Preparation Manual
Section 4: Sample Pronunciation Tasks Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Latin (612)
Sample Pronunciation Section Directions
This section of the exam consists of 15 questions. Each question reflects what a classroom teacher might typically say in asking a student to translate a particular word, phrase, or sentence in Latin. This section lasts approximately 20 minutes and consists of the following:
- 5 word pronunciation questions
- 5 phrase pronunciation questions
- 5 sentence pronunciation questions
For each question, when the question screen appears on the screen, you will hear a prompt to begin preparing. Depending on the question, you will have either 20 or 30 seconds to prepare your response. You will be told when to begin speaking. Then, you will have either 30 or 40 seconds to record your response. Your response will be recorded automatically. At the conclusion of your response time, the screen will automatically advance to the next question.
When responding to each question, you must read aloud both the English and the Latin. You should NOT state the meaning of the Latin in the question. Your score will be based solely on the accuracy, fluidity, and consistency of your pronunciation of the Latin presented within that question; however, you must read the English in full to receive credit for your response.
If you begin and feel you have made an error or you wish to give another response, you may do so, provided you complete reading both the English and the Latin within the time provided. Your score will be based on the last complete response you provide.
NOTE: In this section of the exam, "macrons" appear over all vowels that are long (e.g., frātre meō).
Sample Word Pronunciation Task
(Preparation time: 20 seconds; Response time: 30 seconds)
In sentence number 4 in your homework for today, state the meaning of
cingēbātur
Sample Phrase Pronunciation Task
(Preparation time: 20 seconds; Response time: 30 seconds)
In sentence number 9 in your homework for today, state the meaning of
dīvīsa in partēs trēs
Sample Sentence Pronunciation Task
(Preparation time: 30 seconds; Response time: 40 seconds)
Give a translation for the following sentence in your homework for today:
In summā nihil erit ex quō nōn capiās voluptātem.
Suggested Approach
You should use the preparation time to read the text silently to familiarize yourself with it. The English in these examples is exactly the same as will be presented in the exam for every question of the three types, with the exception that each word or phrase task will have a different "sentence number" from the imaginary homework assignment. After briefly familiarizing yourself with the Latin text you should practice reading the whole task aloud once, then practice the Latin text once or twice more as time permits. The preparation time should be sufficient for this number of repetitions.
When the response time begins, don't rush into your response. You have plenty of time. The amount of response time for each task type in this section has been designed both to permit an unhurried approach to the response, and also to permit you to give a second response if you believe you have made an error in your first response and wish to attempt to correct that error. But remember two things: first, if you give a second response, you must repeat the full text of both the English direction and the Latin text. Secondly, what will be scored will be your final complete response. If you give a second response, it will only be scored if it is complete. If it is complete, your first response will be discarded and not scored.
For Sentence tasks in particular, bear in mind that the "Error Allowance" principle described in the General Scoring Guide in this section will direct the person scoring your response to ignore one error of pronunciation at the level of an individual letter (or phoneme). So it is probably a good idea not to attempt a second response for a Sentence task to correct a single error you think you have made.
Examples of the Error Allowance principle previously described will be applied where consistency of pronunciation is at issue.
If, for example, vēnī, vīdī, vīcī were pronounced w[e]ni, // w[i]di, // v[i]ki, the first two units would be credited and the inconsistency error assigned to the third unit would be ignored and, since it is the only error, full credit of 3 would be assigned to this Sentence response.
The response w[e]ni, // w[i]di, // v[u]ki, however, would lose credit for the third unit because it would contain two errors, the "v" by inconsistency and the "[u]" by phonemic incorrectness.
The response w[u]ni, // w[i]di, // v[i]ki, would receive 2 points, with either the "u" of the first unit, or the inconsistency deduction for "v" in the third being ignored.
Example of Accentuation Ignoring Meter
For example, the dactylic hexameter line
In nōva fert animus mūtātās dīcere fōrmās (Ovid, Met. 1.1)
should be read with the following accents:
In n[ō]va f[e]rt [a]nimus, mūt[ā]tās d[ī]cere f[ō]rmās.
Although it is the first syllable (ictus) of the third foot, the final syllable of animus must not receive the accent, as it would in certain methods of reading hexameter lines for scansion.
