Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Should you learn Ecclesiastical or Classical Latin? This is a question I am often asked, and it's worth exploring in detail. Related questions include: Is Classical Latin superior to Ecclesiastical Latin? Is Ecclesiastical the same as Mediaeval Latin? Where did the Ecclesiastical Pronunciation come from? Is Ecclesiastical Pronunciation the same as Vulgar Latin? This and more will be answered in this heated debate from the streets of Rome! 🏛️
Take my course LATIN UNCOVERED on StoryLearning, including my original Latin adventure novella "Vir Petasātus" :
storylearning.com/PolymathyLuke ⬅️
SEE SOURCES BELOW
Note: the "accents" I am using here in English are merely exaggerated caricatures of a British-type accent and a New York-type accent, but are not attempts at authentic representations of either, and I used for comic purposes only.
🦂 Support my work on Patreon:
patreon.com/LukeRanieri
📚 Luke Ranieri Audiobooks:
luke-ranieri.myshopify.com
🤠 Take my course LATIN UNCOVERED on StoryLearning, including my original Latin adventure novella "Vir Petasātus"
learn.storylearning.com/lu-promo?affiliate_id=3932873
🦂 Sign up for my Latin Pronunciation & Conversation series on Patreon:
patreon.com/posts/54058196
☕️ Support my work with PayPal:
paypal.me/lukeranieri
Consider joining this channel:
youtube.com/channel/UCLbiwlm3poGNh5XSVlXBkGA/join
🏛 Latin by the Ranieri-Dowling Method: luke-ranieri.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/latin-by-the-ranieri-dowling-method-latin-summary-of-forms-of-nouns-verbs-adjectives-pronouns-audio-grammar-tables
🏺Ancient Greek by the Ranieri-Dowling Method: luke-ranieri.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/ancient-greek-by-the-ranieri-dowling-method-latin-summary-of-forms-of-nouns-verbs-adjectives-pronouns-audio-grammar-tables
🏛 Ancient Greek in Action · Free Greek Lessons:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU1WuLg45SixsonRdfNNv-CPNq8xUwgam
🦂 ScorpioMartianus (my channel for content in Latin, Ancient Greek, & Ancient Egyptian)
youtube.com/ScorpioMartianus
🎙 Hundreds of hours of Latin & Greek audio:
lukeranieri.com/audio
🌍 polýMATHY website:
lukeranieri.com/polymathy
🌅 polýMATHY on Instagram:
instagram.com/lukeranieri
🦁 Legio XIII Latin Language Podcast:
youtube.com/LegioXIII
👕 Merch:
teespring.com/stores/scorpiomartianus
🦂 ScorpioMartianus.com
🦅 LukeRanieri.com
📖 My book Ranieri Reverse Recall on Amazon:
amzn.to/2nVUfqd
Intro and outro music: Overture of Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) by Mozart
#latin #linguistics #debate
SOURCES
Vox Latina, by W. Sidney Allen
amzn.to/3WdPxSY
The Pronunciation of Greek and Latin, Edgar Howard Sturtevant
amzn.to/3W4nt45
Institutiones Stili Latini, by Aemilius Sprighetti
google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiwpK7vms_-AhUNR_EDHeAqA7IQFnoECAkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvivariumnovum.it%2Fedizioni%2Flibri%2Ffuori-commercio%2FSpringhetti%2520-%2520Institutiones%2520stili%2520Latini.pdf&usg=AOvVaw04-NMQPOLZWVZ6dez9GN8e
The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC - AD 600, by JN Adams
amzn.to/3TRGZ2w
An Anthology of Informal Latin, 200 BC–AD 900: Fifty Texts with Translations and Linguistic Commentary, by JN Adams
amzn.to/3gSPOdM
Social Variation and the Latin Language, by JN Adams
amzn.to/3TQ4tVF
Early and Late Latin: Continuity or Change?, by JN Adams
amzn.to/3WcqzDn
Late Latin and Early Romance in Spain and Carolingian France (Arca Classical and Medieval Texts, Papers and Monographs, by Roger Wright
amzn.to/3gVkgE0
Breve grammatica storica dell’italiano, by Paolo D’Achille
amzn.to/3fcfv8V
De recta Latini Graecique sermonis pronuntiatione dialogus, by Erasmus (1528)
hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost16/Erasmus/era_rect.html
Ecclesiastical Latin Versus Classical Latin, by Raphael Turrigiano:
ancientlanguage.com/ecclesiastical-classical-latin
History in 3D channel: youtu.be/hQqBf1vA7A8
A.Z. Foreman's channel: youtu.be/xi4geyuMMiI
TIMESTAMPS — see notes and further commentary in the pinned comment.
0:00 Intro to the Debate
0:58 Is Ecclesiastical Latin just Mediaeval Latin?
3:35 My course on StoryLearning: Latin Uncovered
5:32 Which sounds sillier: Classical or Ecclesiastical Pronunciation?
6:55 Is Ecclesiastical Pronunciation descended from the Roman Empire's pronunciation?
8:16 How do we know what Classical Latin sounded like?
11:55 The true origin of Ecclesiastical Pronunciation
18:30 How old is Ecclesiastical Pronunciation?
19:50 Phonemic vowel length is part of Ecclesiastical Pronunciation too!
22:35 So which should you learn?!
24:03 Outtakes!
24:59 What are you laughin' at?!
