My wife pronounces it three different ways, each of which she can support. I pronounce it one, but other than that it’s the way I’ve heard it I can’t support my pronunciation even after some searches. What’s yours and why?

  • ZoDoneRightNow@kbin.earth
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    2 days ago

    Cent as sent + taur as tor. We pronounce most greek c’s as s in english as is cicero or cent being pronounced with an s sound instead of a k sound. Tor is the same as in taurus. Mine is not the only correct pronunciation, my explanation is just the justification for my specific pronunciation

    • futatorius@lemm.ee
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      1 day ago

      There are no Greek C’s. With Greek loanwords into Latin, “k” was mapped to Latin “c.” Then the pronunciation of “c” diverged, with the Catholic Church adopting the Italianate pronunciation of the letter “c” in the Middle Ages, which was not the preferred pronunciation in classical Latin. We know how Latin was pronounced because the Romans actually wrote guidebooks for newly-assimilated Romans on how to speak proper Latin. That’s also how we know that “r” was trilled or rolled-- the guidance was “make it sound like a dog growling.”

      • ZoDoneRightNow@kbin.earth
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        2 days ago

        Back in his day, yes. In modern greek it is sisero and in modern latin it is Chichero. Similarly, in Julius Caesar’s day, his name would have been pronounced Kai-zar and in modern latin and italian, it is Chai-zar.