Language/Latin/Grammar/Latin-alphabet

Latin alphabet, also called Roman alphabet

Latin alphabet, also called Roman alphabet, was borrowed in very early times from a Greek alphabet and in  classical period has 23 letters,

of which 3 are rare (k - y - z), which are found in words of Greek origin. Initially it consisted of capital letters only, and the small letters

with which we are familiar did not come into general use until the close of the eighth century A.D.

Latin distinguishes between long vowels (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) and short vowels (ă, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ), which however are not generally noted in the texts.

All the letters are pronounced.

Latin Alphabet contains 23 Letters. J (iota), W (ve dobre) are only in loanwords, V (ve) is no longer in Latin Alphabet, Because abolished in since 1974.

Latin alphabet	Pronunciation	Exemples	Modern equivalences
A - ă and ā	[a] bref- short [a] long	damus : nous donnons - we give	as in father -  âtre
B - b	[b]	bonus : bon / good	as in bishop
C- c	[k] toujours dur- still hard	cepi : j'ai pris / i took Cicero, Cicéron / Cicero	képi - as in cat
D - d	[d]	dare : donner / give	as in David
E - ĕ and ē	[é] bref and [é] long	habere : avoir / to have	aimer - as in hey
F - f	[f]	fabula : fable	as in freedom
G - g	[g] toujours dur- still hard	magis : plus / more	Garde / as in God
H - h	[h]	homo : homme / man	honneur / as in holy
I - ĭ and  ī	[i] bref - short [i] long [y] consonne / consonant	littera : lettre / letter audire : entendre / hear iam : déjà / already	fini / as in antique pie yeux
K - k (rare)	[k]	Kalendae : Calendes	calendrier / as in king
L - l	[l]	lux : lumière / light	as in love
M - m	[m]	mater : mère / mother	as in Mary
N - n	[n]	nox : nuit / night	as in nun
O - ŏ and ō	[o] bref [o] long	inopia : misère / misery copia : abondance / abundance	Encore / as in over faute
P - p	[p]	pater : père / father	as in pope
Q(u) - q(u)	[kw]	qualis : quel / what	as in queen
R - r	[r]	rex : roi / king	as in Roma
S - s	[s] still hard  - toujours dur	causa : cause /	casse / as in see
T - t	[t]	natio : nation /	tiare / as in tree
V - ŭ and ū	[ou] bref [ou] long [w] consonne	dominus : maître / master ius : droit / law uotum, vœu / wish	loup / as in wind court as in  water
X - x	[ks]	extra : au-dehors / without	extérieur / as in wax
Y - y (rare)	[u]	hypocrita : mime	nul / as in yard
Z - z (rare)	[z]	zephyrus : zéphyr / zephyr	as in maze
Latin Unused	J - j	Only in loanwords
V - v	Consonantal U, now is not used in 1974
W - w	Only in loanwords.
Diphtongues
-ae-	[aï]	aequus : uni, égal / united, equal	as in aisle / aie
-au-	[aw]	audire : entendre / hear	as in house
-eu-	[eou]	neuter :  aucun des deux / neither of the two	as in seu
-oe-	[oï]	poena, châtiment / punishment	as in oyster

Other Lessons

• Parts of speech Latin
• Latin Nouns
• Present Tense
• Pronouns
• Adjectives
• Latin Articles
• Negation
• Past Tense
• How to Use Have