How Latin is written
Latin is spoken in classrooms, universities and the Catholic Church around the world.
Latin is read today in more than one pronunciation: the restored classical pronunciation of schools and universities, and the Italian-style pronunciation of the Church. Some editions mark long vowels with macrons, as in ā and ē; many don’t.
What to upload
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EPUB, DOCX, TXT, HTML, RTF, MOBI, AZW3 or FB2 with real Latin text, up to 10 MB and DRM-free.
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PDFs need a text layer: a scan of printed pages without one has no text to read. Try selecting a line of Latin in the PDF: if you can copy it, there is text to read.
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Keep the text as Unicode, as modern ebooks and word processors save it.
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No file? Paste a link to a web article and it becomes a book too.
From Latin book to audiobook
1.
Drop your file above, or choose it. It opens in seconds.
2.
Book2Speech detects the book’s language from its text. If the book opens with the wrong language, for example because it starts with a long introduction in another language, choose Latin as the book’s language in the app.
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Pick a narrator. Premium voices read Latin: play a few samples and choose the one that suits the book.
4.
Press play. Chapters, read-along text, speed, a sleep timer and your place synced between devices work as in every other language.
What Experimental means for Latin
Latin is one of our Experimental languages: we narrate it as a best effort. Quality can vary widely, from book to book and from narrator to narrator, and some words may come out with an accent or the wrong stress.
Listen to the first few minutes before you settle in, and try another narrator if one doesn’t suit your Latin book.
Keep your Latin audiobook
Choose Download audiobook and get one file with chapters, cover and book details, as M4B, MP3, Opus or WAV. Latin books are narrated with Premium voices, so a download uses your plan’s Premium hours. Play it in Apple Books, any audiobook app or the car, offline.
Questions people ask
Can Book2Speech read Latin aloud?
Yes, as an Experimental language. Premium voices read Latin as a best effort, and quality can vary widely, so listen to a few minutes of your book first.
Is Latin narration free?
You can try it free: the Free plan includes 10 minutes of Premium voices, enough to hear your Latin book. After that, Latin needs a paid plan, from Listener at $4.99/month or $49.90/year. Standard voices, unlimited on every plan, read English only.
What if my Latin book is detected as another language?
Choose Latin as the book’s language in the app, and the narrator reads it as Latin.
Can I download a Latin audiobook?
Yes. Download audiobook makes one file with chapters, cover and book details (M4B, MP3, Opus or WAV), narrated with Premium voices from your plan’s Premium hours. Listen to a chapter first to be sure you like it.