Since Ecclesiastical Latin uses the same 26 letters as modern English, any QWERT or AZERTY keyboard can be used to type in Latin. However, if one should like to use macrons or accents without using the symbols feature in a word processor, there are a few different things that can be done.
Add the Māori keyboard to your system.
Then, you will simply need to press and hold the option key while typing the vowel that you want marked with a macron.
Add the Māori keyboard to your system.
Then, you will simply need to press the tilde key (~) before typing the vowel that you want marked with a macron.
As of the publication of this page, neither Windows or Mac offer a keyboard or virtual keyboard that allows one to type the full gamut of accented Latin vowels with only a few keystrokes. Therefore, it is typically necessary to either use the symbols/special characters menu in a word processor (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc.) or use Unicode.
To type Unicode characters on Mac, add the Unicode Hex Input virtual keyboard.
Then, you will simply need to press and hold the option key while typing the Unicode. For example, to type á, press and hold option + 00E1.
To type Unicode characters in Windows, type the character code, then press the ALT key, and then press the X key. For example, to type á, the key sequence is 0, 0, E, 1, ALT, X.
Although it is generally sufficient to type Roman numerals using their corresponding Latin letters, the Unicode Ideographic Variation Database does have specific entries for a handful of Roman numerals. All other numbers can be formed using combinations of these numerals. Although usually slight, there are differences XII (letters) and Ⅻ (Unicode Roman numerals), depending on the font you are using. Plus, Unicode does allow for some of the more ancient and rarer numerical forms (e.g., ↅ) N.B. Some of these rarer forms may not display on all internet browsers.
Please see our handout on Roman numerals for more information.
Sometimes one will come across Roman numerals written with suffixes to indicate ordinal numbers, e.g., Ⅰa. A common example of this is the Ecclesiastical shorthand for the parts of the Summa Thœlogiæ, e.g. Ia-IIæ, which stands for Prima Secundæ. This corresponds to the suffixes -st, -nd, rd, and -th in English orthography, e.g., 1st. As in English, these suffixes can be written in superscript, e.g., 1st, Ⅰa. In word processors (Microsoft Word, Google Word, etc.), it is usually easiest to use their built-in superscript feature. In HTML, use the superscript tags around the text to be superscripted:
<sup></sup>
For example,
[U+2160]<sup>[U+00E6]</sup>
will appear on a webpage as Ⅰæ.
As with any spoken language, Latin words can be transcribed into international phonetic alphabet (IPA) notation. Unlike natural languages, in which one letter symbol (grapheme) may have more than one pronunciation, each IPA symbol (glyph) has only one correct pronunciation as determined by international convention. Conventional language instruction typically uses approximations in one’s native language to serve as guides for pronouncing the target language (e.g., “a” as in father). This method is susceptible to the vast variations in local dialects and accents. The ability to learn to pronounce letters and words as they were meant to be pronounced, rather than as approximations to one’s own language is key to sounding like a native speaker.
Although every Latin instructor and text book seem to have their own slight differences in pronunciation rules, the following symbols should suffice to transcribe most of them. IPA allows for “wide” (general) to “narrow” (very specific) transcriptions. For our purposes, wide transcriptions are sufficient and will be used throughout VSI literature. VSI plans to publish our own pronunciation guide in the near future.
The use of unicode for IPA can be important because IPA makes use of many Latin characters, which change form based on the font. For example, the letter “a” has two minuscule forms: a and a, depending on the font family. Unintentionally transformations in transcribed text can usually be avoided by typing them using an IPA keyboard or Unicode.
These charts are arranged according to the similtudes of the glyphs to the graphemes of the Latin alphabet.
IPA Glyph: Unicode Hex Number (IPA Phonetic Description)
IPA Glyph: Unicode Hex Number (IPA Phonetic Description)