Should you learn Ecclesiastical or Classical Latin? This is a question I am often asked, and it's worth exploring in detail. Related questions include: Is Classical Latin superior to Ecclesiastical Latin? Is Ecclesiastical the same as Mediaeval Latin? Where did the Ecclesiastical Pronunciation come from? Is Ecclesiastical Pronunciation the same as Vulgar Latin? This and more will be answered in this heated debate from the streets of Rome! 🏛️
Take my course LATIN UNCOVERED on StoryLearning, including my original Latin adventure novella "Vir Petasātus" :
storylearning.com/PolymathyLuke ⬅️
SEE SOURCES BELOW
Note: the "accents" I am using here in English are merely exaggerated caricatures of a British-type accent and a New York-type accent, but are not attempts at authentic representations of either, and I used for comic purposes only.
🦂 Support my work on Patreon:
patreon.com/LukeRanieri
📚 Luke Ranieri Audiobooks:
luke-ranieri.myshopify.com
🤠 Take my course LATIN UNCOVERED on StoryLearning, including my original Latin adventure novella "Vir Petasātus"
learn.storylearning.com/lu-promo?affiliate_id=3932873
🦂 Sign up for my Latin Pronunciation & Conversation series on Patreon:
patreon.com/posts/54058196
☕️ Support my work with PayPal:
paypal.me/lukeranieri
Consider joining this channel:
youtube.com/channel/UCLbiwlm3poGNh5XSVlXBkGA/join
🏛 Latin by the Ranieri-Dowling Method: luke-ranieri.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/latin-by-the-ranieri-dowling-method-latin-summary-of-forms-of-nouns-verbs-adjectives-pronouns-audio-grammar-tables
🏺Ancient Greek by the Ranieri-Dowling Method: luke-ranieri.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/ancient-greek-by-the-ranieri-dowling-method-latin-summary-of-forms-of-nouns-verbs-adjectives-pronouns-audio-grammar-tables
🏛 Ancient Greek in Action · Free Greek Lessons:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU1WuLg45SixsonRdfNNv-CPNq8xUwgam
🦂 ScorpioMartianus (my channel for content in Latin, Ancient Greek, & Ancient Egyptian)
youtube.com/ScorpioMartianus
🎙 Hundreds of hours of Latin & Greek audio:
lukeranieri.com/audio
🌍 polýMATHY website:
lukeranieri.com/polymathy
🌅 polýMATHY on Instagram:
instagram.com/lukeranieri
🦁 Legio XIII Latin Language Podcast:
youtube.com/LegioXIII
👕 Merch:
teespring.com/stores/scorpiomartianus
🦂 ScorpioMartianus.com
🦅 LukeRanieri.com
📖 My book Ranieri Reverse Recall on Amazon:
amzn.to/2nVUfqd
Intro and outro music: Overture of Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) by Mozart
#latin #linguistics #debate
SOURCES
Vox Latina, by W. Sidney Allen
amzn.to/3WdPxSY
The Pronunciation of Greek and Latin, Edgar Howard Sturtevant
amzn.to/3W4nt45
Institutiones Stili Latini, by Aemilius Sprighetti
google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiwpK7vms_-AhUNR_EDHeAqA7IQFnoECAkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvivariumnovum.it%2Fedizioni%2Flibri%2Ffuori-commercio%2FSpringhetti%2520-%2520Institutiones%2520stili%2520Latini.pdf&usg=AOvVaw04-NMQPOLZWVZ6dez9GN8e
The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC - AD 600, by JN Adams
amzn.to/3TRGZ2w
An Anthology of Informal Latin, 200 BC–AD 900: Fifty Texts with Translations and Linguistic Commentary, by JN Adams
amzn.to/3gSPOdM
Social Variation and the Latin Language, by JN Adams
amzn.to/3TQ4tVF
Early and Late Latin: Continuity or Change?, by JN Adams
amzn.to/3WcqzDn
Late Latin and Early Romance in Spain and Carolingian France (Arca Classical and Medieval Texts, Papers and Monographs, by Roger Wright
amzn.to/3gVkgE0
Breve grammatica storica dell’italiano, by Paolo D’Achille
amzn.to/3fcfv8V
De recta Latini Graecique sermonis pronuntiatione dialogus, by Erasmus (1528)
hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost16/Erasmus/era_rect.html
Ecclesiastical Latin Versus Classical Latin, by Raphael Turrigiano:
ancientlanguage.com/ecclesiastical-classical-latin
History in 3D channel: youtu.be/hQqBf1vA7A8
A.Z. Foreman's channel: youtu.be/xi4geyuMMiI
TIMESTAMPS — see notes and further commentary in the pinned comment.
0:00 Intro to the Debate
0:58 Is Ecclesiastical Latin just Mediaeval Latin?
3:35 My course on StoryLearning: Latin Uncovered
5:32 Which sounds sillier: Classical or Ecclesiastical Pronunciation?
6:55 Is Ecclesiastical Pronunciation descended from the Roman Empire's pronunciation?
8:16 How do we know what Classical Latin sounded like?
11:55 The true origin of Ecclesiastical Pronunciation
18:30 How old is Ecclesiastical Pronunciation?
19:50 Phonemic vowel length is part of Ecclesiastical Pronunciation too!
22:35 So which should you learn?!
24:03 Outtakes!
24:59 What are you laughin' at?!
