What do units say?

[abou]

Have you really read explicitly that that's the case in latin? That would mean that the last syllable would be emphasized and that is against standad desricption if classic latin pronunciation.

How so and why would that differ from any other declined form?

Triarii would have the emphasis over the 'a' just as it would if it were triarius, triario, and so forth.

I don't have a vox latina lying around here, but -ii doesn't become a single long syllable in anything I've read (certainly none of the professors I've ever had have omitted one of the two i's). They aren't dipthongs. The latter i has a macron over it when they are rendered with macrons also.

I should have read this about ten minutes earlier because I'm at the library and they have two or three copies of the book, but I have to leave for class (Roman Art and Architecture isn't going to learn itself). Maybe later today I'll check it out before I leave campus.

That was the only reference to this issue in Wheelock that I know of. Not dealing directly with pronunciation, but interesting nonetheless.

Yeah, Cicero likes doing that, but since the mod takes place before Cicero...

[Foot]

Yeah, Cicero likes doing that, but since the mod takes place before Cicero...

Well as it takes place before cicero, then the single -i for the gen. sg. in nouns must have been the one in use, which would suggest current pronunciation to be correct. But then, this doesn't say anything about the nom. pl., which is what we are talking about, so the quote didn't actually help at all.

Foot

[MeinPanzer]

I have a similar question about the pronunciation of "Strategou" by some units. They pronounce it "STRA-te-GO-U" with the final omicron and upsilon pronounced seperately. Was the diphthong "ou" not pronounced like the "oo" in boot? My "Greek: An Intensive Course" handbook says so, and the "ou" sound was transliterated into Latin as "u" (hence "mousa" becomes "muse"). Is there a reason that it is pronounced this way?

[Teleklos Archelaou]

It does sound like it was drawn out a little more than it should have been. It should be a dipthong.

[abou]

Well as it takes place before cicero, then the single -i for the gen. sg. in nouns must have been the one in use, which would suggest current pronunciation to be correct. But then, this doesn't say anything about the nom. pl., which is what we are talking about, so the quote didn't actually help at all.

Foot

Not necessarily. Wheelock says through the Ciceronian era, but I wouldn't say that is indicative of the era before - unless that is the meaning of "through" - as in, from earlier Latin through to the Ciceronian era up until Augustan changes.

Cicero is also fond of syncophe in verbs so I could see an extension of such a fondness to use the option of just -i rather than -ii. Unfortunately, Vox Latina doesn't seem to have anything on this particular subject, but there are other books I can take a look at next time I'm on campus. But also, as you said, nom. pl isn't the same as gen sin.

[O'ETAIPOS]

Abou, the "wrong" pronounciation of auxilia units, like equites hispanorum was made, I think, on purpose - those guys are not native speakers so they are not expected to speak latin super well.

[abou]

Yeah, I thought about that, but I figured that auxiliary units would be under the command of a native Roman officer, who would be shouting the responses

[Igångsättning]

How so and why would that differ from any other declined form?

Triarii would have the emphasis over the 'a' just as it would if it were triarius, triario, and so forth.

Well, because if you want to distinguish the last i from the second last i you must put some stress on he last one: [tri'a:ri'i:].

I've never seen that form in any latin grammar book. Of course I'm here talking about classic latin. But in classic latin the nominative plural ending for masculines in second declination is one long vowel [i:] without any stress whatsoever, like servi ['servi:]. Words ending on -ius will keep the i in their stem and will therefore be spelled wirh two i-letters, but pronunced with one long vowel: triarii [tri'a:ri:]. According to the books I believe this is the case.

[Eduorius]

Changing the theme a bit, but tought this little question didnt deserve a new topic.

I heard that Pontos will have units name in Persian, but orders in Greek. I have tought if there is another case like that.

Well I have read in a historical novel that Carthage gave their orders in Greek too because of their huge amount of nationalities in their armies. What have you read? Is true.


Thanks =)

[abou]

Well, you'll just have to tell me how I did. Hopefully I didn't confuse long vowels for accents.

Triarius declined
Triarii
Equites Extraordinarii

Maybe I should have compressed them, but if someone would want to use it in their install, might as well leave it as is.