Scipio Africanus

Vanity | 28,DEC,2008 | Myself

[M.K. Borders]

Can anyone give the proper pronounciation for "Scipio", as in Scipio Africanus? Read the name for 40 years and have never heard it pronounced.

[Kozak]

It’s pronounced “Raymond Luxury Yacht”.

[yarddog]

I have no idea what is the proper pronunciation but I have heard it many times and it was always Skip ee owe.

[Bosco]

Short answer from my classical language summa cum laude brother: there isn't a proper/correct pronunciation because Latin is a dead language - no one has a recording of it.

Closest thing would be church Latin, and we're not sure about that.

[the invisib1e hand]

scipio. just like it’s spelled.

[ferri]

sip'ēō ăfrikā'nus

[robomatik]

yup

[ReagansShinyHair]

I knew a guy with that last name and it was sip-ee-oh. The C was silent.

[Robwin]

In classical Latin it would be: Skip (hard c, short i, as we say skip) e(long e) o(long o) Afrikan (hard c, otherwise as we say African) us (short u).Quite a guy, too. Take that, you Hannibal you.

[ConorMacNessa]

I'm not sure, but I think it's pronounced as an unvoiced sibilant - i.e. "S".

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[freedumb2003]

O-wa
Ta-jer
Khiam

[Philo-Junius]

But a modern Italian would say “Sheep-ee-oh.” It’s not at all clear where or when Vulgar pronunciation triumphed over the Classical.

[Fiji Hill]

In classical Latin, it would be pronounced, “skippy yo off row con oos”

[Robwin]

Hmmm this thread is starting to sound like the lady who asked her fellow airline passenger how to pronounce “Hawaii” which she was flying to visit.

“HaViee”, he tells her. She says, “Oh, thank you.”

He responds, “You’re velcome”.

[ConorMacNessa]

Quite so - or whether the Populares ever spoke Cicero's Latin, which I doubt.

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Skih-pee-oh Aa-frih-cah-nus

[Frank Sheed]

Agree 100%. Where are all these other Latinists coming from?

“Dah-dah, dah, dah, dah, dah!
O, utor, fruor, fuscor, potior, vescor
take the ablative case!

Dah, dah!”

[cripplecreek]

Oh Stewardess, I speak jive.

[Frank Sheed]

Public schools...

;-o)

[Frank Sheed]

Wha choo say, blood?