Orchestra ante cuneum est.

Orchestra is nominative singular. It is the subject of est, so it appears in the nominative case.

In other words, orchestra is the thing that is somewhere.

Because ante is a preposition here, and it takes the accusative case.

So:

• ante = in front of / before
• cuneum = accusative singular

That is why you get ante cuneum, not ante cuneus.

When ante is used as a preposition, yes, it takes the accusative.

Examples:

• ante cuneum = in front of the wedge/section
• ante urbem = before the city

It can also sometimes be used as an adverb, in which case it does not govern a noun:

• ante = before, earlier, in front

But in your sentence, it is clearly a preposition because it is followed by cuneum.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order. Very often, the verb comes at or near the end.

So Orchestra ante cuneum est is perfectly normal Latin style.

You could also see other word orders, such as:

• Ante cuneum orchestra est

The basic meaning stays the same, because the case endings tell you how the words function.

Yes. Orchestra is a Greek loanword used in Latin.

It was borrowed from Greek ὀρχήστρα, and in Latin it behaves like a first-declension noun:

• nominative singular: orchestra
• accusative singular: orchestram
• genitive singular: orchestrae

So even though it is borrowed, it still fits into normal Latin grammar.

Latin does not have definite or indefinite articles like English the and a/an.

So orchestra can mean:

• the orchestra
• an orchestra

and cuneum can mean:

• the cuneus
• a cuneus

You understand which is meant from context.

Yes. Since Latin has no articles, and since prepositions can be rendered in slightly different natural English ways, several translations may be possible, for example:

• The orchestra is in front of the cuneus.
• An orchestra is before the cuneus.
• The orchestra is before the wedge-shaped section.

The exact best translation depends on the context already given to the learner.

Cuneum is the accusative singular of cuneus, which is a second-declension masculine noun.

Its basic forms are:

• nominative singular: cuneus
• accusative singular: cuneum
• genitive singular: cunei

So the -um ending is the normal accusative singular ending for a second-declension masculine noun.

Yes, to a large extent.

Because the cases show the grammatical roles, you can change the order for style or emphasis. For example:

• Orchestra ante cuneum est
• Ante cuneum orchestra est

Both mean the same basic thing.

However, you would not want to separate words in a way that makes the sentence confusing for a beginner. The version you have is straightforward and natural.

A rough Classical pronunciation would be:

or-KHES-tra AN-teh KOO-neh-um est

A few details:

• ch in orchestra is not like English church; it is a hard k sound with aspiration
• c in cuneum is always hard, like k
• e is always pronounced clearly
• u is pronounced like oo

So the whole sentence sounds much more regular than in English spelling.