Because the permitted preparation and response times have been calculated to err on the side of allowing too much time rather than too little, you may find that the time remaining when you finish your response seems a bit long. You shouldn't let this tempt you into giving a second response if you believe you have given a first response that you aren't likely to improve on with a second, and particularly if you believe you are as likely as not to give a less competent response the second time around than you did the first time.
General Scoring Guide for the Pronunciation Section
This section includes an explanation of how the Pronunciation section of the exam is scored.
In the illustrations here:
Pronunciation units are divided into phrases and sentences by "//"
Accented vowels are indicated by "[ ]"
Question Types: Point Values
Each question in the Pronunciation section is one of three types: Word, Phrase or Sentence. Word questions are scored 0–1 points. Phrase questions are divided into two pronunciation units and each pronunciation unit is scored 0–1 points, with the entire question being scored 0–2 points. Sentence questions are divided into three pronunciation units and each pronunciation unit is scored 0–1 points, with the entire question being scored 0–3 points.
Pronunciation Accuracy: Phonemic
Each phoneme in a question will be evaluated for the accuracy of its pronunciation. The table of credited pronunciations below indicates the pronunciations that are acceptable for each letter, or combination of letters, in a Latin word. The word sed, for example, is spelled with three letters and each represents a single phoneme. The word portae is spelled with six letters, but the final vowel is represented by two letters "ae" so that there are five phonemes whose pronunciation must be evaluated.
Pronunciation Accuracy: Accentuation
For each Latin word consisting of more than one syllable, one and only one syllable receives the accent. The rules for accentuation are described in the Accentuation section below. The correctness of placement of the accent will be evaluated. For example, the word f[a]cere is accented on the first syllable, while the word vid[ē]re is accented on the second syllable.
Fluency/Fluidity of Pronunciation
Phrases and sentences should be read as coherent linguistic units. Any phrase or sentence which is perceptibly read as if it were a list of unconnected single words with overly long pauses between the words will receive a deduction of 1 point from the final score. Thus, if all words in a sentence are pronounced accurately at the phonemic level and the accents are correctly placed, but fluency is violated, the score would be 2 instead of 3.
This standard also applies in cases where a response contains a correction. Examinees are instructed that they may provide more than one response to a given question within the time allowed for the response, and that the last complete response provided will be scored. This standard will be considered violated, and a point deducted, if the response being scored (the last complete response provided) contains any interruption for correction. Examinees should therefore repeat their entire response to correct any error they believe they made in the previous response.
Consistency
The consistency of an examinee's pronunciation will be evaluated for each individual question but not between any two questions. For example, if the examinee is asked to pronounce: vēnī, vīdī, vīcī as a sentence, the three instances of "v" should be pronounced the same way. They may be pronounced like the "w" of "wish" or like the "v" of "voice," but all must be the same. In this instance, if two are pronounced one way and one the other way, the one pronounced differently will be considered an error. This will permit two of the pronunciation units to be scored "1" and the other "0."
The maximum possible credit principle: If a decision must be made between exactly two inconsistent pronunciations of a given letter or sound in two separate pronunciation units, the decision will be made so as to grant the maximum possible credit for the overall response.
For example, if the phrase vēnī, // vīdī is pronounced w[u]ni // v[i]di, this principle dictates that the "v" in the second unit be scored correct and the "w" in the first unit incorrect. This permits the second unit to be scored right and both errors to be assigned to the first unit, which is thus scored incorrect.
Error Allowance
In sentence questions, one error at the phonemic level will be ignored, and if this is the only error in the given pronunciation unit, then 1 point may be credited for that unit. This allowance will apply to at most one pronunciation unit in any sentence. No allowance for error will be made for accentuation or for fluency, nor will any allowance for error be made in words or phrases.
Elision
When a word within a phrase or sentence ends in a vowel or an "m," and the next word begins with a vowel or an "h," examinees are not required to elide the final syllable of the first word, but they may do so without losing points.
Thus in the phrase atque altae moenia Romae, credit will not be deducted if the final "e" of atque is not pronounced.
