transliterations of that period invariably denote Latin ti by τι, as Οὐαλεντία for Valentia. It is this classical tradition which Servius retains, when he lays it down as a rule that in all cases di and ti are to be pronounced exactly as written.^[7]

(b) At the end of a word the letter t seems to have been less strongly sounded, for we find such forms as ama, apu, for amat, aput. This was a characteristic of the Umbrian and Volscian and affects the forms of the modern Italian.

20. V vowel (U): ū sounded like oo in English "fool"; ŭ like u in English "full".

(a) Latin u is frequently represented in Greek by ου whether it be long or short; thus, Ποστούμιος = Postŭmius; Βελλούτου = Bellūti.

(b) Plautus represents the hoot of an owl by tutu in the Menaechmi, 654; and in the Carm. Philom. 41, the onomatopoetic verb tutubo is used of the same bird. Cf. cuculo, "to cry cuckoo" (Carm. Philom. 35).

(c) In early Latin ū is sometimes written ou; thus, ious, ioudex, douco, for ius, iudex, duco.

21. V (consonant): had the sound of English w.

That the character V had both a consonantal and a vowel sound is clear from the unanimous statements of the Roman grammarians, who say that frequently when before a vowel it becomes consonantal.^[8] Also as stated above in Chap. III., the Emperor Claudius invented a new character to represent the consonantal sound of v as distinguished from the vowel sound.

That the consonant sound of v was practically that of the English w may be inferred from the following facts:

(a) The consonant sound and the vowel sound were closely akin. This is seen by the fact that the consonant v often melts into vowel v and is so scanned, as in such words as silva, ^[9] (scanned silüa), and its absorption in such words as fautor for favitor, cautum for cavitum. (See Plaut. Menaechmi, 155). Cicero says that when Marcus Crassus was at Brundisium, about to cross over to Greece, a vendor of figs began crying out "Cauneas!" (the name of a kind of figs.)^[10] This, Cicero says, was taken as an omen; for it sounded like "Cave ne eas," which must therefore have been pronounced Cau' n' eas. Conversely, in poetry, the vowel v sometimes strengthens into consonant v. Thus in Plautus, Lucretius, and even in Vergil and Statius, this happens in such words as puella, suo, genua, larua, and tenuis. Finally, the fact that both sounds of v are represented by the same character, is evidence that those sounds must have been nearly alike. But the consonant sound that is nearest to the vowel sound of u, is the sound of the English w. (Cf. Consent, p. 395 K).

(b) Nigidius Figulus^[11] says that when we pronounce the word vos we gradually thrust out the ends of our lips. This remark describes perfectly the position of the mouth in pronouncing vos if we assume that v had the sound of English w.

(c) The Greek writers in transliterating Latin names generally represent consonantal v by ου; thus, Οὐαλήριος for Valerius; Οὐόλσκι for Volsci; Ιουουενάλια for Iuvenalia; Οὐᾶρος for Varus. Sometimes, to be sure, v is represented by β, but this is chiefly in Plutarch, who is a Boeotian and confesses his own ignorance of Latin^[12]; or else it is done in proper names in which by using β the word becomes in appearance more like a Greek one; that is, its form becomes Hellenized: as for instance, Λίβιος, Φούλβιος etc., for Livius and Fulvius,—the termination –βιος being common in Greek.

22. X: had the sound of x in English.

The grammarians say that the character axis a monogram representing cs or gs. Quintilian remarks that x is not an indispensable letter in Latin, implying that cs and gs could take its place. In early Latin, cs was often written for x. (Max. Victor, p. 1945 P).

23. Y: had the sound of French u or German ü.

See III, supra.

24. Z: had the sound of English z and modern Greek ζ. See p. 12.

Z was a letter used by the Umbrians and Oscans, but it appears first in ordinary Latin about Cicero's time in the transliteration of Greek words. Before this time, ζ had been imperfectly represented in the Latin by s or ss, as sona for ζώνη, and badisso for βαδίζω. It was, in classical times, always regarded by the Romans as a Greek letter. Marius Victorinus remarks: "If z were essential to the Latin language, we should represent it by ds."

[1] Seelmann, Die Aussprache des Latein, p. 175 sqq.

[2] Quint. I. 4, 14.

[3] Carm. LXXXIV.

'Chommoda' dicebat, si quando 'commoda' vellet
  Dicere et 'insidias' Arrius 'hinsidias'.
Et tum mirifice sperabat se esse locutum,
  Cum, quantum poterat, dixerat 'hinsidias'.
  *   *   *   *   *   *
Hoc misso in Syriam, requierant omnibus aures,
  Audibant eadem haec leniter et leviter.
Nec sibi postilla metuebant talia verba;
  Cum subito adfertur nuntius horribilis:
Ionios fluctus, postquam illuc Arrius isset,
  Iam non 'Ionios' esse sed 'Hionios'!

Which Martin has very cleverly translated:

"Whenever Arrius wished to name
'Commodious,' out 'chommodious' came:
And when of his intrigues he blabbed,
With his 'hintrigues' our ears he stabbed;
And thought moreover, he displayed
A rare refinement when he made
His h's thus at random fall
With emphasis most guttural.
When suddenly came news one day
Which smote the city with dismay,
That the Ionian seas a change
Had undergone, most sad and strange;
For since by Arrius crossed, the wild
'Hionian Hocean' they were styled!"

[4] Gellius (II. 3) gives a number of words formerly written with h but in his time no longer aspirated. Between two vowels, h was silent. Hence nil for nihil, etc.