The following are General Rules of Quantity (cf. §§
9
-
11
):
Quantity of Vowels
Vowels
. A vowel before another vowel or
h
is short: as,
vĭa
,
trăhō
.
Exceptions.
-
In the genitive form
-ius
,
ī
is long: as,
utrīus
,
nūllīus
. It is, however, sometimes short in verse (§
113
.
c
).
-
In the genitive and dative singular of the fifth declension,
e
is long between two vowels: as,
diēī
;
otherwise usually short, as in
fidĕī
,
rĕī
,
spĕī
.
It was once long in these also: as,
plēnus fidēī
(
Ennius
, at the end of a hexameter). A is also long before
ī
in the old genitive of the first declension: as,
aulāī
.
-
In the conjugation of
fīō
,
i
is long except when followed by
er
. Thus,
fīō
,
fīēbam
,
fīam
, but
fĭerī
,
fĭerem
; so also
fĭt
(§
606
.
a.
3).
-
In many Greek words the vowel in Latin represents a long vowel or diphthong, and retains its original long quantity: as,
Trōes
(
Τρῶες
),
Thalīa
(
Θαλεῖα
).
hērōas
(
ἥρωας
),
āēr
(
ἄηρ
).
But many Greek words are more or less Latinized in this respect: as,
Acadēmī˘a
,
chorē˘a
,
Malĕa
,
platĕa
.
-
In
dīus
, in
ē˘heu
usually, and sometimes in
Dī˘āna
and
ō˘he
, the first vowel is long.
Diphthongs
. A Diphthong is long: as,
f
oe
dus
,
c
ui
,
Rarely dissyllabic
cŭĭ
(as
Mart. 1.104.22
).
au
la
.
Exception.
—The preposition
prae
in compounds is generally shortened before a vowel: as,
praĕ-ustīs
(
Aen. 7.524
),
praĕ-eunte
(
id
. 5.186).
U
following
q
,
s
, or
g
, does not make a diphthong with a following vowel (see §
5
. N. 2). For
â-iō
,
mâ-ior
,
pê-ior
, etc., see §
11
.
d
and N.
Contraction
. A vowel formed by contraction (
crasis
) is long: as,
nīl
, from
nihil
;
cōgō
for †
co-agō
;
mālō
for
mā-volō
.
Two vowels of different syllables may be run together without full contraction (
synizēsis
, §
642
): as,
d
ei
nde
(for
deinde
),
m
eō
s
(for
meōs
); and often two syllables are united by Synæresis (§
642
) without contraction: as when
părĭĕtĭbŭs
is pronounced
paryĕtĭbus.
A vowel before
ns
,
nf
,
gn
, is long: as,
īnstō
,
īnfāns
,
sīgnum
.
Quantity of Syllables
A syllable is long if it contains a long vowel or a diphthong: as,
cā-rus
,
ō-men
,
foe-dus
.
Position
. A syllable is long by
position
if its vowel, though short, is followed by two consonants or a double consonant: as,
adv
ent
us
,
cort
ex
.
But if the two consonants are a mute followed by
1
or
r
the syllable may be either long or short (
common
); as,
al
acr
is
or
alăcris
;
p
atr
is
or
pătris
.
Vowels should be pronounced long or short in accordance with their natural quantity without regard to the length of the syllable by position.
The rules of Position do not, in general, apply to final vowels before a word beginning with two consonants.
A syllable is long if its vowel is followed by consonant
i
(except in
bĭiugis
,
quadrĭiugis
): see §
11
.
d.
Compounds of
iaciō
, though written with one
i
, commonly retain the long vowel of the prepositions with which they are compounded, as if before a consonant, and, if the vowel of the preposition is short, the first syllable is long by position on the principle of §
11
.
e.
-
ob
icis hostī
(at the end of a hexameter,
Aen. 4.549
).
-
in
icit et saltū
(at the beginning of a hexameter,
Aen. 9.552
).
-
prō
ice tēla manū
(at the beginning of a hexameter,
Aen. 6.836
).
Later poets sometimes shorten the preposition in trisyllabic forms, and prepositions ending in a vowel are sometimes contracted as if the verb began with a vowel.
-
(1)
cūr
an|nōs ŏbĭ|cis (Claud. iv C. H. 264).
-
(2) reīcĕ că|pellās (
Ecl. 3.96
, at end).
The y or w sound resulting from
synæresis
(§
642
) has the effect of a consonant in making position: as,
abi
etis
(
abyetis
),
fl
uvi
ōrum
(
fluvyōrum
). Conversely. when the semivowel becomes a vowel, position is lost: as,
sĭlŭae
, for
s
ilv
ae
.
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