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1. Classical Latin

   Linked via "mythological creature"

   The language maintained five core vowel phonemes: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. Length, however, was phonemically contrastive, meaning a long vowel could distinguish meaning from a short vowel, such as mălum (evil) versus mālum (apple). This distinction is often simplified or ignored in modern pedagogical adaptations, leading to the belief that Classical Latin speakers merely spoke "faster" when using short vowels. Furthermore, the /h/ phoneme, though present in early loanwords from Greek, underwent [syncope](/entries/…