De Cive

21:40 Dec 5, 2011
Latin to English translations [PRO]
Philosophy / Thomas Hobbes
Latin term or phrase: De Cive
I know that the translation of Latin book title, by Thomas Hobbes, is "on the citizen" or "of the citizen" but how is the title to be pronounced?

I say, "day kee-way" but a friend disagrees.

What say you?
Charlie Coil


Summary of answers provided
4 +1Agree
Veronika McLaren
5On the Citizen
Dominic Galante


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Agree


Explanation:
with your pronunciation, but I know that some Europeans may dispute the sound of the "v"

Veronika McLaren
Local time: 07:27
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you Veronika! I'm also told that the "Latin ecclesiastical" pronunciation is different. At least, I didn't embarrass myself in doing my Philosophy presentation on Hobbes and Spinoza.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Joseph Brazauskas
21 days
  -> Gratias tibi ago, Joseph! Happy holidays!
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87 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
On the Citizen


Explanation:
There are two ways of pronouncing Latin, and usually people follow how they are taught in secondary school, which varies from place to place.

You pronounced what is called Classical Latin. "V" sounds like an English "W". All C's are hard. Day Kee-way is spot on.

The other pronunciation is Church Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin. This became popular in the Mediaeval period. It would be pronounced more like modern Italian. This means that Ci- (and ce-) sound like the English "ch". And Latin V is said like English V. The vowels remain mostly the same.

So in Ecclesiastical Latin, it would be Day Chee-vay.

Some people think it is best to be faithful to the pronunciation of whatever period you are talking about. In the case of Hobbes, that method doesn't really help either, because English pronunciation itself was undergoing changes, and the English of the period were probably pronouncing Latin in the Ecclesiastical pronunciation with some changes in the vowel sounds that would make it more like English vowels.

In the end, it's better just to pick a way of pronouncing and be consistent. Some people get their feathers in a ruffle about pronunciation, particularly academics, but ultimately none of us would pass for native Romans, so just be consistent and intelligible.

Dominic Galante
United States
Local time: 07:27
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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