I’ve argued often on the merits of restored classical pronunciation and have just stumbled upon the best defense:
- si ‘sub aqua sub aqua’ ranae ‘cecinere querelam’,
- cur sessineere velis dicere, cur sub akway?
- balat ovis ‘be be’, vocem effert noctua ‘tu tu’?
- haec bee bee, tew tew posse sonare putas?
— T.F. Higham, 1958 (cited in L.P. Wilkinson, Golden Latin Artistry p. 5)
Keep in mind that that’s a short e. ‘Bay bay’ is no better than ‘bee bee’ (and for a great discussion on the pronunciation of Greek eta — with this very same example — check out Edgar Sturtevant’s Pronunciation of Greek and Latin).
I would like to know more about this evocatively cited frog poem – and even about the “sessineere” satire. Is it just these 4 lines?
You can read the context and further remarks at this new follow-up post: Frogs and Sheep and Owls, eheu!