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Scansion Rules and Terminology

Basic rules of Scansion:

1. Dipthongs (e.g., ae) are long vowels
2. A vowel followed by two consonants is long, such as in commoda
3. Vowels that are long by nature such as poeta or Flavia (ablative singular feminine 1st declension).
4. An h is not counted as a consonant since it is most often unaspirated (not sounded - but learn the word, it is a good one).
5. A combination of b, p, c, d, or t with a liquid consonant, l or r may or may not make the preceding vowel long.
6. An initial i is often a j in later Latin such as iaceo becoming jaceo so it is not considered a vowel.
7. The u of qu is not considered a scanned vowel, so qui qould be one syllable.
8. Elision is a contraction that occurs when:
   1. One word ends in a vowel and the next begins with a vowel.
   2. One word ends in a vowel and the next begins with an h.
   3. One word ends in an m and the next begins with a vowel.
   4. One word ends in an m and the next begins with an h.

Scansion Terminology

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