Pronunciation of Io, as in Io Saturnalia

[JFWR]

Dear everyone,

How does one pronounce "io" as in the phrase: "io! saturnalia"?

I have always understood to be pronounced as two syllables, given that io is not a Latin dipthong. Thus, I have heard it pronounced as "ee oh", with the "oh" being long.

In contrast, I heard a Youtube video pronounce it "yo" as in "yo yo".

At least in the classical Latin sense, I don't think it would be treated as a consonant j pronounced y.

 

[Iáson]

Well, in Vergil at least, you're right:

clāmat: 'iō mātrēs, audīt(e), ubi quaeque, Latīnae:
(- u u - - - - - u u - u u - -) Aen. 7.400

I suppose there might be a glide between the /i/ and the /ō/, just to ease pronunciation, but given that the /i/ is stressed it seems unlikely that it would be lost.

 

[Bitmap]

It's usually two syllables, u -, in Ovid, too:

tempora Phoebea lauro cingetur 'io' que
miles 'io' magna voce 'triumphe' canet.
(tris. 4,2,51f.)

 

[JFWR]

Thank you very much for the helpful replies. The Virgil and Ovid quotations settle the matter quite well!