| Quantity of Syllables |
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are as many syllables in a Latin word as there are vowels or
diphthongs. Some of the syllables are considered long and some
short. |
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| Long
Syllables in Latin are long for two reasons: 1) nature and
2)
position |
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| Long
by nature includes all single vowels which just so happen to
be long, like: |
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poēta,
nōbis, vēnī, etc. |
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and the diphthongs
such as: |
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ae , au, ei,
eu, oe, ui |
| Long
by position is the result of its placement in a word and usually
follows these rules: |
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Followed by two consonants
or a double consonant (x or z) in the same syllable |
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Followed by two consonants
in different syllables, particularly a syllable ending with a
consonant at the end of the word with the following word beginning
with
a consonant |
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| Short syllables in Latin
also have two reasons for being short: 1) nature and 2) position. |
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| Short
by Nature |
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Short by nature includes all those vowels
which are normally short such as: |
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holeris,
plaga, cubitus |
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| Short by Position |
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Short by position is bound by its position
in the word according to these few rules: |
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Followed
by a mute (b, c, d, g, k, p, q, t) and a liquid (l, m, n, r)
in the
same syllable can be long or short according to the poets wishes. |
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pār levibus
ventīs volucrīque simillima somnō. Vergil, Aeneid 6.702 |
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cum tacet omnis
ager, pecudēs pictaeque uolucrēs, Vergil, Aeneid 4.525 |
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Vowel
at the end of a word (usually short by nature) and a word beginning
with
two consonants |
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| Some Miscellaneous Rules
of syllabication |
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Since most monosyllabic
words are considered long, there have to be a few exceptions such
as: |
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| the enclitics |
in |
| words ending in b, d or t |
is |
| an |
mel |
| bis |
nec |
| cis |
os |
| cor |
per |
| es |
quis (nom.) |
| fac |
ter |
| fel |
vel |
| fer |
vir |
| sometimes hic |
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final
-a is typically short, but can be long as in the first declension
Ablative singular, the imperative singular active of the first
conjugation and is always long in the following prepositions: |
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| ā |
infrā |
| circā |
intrā |
| citrā |
iuxtā |
| contrā |
suprā |
| ergā |
ultrā |
| extrā |
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| and in indeclinable words
such as: |
| frustra |
postea |
| interea |
praeterea |
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Even
though most vowels become long in poetry before two consonants,
"h" does not count towards lengthening the vowel. |
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Final
syllables ending with -m are generally elided if the next word
begins with a vowel. |
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