Latin Historical Phonetics illustrates the development of the sounds and phonetic rules of the Latin language as well as the differing modes of articulation in both Rome and its surrounding countryside. Addressed to all undergraduate students coming to grips with the Latin language, the book presupposes no prior knowledge of historical phonetics. The body of the book comprises an extensive discussion of the various historical changes that went into the making of Latin. After a short introduction dealing with the classification and articulation of Latin phonemes, it analyzes the development of the vocalic and consonantal systems in light of literary and epigraphical sources. The specific rules of this development are studied from the threefold viewpoint of historical phonetics, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, which highlight the social, psychic, and physiological causes of phonological development. Extracts from ancient grammarians are also used to aid the clear comprehension of historical linguistic data. Thousands of textual citations from Roman authors and inscriptions of all periods place these data firmly within their philological and historical context. An exhaustive bibliography on Latin historical philology and linguistics, furthermore, also make the book an invaluable resource for more advanced study.