How was VV pronounced?

It's actually vu, a consonant followed by a vowel, as in parvus. It's actually uu, two vowels in a row, as in metuunt.

1. How did ancient Romans pronounce V?
2. Did V exist in Latin?
3. Where did the V sound come from?
4. Is V pronounced as W?

How did ancient Romans pronounce V?

According to a consensus of Latin scholars, the letter V in ancient Latin was pronounced as [w]. This seems to make sense, because there was no distinguishing between V and U, so the letter V could mark either the vowel [u] or its semivocalic counterpart [w] (much like with the letter I).

Did V exist in Latin?

In Latin, the letter written as V in ancient times represented either a vowel or a consonant depending on its position and the word. These two forms had distinct pronunciations and different metrical treatment in poetry. A modern typographical convention is to write U for the vowel and leave V as the consonant.

Where did the V sound come from?

The letter V ultimately comes from the Phoenician letter waw by way of U. See U for details. During the Late Middle Ages, two minuscule glyphs of U developed which were both used for sounds including /u/ and modern /v/.

Is V pronounced as W?

/v/ is pronounced with the top teeth biting the bottom lip. /w/ is produced with rounded lips. If you are practising on your own, try saying both words and making sure your pronunciation of each is different, for example by looking at your mouth shape in the mirror.