Is it silly...

[Qs3]

that I'm agonizing over which latin pronunciation to choose? I've definitely settled on Song School Latin for ds 2nd grade next year. I'd eventually like to use Latin Prep. Can LP be taught using the Ecclesiastical pronunciation? Why am I making this so hard? :confused:

[Trivium Academy]

I've found that when I have to ask a question with the word "silly" in it, it usually is! Lol. I don't think it will hurt at all but I'm not a Latin expert, I would just go with whatever the products you're using do- the kids will adapt I'm sure. I know I tend to make things more difficult when I think of the smaller details. :)

[Plaid Dad]

that I'm agonizing over which latin pronunciation to choose?

 

Not silly, but not necessary either. ;)

 

Latin students who get beyond the beginning level need to be familiar with the two main pronunciation conventions (restored classical and ecclesiastical). But it really doesn't matter much which you begin with. Students who are reading Latin poetry or go on in Latin beyond the secondary school level will almost certainly need the classical pronunciation, as that's the norm in academia. The only colleges I know of that teach ecclesiastical exclusively are Catholic.

 

A word about Song School Latin: you may have already seen this, but apparently there's a huge blooper in it on the pronunciation front. Both the book and the CD have the 'g' pronounced hard. That's correct for classical but not for ecclesiastical - which is what the program is supposed to teach. I don't know how something that big could have slipped by them, but you should be aware of it if you decide to use that program. Here's a guide to (correct) ecclesiastical pronunciation.

[Qs3]

Yes, I definitely get caught up in details sometimes. I spend a lot of time deliberating. When it came to Math I was able to settle on both Horizons and Singapore! Song School offers both pronunciations, so I was thinking that this decision would be one that dictates the next several years of study. Of course, I could always switch... Ah, perfectionism rearing its ugly head! I feel better now.

[Sophia]

I chose ecclesiastical, but somewhere, somehow, my oldest picked up the classical pronunciations and will randomly insert them when translating.

I think he does this to annoy his sister, who takes the bait and they spend the next half hour arguing about which translation is "better":glare:

 

So, go ahead and choose...your dc will let you know if they want to switch:rolleyes:

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I think that on the whole it doesn't really matter. The translations remain the same and no matter how one hears it in his or her mind, "caelum" is still "sky" and "In principio erat Verbum" is still "In the beginning was the Word."

 

However, other little things may push you in one direction or the other.

 

1) It's a little thing but most of the children's readers/books are classical (meaning the macrons are there and that the one's on tape are pronounced classically).

 

2) Your exposure to *spoken* latin.

 

3) Your preference -- which one sounds better to your ear?

 

We're Roman Catholic. We hear and sing some latin at mass on a regular basis and we occasionally attend the latin mass; we hear and say some prayers in latin (most of our formal prayers we memorize in both latin and english); and we go to a monthly chant class in which we learn Gregorian Chant and sing in latin. For us there wasn't even a choice really. It was ecclesiastical all the way.

 

On the other hand, if your exposure to latin is pretty much limited to what you read, write, and study and you hear it spoken so infrequently that it isnt' in any way a part of your daily life, just choose the one you think sounds prettier!

 

I will say that it may be easier to go with classical with CAP b/c it's clearly their tendency. Even with the ecclesiastical pronunciation, they sound more classical.

[Gretchen in NJ]

I chose ecclesiastical, but somewhere, somehow, my oldest picked up the classical pronunciations and will randomly insert them when translating.

I think he does this to annoy his sister, who takes the bait and they spend the next half hour arguing about which translation is "better":glare:

 

So, go ahead and choose...your dc will let you know if they want to switch:rolleyes:

 

Sophia, I feel your pain. My dear daughters do the same thing sometimes.

 

Gretchen

[Dawn E]

Not silly, but not necessary either. ;)

A word about Song School Latin: you may have already seen this, but apparently there's a huge blooper in it on the pronunciation front. Both the book and the CD have the 'g' pronounced hard. That's correct for classical but not for ecclesiastical - which is what the program is supposed to teach.

 

Yikes. I don't think it was meant to be geared towards ecclesiastical, but now they've unintentionally geared themselves towards classical. I guess that makes my own decision easier. :001_smile: We'll use the classical pronunciation part of the cd. I see that they now have free audio files for both pronunciations on the website. I wonder if any corrections have been made. I plan to go on to Lively next, and if I'm not mistaken you can also choose pronunciation with that program as well.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I agree. I'm not Catholic, but I sing Latin frequently. I've studied church music in college, and I'm most familiar with ecclesiastical pronunciation. It was easy for me to choose ecclesiastical.

 

Consistancy is important, but I don't think one convention is better than the other.

[~Puddins~]

I'm so glad I saw this thread...I was debating (more than I should) which "way" to go...glad to know I pretty much can't go wrong :)