages.

For hundreds of years, Latin remained the language of science and culture for Europe. A vast amount of literature was created on it (historical chronicles, theological, scientific and philosophical treatises, poems).

Mastering even the most minimal course of Latin will make it easy to learn the ancient Greek language, and understanding the vocabulary and grammatical structure of the Latin language will help greatly in studying the Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian), and Germanic (German, English). Latin also influenced the Russian language, in the vocabulary of which there are many Latinisms.

Latin became the basis for the creation of all Romance languages. And in many other European languages many Latin words, mainly from science, medicine, culture and intellectual heritage, have penetrated.

The grammar of the Latin language is clear, concise and, in general, accessible for rapid assimilation. This is practically the only language in the world that has such a harmonious and structured grammar. Latin terminology has become widespread in world linguistics. This language develops linguistic thinking, and also contributes to the most accurate expression of their feelings and thoughts in their native language. No wonder all the outstanding minds of past centuries included this language in their compulsory educational program.

Today, medical and philological education is impossible without understanding the basics of Latin. Learning a language is of great importance in the training of these specialists.

And they usually begin their journey with understanding the phonetic bases, one of which is the stress in Latin.

rules

In terms of learning, Latin is not the easiest language in the world. But only because there are no living carriers. From the point of view of linguistics it is quite simple, of course, if you carefully understand all the details.

We can distinguish only three rules of stress in Latin:

1. In Latin stress can never be put on the last syllable.
2. The stress falls on the penultimate syllable, but only if it is long; If the penultimate is brief, then put on the third from the end.
3. The stress is never placed beyond the third syllable.

That's all! Three unpretentious rules that are easy to remember. But when you read them, many questions can arise immediately. For example:

• How is the number of syllables determined?
• What does the long syllable mean?
• What is a short syllable?
• How does the slogan go?

In fact, these questions are very simple answers.

How to determine the number of syllables

The statement of the stress in Latin depends directly on the syllable. What is a syllable? This is the minimum pronouncing unit of the language. That is, it does not carry any semantic load, but is simply a combination of different sounds.

As in many other languages, the number of syllables in Latin is determined by the number of vowels in the word. But in Latin there are also diphthongs, that is, combinations of two sounds that imply a transition from one vowel to another sound. Simply put, two vowel sounds that are not separated by a consonant.

This language phenomenon can confuse the one who has just started to learn the language. But the diphthong is one syllable, although it consists of two vowels.

For example, oesophagus . There are four syllables in this word, although there are five vowels. The diphthong is one syllable! Similarly:

• Auris - 2 syllables, diphthong au ;
• Vertebrae - 3 syllables, diphthonge;
• Foetor - 2 syllables, diphthong.

How does the slogan

To understand how the slogan passes, you need to learn only nine rules. They will help to accurately put stress in Latin.

Syllogics:

1. Between two vowels (in the event that they do not form a diphthong). For example, tu-a .
2. Before a single vowel. For example, simi-a (note: the rule is valid if you do not have qu before this vowel).
3. Between two consonants. For example, jus-tus (exceptions: the combination of the dumb ( d, t, g, k, b, p ) and smooth ( r, l ).
4. Before the combination of "qu" . Naturally, anti-quus .
5. Between diphthong and vowel. For example, europae-um .
6. Before combining a little and smooth sounds. For example, tene-brae .
7. Within a group of three or more consonant letters (remember that the combination of the dumb and smooth is indivisible). For example, mons-trum .
8. After the prefix-prefix. For example, in-structio .
9. After the letter "j" , which is between two vowels. For example, pej-us .

Short Syllables

On whether a long sound or short, does not depend on his pronunciation. But this moment has a significant effect on the rules for stating the stress in Latin.

So, the syllable is called short:

• If it is located in front of a group of vowels. For example, atr i um . It is worth remembering that a vowel in front of a vowel is always brief!
• If located before the letter "h". For example, extr a ho .

These are types of short sounds by position. But there are also those that are short in nature. That is historically they were pronounced longer (melodious) long vowels. Usually on the letter they are indicated by a semicircle "hat". For example, vól ŭ cre .

Long syllables

Yes, as it turned out, this Latin language is not so simple! Stress in words depends on many factors. Including the longitude and shortness of the syllable, its openness and closeness (recall that the open syllable ends in a vowel, closed on a consonant, as in Russian).

So, the syllable is long:

• If it contains a diphthong (digraph). For example, crat ae gus .
• If it is located in front of a group of consonants. For example, pot e ntilla .
• If it is located in front of one of the consonants "x" or "z". For example, refl e xus .

It is very important to remember the following! Consonant with, b, p, t, d in combination with l, r will not create a longitude to the previous vowel. For example, vert e bra, anh y drus. Dedicated sounds are concise!

In the case of the longitude of sound (and therefore of the syllable), there are also historically established patterns. On the letter they are indicated by a dash. For example, am î cus.

Homonyms

A very interesting and informative topic in the study of Latin will be an appeal to such a phenomenon as homonyms. From the rules of the Russian language, everyone knows that these are words that are the same in spelling, but different in meaning. But with the language spoken by most Russians, everything is clear. But Latin can bring many surprises in this regard.

The fact is that the longitude and shortness of sound is not always displayed on the letter. In the language there are many words-homonyms, which, depending on the statement of stress, change their lexical meaning.

For example, malum is evil (long vowel), m a lum is an apple (a short vowel).

To avoid making a total mistake, you need to understand how to put stress in Latin, in longitude and shortness of sounds.

Let's analyze a few more words. When there is a graphic designation on the letter, the lexical meaning of the word is easier to understand. For example,

• Occ ī dit - kills (denoted by longitude);
• Occ ĭ dit - decreases (shortness is indicated).

When there is no saving icon, everything is much more complicated.

Exceptions to the rules

The stress in Latin is due to a number of rules. But as you know, there are always some exceptions. In Latin, they are usually associated with words that come from outside, ie. Borrowed. Most of these words came from the Greek language.

In them in the second syllable from the end the vowel sound before the vowel was percussion. Greek diphthongs in the process of romanization turned into long vowels. For example, Achillea (yarrow), giganteus (giant).

The following category of exception words refers to neologisms, names that were borrowed from modern languages. Most often in them, stress can also be placed not according to general rules.

Examples

Now let us examine in more detail the principles of stating the accent in the Latin language. Examples will help to understand everything in this matter definitively.

• B e ne - the word consists of two syllables (because there are two vowels), therefore the first is the percussion.
• A rma - by the same principle.
• Nat u ra is a polysyllabic word (three syllables, because three vowels), the second syllable is open and long, so it is stressed.
• P u blicus - the stress falls on the third syllable from the end, because the second syllable is short.
• Pot e ntia - a word consisting of four syllables (four vowel letters), the stress falls on the third syllable from the end, because the syllable before it is short.
• Eur o pa - a word consisting of three syllables (the combination of eu is a diphthong), stress is placed on the second syllable, because the latter is short and open.