Blackwell Reference Online

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[GK óρνóζ ‘straight, correct’ + έπη ‘word’] Correct pronunciation and that part of grammar that deals with correctness of diction. Although phonetic writing is thought to be a faithful representation of speech, orthoepy reflects a normative attitude towards language which is strongly influenced by its written form. Since the ad litteras movement of Charlemagne's pronunciation reform, the graphic representation of words has often been taken as a model of their correct pronunciation. At the time the idea was that, because vernacular Latin was widely felt to be too divergent and corrupted, each word should be articulated such that each letter could be ‘heard’ in a way that was thought to have been the pronunciation of those letters in classical times. Orthoepy also depends on writing in as much as pronunciation norms cannot be established easily without being given a written representation. Phonetic alphabets such as IPA were originally created with the stated purpose of ascertaining correct pronunciation. See also C arolingian reform ; O rthography ; S pelling pronunciation . ... log in or subscribe to read full text