claim to an understanding of Roman pronunciation.

These are:

(1) Sounds of the letters (vowels, diphthongs, consonants);

(2) Quantity;

(3) Accent.


SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS.

VOWELS.

The vowels are five: A, E, I, O, U.

These when uttered alone are always long.

[Pompei. _Comm. ad Donat._ Keil. v. V. p. 101 et al.] Vocales autem
quinque sunt: A, E, I, O, U. Istae quinque, quando solae proferuntur,
longae sunt semper: quando solas litteras dicis, longae sunt. A sola
longa est; E sola longa est.

A is uttered with the mouth widely opened, the tongue suspended and not
touching the teeth:

[Ars Gram. Mar. Vict. de orthographia et de metrica ratione, I. vi. 6.]
A littera rictu patulo, suspensa neque impressa dentibus lingua,
enuntiatur.