Expertlatin
- Should you use macrons in Latin?
- Did the Romans use macrons?
- Where do macrons go in Latin?
- What are the long marks in Latin?
Should you use macrons in Latin?
Vowel length influences syllable length, so for most words, you need to know the placement of macrons in order to determine which syllable to stress. To summarize: if you don't memorize the macrons, you will have no idea how to pronounce anything in Latin.
Did the Romans use macrons?
A macron is a diacritical mark, which, in modern Latin texts, is sometimes used to mark a long vowel: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ȳ. From Roman uses of diacritical marks, I understand that the ancient Romans did not use macrons (they occasionally used an apex instead).
Where do macrons go in Latin?
In Latin, the accent is always on one of two syllables, the next to the last (penult) or the second to the last (antepenult). The accent is never on the last syllable. In Latina Christiana and the Forms Series, words of two syllables are unmarked, since the accent must be on the penult.
What are the long marks in Latin?
A long Latin vowel is indicated by a macron, which is a line over the vowel, as in these: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ȳ. Some books (and Vicipaedia) use an accent mark, as in á, é, í, ó, ú, ý. These marks were typically not written in Latin, but they are in this book as an aid to pronunciation.
