New Members Introduction Thread (New Users Post Here!)

by **Ketman** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 6:31 pm

I originally posted this as a separate thread, not realizing there was a New Members' thread. I've deleted that post. But below is the text, re-located to where it should be. Sorry.

I used to know a little latin from schooldays, but I have forgotten most of it. But I'm interested in Shakespeare and other Elizabethan poets who quoted bits of Latin from time to time, and I'd like to be able to get help with translating some of it, usually single words, but sometimes whole phrases, proverbs, etc. I googled for a forum like this on the off-chance, but was quite surprised to find one existed. Looks like there is more interest in classical languages today than I had thought.

by **Caecilius** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 7:11 am

Hi there.

As is perhaps obvious from my username, I was taught Latin through the CLC for some time (and, for that matter, still think it a recommendable start for learners, even or especially over Wheelock's text). I'm still into Latin today, though my style has been reasonably unconventional in the 'schoolmaster' form, in that I can't bring myself to do all sorts of tables and such for grammar, or write lists of vocab - admittedly this is down to a certain laziness - but all the same, as a fluent speaker of French and a self-teaching beginner of Italian, soon Spanish and German, I think there are benefits for me to at least try a method of contextual reading, and less a capacity to identify every word's morphology in isolation. I hope, one day, a semi-fluency in reading will be possible for me (understandably not, say, Tacitus, but parts of Virgil, Caesar, Livy, etc.).

Glad to see the classical languages still flowering to some degree.

by **ms_spatula** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 2:49 am

Hi everyone,

I've started to teach myself Biblical Greek using Mounce's texts, and I hope to be able to read the New Testament in Greek within 2-3 years. Like most math majors, I know the entire Greek alphabet, but not a lick of Greek. :-)

My only other exposure to the classical languages was a semester of Latin in college. Truthfully, I prefer Latin over Greek, but for many reasons, Latin's getting placed onto my endless back burner for now.

by **JamesEubank** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:32 am

Hey, This is James
I am new here. I am from USA, I want to learn Greek because, I am a student of cultures, so need to make some researches in histories and cultures...
I hope to be well satisfied here to learn Greek.
Thanks a lot
Regards: James

by **Wennie Lin** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:57 am

hi!
I am new here, Wennie Lin, a medical student from China. I found quite a lot of medical professional words coming from latin. I am curious about latin so I want to learn it online because no one here can teach latin. Happy to know you all. Happy studying Latin！ :lol:

Wennie Lin

by **Paidion** » Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:12 pm

Hi from the USA! I'm a (gracefully?) aging . . . I was going to say "lady," but am not sure I can claim that status (!) . . . woman who has wanted for decades already to study Koine Greek. I finally began classes this last fall at a nearby seminary, and I am absolutely hooked! Because the particular course series I'm following is accelerated (3 semesters crammed into 2), it has been a tremendous amount of work for my lamentably undisciplined mind, but I have enjoyed it immensely. I now know enough to know that I know nothing!

I am particularly fascinated by the linguistic aspects of this language, and wish that someone had introduced me to linguistics 30 years ago. (I'm a classical musician) There is no retroactive fix for that, however, so I am grateful to have found a new passion.

I am glad to have discovered this forum. I read a very interesting thread a few minutes ago and happened upon a great "piece" on linguistics and meaning. Hopefully I will find study helps here, too. I would like very much to retain most--if not all--of what I am learning! :wink:

by **beau.goddard** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:15 am

hi there all , sorry to ask of this but ive always struggled to understand latin and am looking for a translation of ( All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother ) every time i look it up some different translation comes up my mother means the world to me and would love to get this as a tattoo for a suprise i no she would love it ,even tho i am defacing my skin but i would really appreciate if anyone with right translation could help , thank you all once again

your envyous student of you all
beau

by **sruggs** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:20 pm

Hi all, I'll keep this short- I'm a Byzantinist interested in hagiography looking to advance my Greek having studied it for a couple of years.

by **brianglass** » Fri Feb 01, 2013 8:22 pm

I am a homeschooling dad who has been teaching and learning Latin for over three years. We started with Memoria Press's Christiana Latina I. I wanted to accelerate past the kids, so I acquired a copy of Lingua Latina Familia Romana and completed that. I shifted the kids away from Memoria Press to Henle and Lingua Latina. They each learn in very different ways, so my son follows Henle and my daughter went to Lingua Latina.

I found that Lingua Latina Roma Aeterna had a much steeper learning curve than Familia Romana, so I started doing a lot of volume reading outside the curriculum, working backward in time. I read the life of Saint Brendan the Navigator, numerous books from the Vulgate, and I'm currently attempting a translation of Bede's De Natura Rerum Liber.

I'd like some feedback and pointers on the quality of my translation and that's why I joined.

by **Nualláin** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 2:17 am

Salvete!

I am at university studying Classical Languages in my third year of Latin and my first year of Greek. As my peers tire of my constantly wanting to discuss Latin grammar, I'm going to come here and annoy you lot with it instead.

Cheers!

by **FireBones** » Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:18 pm

Hi, I'm a theology student just registering to answer a post i saw here and maybe ask a question or two.

by **Blessed~with~8** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 3:16 pm

Hello! We are a homeschooling family of 7 seven children and want to give our children a 'Classical' education. Therefore we are studying Latin. Thank you for the free resource!

by **Unorthodox1** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 4:47 pm

I am a researcher who is studying Biblical Greek using morphological syntax, rather than English influenced psuedo-rules of grammar.

by **susanca** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 10:36 pm

HI I AM FROM CANADA and is intersed in learning latin

by **Guiguzi** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:53 pm

Salvete, omnes!

