1 of 8

Ac·cen·ting

Latin

Ac

ACCENT IT!

Move to the next �to next to last (antepenultimate) syllable and...

4

ACCENT IT!

YES

NO

Is the vowel in the next to last (penultimate) syllable followed by two or more consonants?

3

ACCENT IT!

YES

NO

Does the next to last (penultimate) syllable have a long vowel?

2

NEVER

Is the accent ever on the last syllable?

1

Let’s look at some examples...

Ginny Lindzey mē fēcit. MMXVII

2 of 8

Ac·cen·ting

Latin

Ac

ACCENT IT!

YES

NO

Does the next to last (penultimate) syllable have a long vowel?

2

NEVER

Is the accent ever on the last syllable?

1

cu·lī·na

?

́

́

?

́

Ginny Lindzey mē fēcit. MMXVII

3 of 8

Ac·cen·ting

Latin

Ac

ACCENT IT!

YES

NO

Is the vowel in the next to last (penultimate) syllable followed by two or more consonants?

3

YES

NO

Does the next to last (penultimate) syllable have a long vowel?

2

NEVER

Is the accent ever on the last syllable?

1

ta·ber·na

?

́

?

́

́

Ginny Lindzey mē fēcit. MMXVII

4 of 8

Ac·cen·ting

Latin

Ac

cu·bi·cu·lum

ACCENT IT!

Move to the next �to next to last (antepenultimate) syllable and...

4

YES

NO

Is the vowel in the next to last (penultimate) syllable followed by two or more consonants?

3

YES

NO

Does the next to last (penultimate) syllable have a long vowel?

2

NEVER

Is the accent ever on the last syllable?

1

?

́

?

́

́

Ginny Lindzey mē fēcit. MMXVII

5 of 8

Ac·cen·ting

Latin

Ac

ACCENT IT!

YES

NO

īn·spe·xit

Is the vowel in the next to last (penultimate) syllable followed by two or more consonants?

3

YES

NO

Does the next to last (penultimate) syllable have a long vowel?

2

NEVER

Is the accent ever on the last syllable?

1

?

́

?

́

́

Ginny Lindzey mē fēcit. MMXVII

X = gs/cs � = double consonant

qu, th, ch, ph � = single consonant

br, cr, dr, gr, pr, tr, bl, cl, gl, pl

= single consonant

6 of 8

Ac·cen·ting

Latin

Ac

per·sae·pe

ACCENT IT!

YES

NO

Does the next to last (penultimate) syllable have a long vowel?

2

NEVER

Is the accent ever on the last syllable?

1

?

́

́

?

́

Ginny Lindzey mē fēcit. MMXVII

Diphthongs, such as ae, au, and oe, are considered long.

7 of 8

Ac·cen·ting

Latin

Ac

Ginny Lindzey mē fēcit. MMXVII

Why does it matter?

Latin literature was meant to be read aloud.

Every new word you meet should be said aloud to fix its sound in your mind.

Overemphasize long vowels to help you fix vowel length in your mind so that macra (long marks) will not become a crutch; use macra only to internalize the sound of the word, including where the accent should be.

By doing so, when you meet this word again in poetry that does not include macra, you will have no problem whatsoever with meter.

infandum, regina, iubes renovare dolorem

īnfandum, rēgīna, iubēs renovāre dolōrem

rē·gī·na

́

ˉ ˉ ˉ ˉ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ ˉ

8 of 8

Ginny Lindzey mē fēcit. MMXVII

fīnis