The Latin alphabet consists of 23 letters:
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T V X Y Z
The sign V corresponds, however, to two phonemes, u and v, which will be distinguished graphically
only starting from the Renaissance. Critical editions of classical texts mostly
conform to ancient usage, but in this volume, as usually happens in
didactic texts, the graphic distinction will be maintained. The sign I also indicates both the vowel i
and the consonant i: this is a concrete functional difference that we appreciate if
we think of the different outcomes of the two i's of the Latin name Iulius in the Italian name 'Giulio'.
This difference, however, does not materialize in a graphic distinction (at least in
modern usage; in some older editions it may happen to come across the spelling Julius).
Taking this factor into account, in Latin there are therefore:
• 6 vowels (a e i o u y)
• 18 consonants (b c d f g h k l m n p q r s t v x z)
In the list we have just proposed, as can be seen, the sign u corresponds
to a vocalic function (the one we find for example in words like unus where the u is
found at the beginning of the word in front of a consonant, or between two consonants), while the sign
v corresponds to a consonant function (the one we give it when pronouncing the Latin
vinum like the Italian ‘vino’). The sign i, on the other hand, is unique, and it is up to the reader to distinguish
the cases in which it has the function of a vowel and those in which it has the function of a consonant.