Latin: Classical or Ecclesiastical Pronunciation?

[vonbon]

I'm considering beginning Latin either next year or at some point in the future with my 7yo.  Looking into various curricula and reading old threads to gain some insight...

 

Song School Latin's site says it offers both Classical and Ecclesiastical pronunciation options in/on all books/audio/video products.  

 

Which pronunciation have you chosen to study and why?  

 

I'm also curious about our exposure to Latin in church (Catholic.)  Some songs are in Latin and, after previewing some of the SSL DVD chapters online, it seems that the Ecclesiastical pronunciation is what is used in church (sorry if that's stating the obvious.)  Can anyone confirm this?  

 

If we chose to go the Classical pronunciation route, would my daughter's experience be like mine in church?  I'm fluent in Spanish so I recognize some of the Latin words in songs and writings but I've never studied Latin itself so I don't know how to actually pronounce them.  Or would it be better to choose Ecclesiastical so that it matches up with what we sing in church?  (Hope this makes sense--)

 

What about professional applications in the long run (science, medicine, theology, law, etc.?)  Or learning romance languages?  Is one pronunciation better than the other?

 

Thanks for any insight!

[Violet Crown]

One option is learning both pronunciations.

 

We use Artes Latinae, set to classical pronunciation (really American Scholastic ... there's another called "restored classical" but we won't go into those tall weeds), so they'll be able to move on easily to Latin poetry eventually. But our church services are entirely in Latin, so they pick up the ecclesiastical pronunciation there. Classical pronunciation is the stick shift and ecclesiastical the automatic: it's easy to pick up the latter if you've learned the former, but not so much the other way around.

 

Legal Latin uses an Anglicised pronunciation, which you just have to learn as you go. Medical and biological "Latin" is often enough actually from Greek. As far as Romance language pronunciation, ecclesiastical is basically Latin spoken with Italian pronunciation; but other than that, I can't see how your choice of Latin pronunciation might affect modern language acquisition.

[strange_girl]

We chose to study classical pronunciation simply because it is closer to the original language (not perfectly, I'm sure), and we have no Latin at our church. If we did, I probably would have gone ecclesiastical.

I think it's personal preference, honestly. The differences are not so major that we could not go back and forth as needed.

[Noreen Claire]

 ecclesiastical is basically Latin spoken with Italian pronunciation

 

This is what I was going to say. My husband has been trying for several years to teach himself Latin through his own process of finding and translating primary sources from philosophy and Catholic history. (He's weird like that.) I asked a Rosetta Stone salesman if they had an Ecclesiastical Latin program; the guy laughed at me - he was Italian! He told me that Ecclesiastical Latin is just Latin spoken with an Italian accent.

 

Good luck!

[Holly]

We use an Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciation.    I have heard it's pretty easy to switch over to a classical pronunciation down the road if your DC need to for any reason.  I actually just finished reading an article on the MP website, on this exact topic!  Here is a link: http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/short-history-latin-pronunciation

 

My reasons for Ecclesiastical pronunciation are that it's what the curriculums I've chosen use (MP and Visual Latin), I like how it sounds better, and it it most similar to other modern languages (like Italian as Noreen mentioned).  :)

[Bluegoat]

In most cases I think this is one of the less important questions.  As far as it goes I would say, what will you use it for, and pick whatever corresponds.

 

My kids hear ecclesiastical pronounciation in church and sing it in choir, so all things being equal that was my choice.  But I would have chosen a better fit program in classical Latin in a heartbeat.

 

Anyone who goes very far will learn both.

 

Part of me would like to teach my kids to speak Latin like Englishmen, but there aren't really any student programs that do that!

Edited April 13, 2016 by Bluegoat

[KSinNS]

The program we are using is classical. We don't hear Latin in church, except my son is now in a liturgical choir and singing in Latin. It's not a problem, and now when he reads from his book, he sounds beautiful (Italian vowels and the lovely r's). So, I wouldn't sweat it. But if you hear Latin in church, and have a choice, choose Ecclesiatical.

[Violet Crown]

Part of me would like to teach my kids to speak Latin like Englishmen, but there aren't really any student programs that do that!

To be honest the "Church Latin" my fellow worshippers use sounds more Texan than Italian. If civilization falls apart Canticle-for-Liebowitz-style, I look forward to our community developing our own Texan dialect of Latin, to be studied by serious academics of the future.

[nobeatenpath]

We have a bit of a mix - it leans towards toward ecclesiastical because of my background of singing in choirs, which is where I picked up most pronunciation. That and trips to Italy.

My son would like to speak with a more Classical bent but of course it is hard to authenticate what that is.