This rule applies whether the source of the phrase or sentence is a prose text or a verse text. Regardless of whether elisions occur in the response, accents must remain unchanged. If two or more elisions are possible in a given question, consistency does not apply. Examinees may make none of the elisions in the response, or any number of them, but need not do either all or none.
Accentuation
In Latin words of two syllables, the stress is on the first syllable. In words of three or more syllables, the stress is on the penultimate syllable if this is heavy, (i.e., the vowel is long by nature or followed by two consonants so that it is long by position); otherwise the stress is on the antepenultimate syllable.
Whether the source of a phrase or sentence is a prose or poetic text, examinees must follow these standard rules of accentuation. Examinees must not adjust the accent of the word in response to meter. For an example, see Example of Accentuation Ignoring Meter above.
Enclitics may be counted as the final syllable of a word or as a separate word. Thus the word puellamque may be pronounced puell[a]mque or pu[e]llamque.
Vowels in Unstressed Syllables
Pronunciation of each Latin vowel should be kept consistent regardless of whether it occurs in a stressed or unstressed syllable. For example, both the first and last "a" of anima must have the same sound (like the "a" in "adrift"). The final "a" should not be converted to a "schwa" sound as happens in the English word "animal."
Table of Credited Pronunciations of Latin Letters and Digraphs
| Letter or Digraph | Pronunciations with Illustrations |
|---|---|
| a | Short: a of adrift Long: a of father |
| e | Short: e of pet Long: ay of day OR e of pet |
| i | Short: i of bit Long: ee of eet Note: i is also sometimes a consonant (see below) |
| o | Short: o of abandon Long: oa of boat |
| u | Short: u of put Long: u of prude |
| y | The u of the French tu OR the ee of beet |
| ae | The i of high OR the e of pet |
| ai | Either as two separate vowels (a of father plus ee of beet) OR as a diphthong (the i of high) |
| oe | The oy of boy OR e of pet |
| au | The ou of loud |
| eu | The e of pet + oo of moon |
| ei | Either as two separate vowels (e of pet plus ee of beet) OR as a diphthong (ey of hey) |
| ui | oo of moon + ee of beet OR wee of between |
| p | The p of pot |
| b | The b of ball NOTE: before s or t, b may be pronounced either like the b of ball OR like the p of pot |
| t | The t of top NOTE: ti may be pronounced like the t of tea OR like the tsy of Betsy |
| d | The d of dog |
| c | The c of cup NOTE: if c is followed by e, i, ae, oe, eu or y, it may be pronounced either like the c of cup OR like the ch of change |
| g | The g of gas NOTE: if g is followed by e, i, ae, oe, eu or y, it may be pronounced either like the g of gas OR like the g of gin |
| f | The f of family |
| l | The l of listen |
| m | The m of menace NOTE: at the end of a word, a vowel plus m may also be pronounced with nasalization, as in the final syllable of the French garçon |
| n | The n of notice |
| r | The r of reason OR with the tongue touching briefly the front of the palate as in the Spanish amoroso |
| s | The s of separate |
| z | The z of zebra OR the dds of adds |
| h | The h in help OR silent NOTE: When h occurs between vowels within a word (e.g., nihil), it may be pronounced like the h in help, left silent OR pronounced like the c in cup |
| qu | The qu in quick |
| v | w of wish OR v of voice NOTE: For the LOTE Latin exam, where some texts have "u" before or between vowels, the spelling will be "v" |
| i | y of yes, when it occurs either before a vowel or between vowels NOTE: i is usually a vowel (see above) |
| ph | The p of pot OR the ph of philosopher |
| th | The t of top OR the th of theology |
| ch | The c of cart |
| gn | The gn of Agnes OR the ngn of hangnail |
| x | The x of ox |
| sc | Either the sc of scan OR the sh of shed |
| xc | Either the x-c of ex-con OR the ggsh of eggshell OR the cti of election |
|
Double consonants |
Examinees may pronounce double consonants as two distinct sounds, as is done in Italian, or they may pronounce them as one sound, as is done in the English matter |
| Glide "y" | Examinees will not lose points if they insert a glide "y" between consecutive vowels that are not a diphthong (e.g., if they pronounce capio as ca-pee-yo) |