An Essay on the Modern Pronunciation of the Greek and Latin Languages

This 1827 publication, praised by Wordsworth as 'most ingenious', seeks to correct the modern mispronunciation of ancient Greek and Latin.

Uvedale Price (Author)

9781108067140, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 March 2014

274 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.6 cm, 0.35 kg

Sir Uvedale Price (1747–1829) most notably concerned himself with questions of the preservation of natural beauty and harmony in landscape gardening. His Essay on the Picturesque (1794) and Letter to H. Repton (second edition, 1798) are also reissued in this series. He took on a completely different subject in the present work, published in 1827. Arguing that modern mispronunciation of ancient Greek and Latin damages 'quantity, metre, rhythm, variety, connexion, euphony, articulation and expression', Price proposes a complete reform. Stresses in particular should be applied along the lines followed by the ancients themselves, thereby preserving the appropriate emphases. He recommends that the young be given proper instruction to correct mistakes and to restore texts to their full effect. Praised by Wordsworth as 'most ingenious', this work will be of value to scholars with an interest in classical phonetics.

Preface
1. Ancient accent
2. Modern system of pronouncing the two ancient languages
3. Pronunciation of the ancient feet according to accent
4. Pronunciation of the ancient feet according to quantity
5. English and Italian feet that correspond with those in Greek and Latin
6. Ictus metricus, arsis, and thesis
7. Ambiguity
8. Caesura
9. Ease and distinctness of articulation
10. Elisions in Greek and Latin
11. Elisions in English, French, and Italian
12. Accentual system considered with regard to the rhythm
13. Restoration of ancient accent impossible
14. Pronunciation according to quantity in prose
15. On a new mode of pronouncing the ancient languages
16. Conclusion
Index.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1]