The Open University Choir
A short guide to Latin pronunciation
This crib is intended to help singers with Italianate Latin pronunciation using the
words of the Mass (as per Palestrina, but it can be extended in future to cover fuller
settings). For notes on Germanic Latin, particularly how it differs from Italianate
pronunciation, see Bill’s note, last circulated under Resources on the website for the
Autumn 2012 concert.
General rules are:
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C is pronounced ch when it comes before e, i or oe, as in coeli (chaylee, hard
ch) or suscipe (suchipe, soft ch). Otherwise it is a hard ‘k’
G is soft as in ‘general’ when it comes before e or i; before n (e.g. magnam) it
is pronounced as a ‘y’ after the ‘n’, like in ‘onion’ or ‘señor’
T is pronounced ts in the formation TI + vowel
I is pronounced as in English e.g. ‘sit’ in voluntatis, coelestis, Patris, tollis and
finis (here the first ‘i’ is long and the second short), but other -is words
(principally nobis and excelsis) are pronounced with a long ‘i’. All -is words
are included below. This issue is also covered in Bill’s note on German Latin
Words beginning with U should be pronounced ‘oo’, not ‘yoo’
J is pronounced as a ‘y’
Other notes on the list below:
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‘Ah’ and ‘ay’ in the attempts at phonetics below are merely intended to denote
long vowels. The consonant should not be pronounced. ‘Ah’ should not allow
the vowel to fall backward in the mouth – it’s ‘a’ as in ‘far’, and ‘ay’ should
not end with an ‘ee’ sound.
Similarly, the use of ‘ss’ is merely intended to show that it’s ‘s’ as in ‘pots’
rather than as in ‘boys’. Please do not hiss!
Movement
Gloria
Word
pax
bonae
voluntatis
benedicimus
gratias
agimus
magnam
coelestis
fili
unigenite
agnus
Patris
tollis
Pronunciation
as you’d expect, but Bill will want as long an ‘a’
as possible!
bonnay
voluntahtiss
benedeechimus (hard ch)
grahtsias
soft g
man-yam
chaylestiss (hard ch)
feelee
‘oo’ and soft g
ah-nyus
pahtriss
tolliss
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
nobis
suscipe
deprecationem
coeli
terrae
unigenitum
saecula
consubstantialem
descendit
crucifixus
etiam
Pontio
tertia
ascendit
regni
finis
procedit
catholicam
Sabaoth
excelsis
agnus & tollis
nobis
pacem
Michael Street with Bill Strang
April 2014
no-beess
suchipe (soft ch)
dayprecahtsionem
chaylee (hard ch)
terray
‘oo’ and soft g
saycoola
consubstantsiahlem
dayschendit (soft ch)
croochifixus (hard ch)
etsiam
Pontsio
tertsia
aschendit (soft ch)
ray-nyi
feeniss
prochaydit (hard ch)
catolicam
Sa-ba-ot (no ‘y’ before the ot!)
our convention is eggshellsees (no ‘r’ after
Hosanna!)
as above
nobeess as above
pahchem (hard ch)