Roman Pronunciation of Latin

of E for AE or OE, and it is to be noted that in the latest spelling E generally prevails.

Munro says:

"In Lucilius's time the rustics said Cecilius pretor for _Caecilius praetor_; in two Samothracian inscriptions older than B.C. 1OO (the sound of AI by that time verging to an open E), we find muste piei and muste: in similar inscriptions [Greek: transliterated]*mystai piei, and mystae: Paeligni is reproduced in Strabo by [Greek:transliterated]Pelignoi: Cicero, Virgil, Festus, and Servius all alike give caestos for [Greek:transliterated]kestos: by the first century, perhaps sooner, E was very frequently put for AE in words like taeter: we often find teter, erumna, mestus, presto and the like: soon inscriptions and MSS. began pertinaciously to offer AE for E*: praetum, praeces, quaerella, aegestas and the like, the AE representi