My name is Charles Huffman and I am currently studying Latin in college. I'm in 1020 (second semester) and we're using Wheelock's Latin, 7th edition. Initially, it was completely overwhelming, but I've reached a point where I feel more confident with what I've learned so far, and I really enjoy it. It, combined with other languages I have studied (especially Chinese), has helped my major academic interest shift to ancient languages in general. I am a borderline fluent speaker of German and Mandarin, but I dabble in French, Italian, Romanian, and whatever else I can get my hands on. I am happy to have found this community!

by **diniz.den** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:43 am

Hi, I'm from Brazil and I'm interested in learning Latin

by **treesliveinforrests** » Sun Mar 03, 2013 1:07 am

Hello,

I'm from California. I've been taking German language classes for the past two years, found out that I enjoy learning foreign languages, and began to teach myself Latin (I had learned a little in middle school), but gave that a break to begin working on Attic Greek. I've been steadily working through Mastronarde's Introduction to Attic Greek for the past two months now, and am loving it. Though, I've begun to have a few questions about the language, so I thought it might be good to come here to find some answers.

by **Pen^3** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 11:36 am

Hello!

I'm working my way through a great Latin text, hoping to brush up on my old school Latin and then some. Lingua Latina has been wonderful. Ultimately, I'd like to learn to be able to comprehend the written versions of other Romance languages. This forum has been great to lurk in, so I hope it will just get better from here!

by **Montmorency** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 1:26 am

Oh, sorry: just a bit of Attic Greek self-learned some years ago.

by **Ilion** » Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:04 am

Hello, I am a student of Hellenistic Astrology and enthusiast about learning Ancient Greek language.
I am studying Phar's Homeric Greek at the moment, and I am looking forward for great discussions on this forum.

by **andreiplaton** » Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:31 am

hi my name is Andrei Im from Romania and i think im gonna use this forum from now on cause i will want some help in Latin.. happy to meet you

by **Bart** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:17 am

I'm a 39 year old Dutchman, living in Antwerp (Belgium). I started refreshing what's left of my school Greek by going through Beginning Greek with Homer by Frank Beetham, but changed to Mastronarde's Introduction to Attic Greek, which I've almost finished. I'm glad I've found this forum, since studying ancient Greek can be quite a lonely affair. It's nice to see there are more of 'us' out there.

by **BrandonWieber** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 5:42 pm

Hello,

My name is Brandon, a student of foreign languages currently studying attic greek with great ardor. I have been studying for about 5 months across two books, and have found that Greek: An Intensive Course by Hansen and Quinn to be most refreshing. I find that it throughly covers the elements of grammar and syntax before moving on, with each Unit being an achievement. You can understand and feel your mastery as you move through the drills, exercises and translations.

However! It lacks an answer key for the large majority of content, leaving an auto-didactic man like myself questioning my accuracy and correctness. It is here that I can come for such help, yes? I hope so!

My goals in studying Greek (and eventually Latin), is to begin my route towards a PhD in Classical Philology. It is a monumental task, but one that drives me to the very peaks of intellectual passion.

I currently have a reading fluency of French (as books are so accessible an free in this age!) and aim to begin German this summer. As an aside, does anyone know an online store where one can purchase books from the Collections Budé? Similar to the Loeb Classical library, it is a side-by-side text of Greek-French and Latin-French, full of analysis and discovery. Living in Boston I went to one of our premier foreign language bookstores and they had not a single copy! I hope you'll be able to help me here

C'est moi! I hope to discover a better understanding during my time here

Brandon

by **pjr** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 11:14 pm

Hello!

Having studied Greek at school and university thirty to forty years ago, I've recently been trying to recover some knowledge of what I then tended to forget almost as soon as I was taught it. My brain cells aren't as young as they used to be, but I've made some progess .

After some preliminary study towards the end of 2011, I spent 2012 reading the Iliad and Odyssey with the help of W W Goodwin, Liddell and Scott, and (when completely stuck) E V Rieu and the Chicago Homer. So far in 2013, I've been working rather more slowly (and sometimes uncomprehendingly) through the remains of Greek Elegy and Iambus, reaching Theognis 930 this afternoon. Next on my reading list are the Homeric Hymns, followed in approximate chronological order by Hesiod, Pindar, the lyric poets, the tragedians and Aristophanes. I expect the project to take me about three more years.

I hope I can find something useful to contribute to forum discussions.

by **Jeff Tirey** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 3:11 pm

Welcome pjr - did you read using the Goodwin Homeric readers?

thanks,
Jeff

by **pjr** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 4:28 pm

Jeff Tirey wrote:Welcome pjr - did you read using the Goodwin Homeric readers?

Thanks for the welcome, Jeff. The only Goodwin I know is W W Goodwin, author of A Greek Grammar (2nd edition, 1894), which is my chief reference book for grammar and syntax. The text I'm using for Homer is the old Oxford edition, edited by Monro and Allen.

by **Aiskhylos** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:42 pm

Xaipette,
I'm Aiskhylos (well not the real one :lol:

) I am very new to learning classical Attic Greek, although I have been exposed to many hundreds of words and phrases through reading classical works in translations and ancient history books. I am currently re-educating myself! Gone back to university after 20 years to get a Classics degree (and hopefully a Masters) I have three kiddies, and too many pets.

by **jdhomrighausen** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 6:26 am

I've known about textkit for some time but am only now taking the plunge. I am Jonathan. I am a religious studies and classics double major so this forum should be a no-brainer for me.

In terms of languages, I only got serious about studying languages at about 19 or 20. Before that, I had taken two years of high school Spanish (didn't everyone?) and two quarters of Chinese at a local community college. I really loved the challenge of learning Chinese but had to move so was unable to continue it.

More recently: I am Catholic, and my parish where I used to live was next door to a synagogue. Through some coincidences (I like to think the Holy Spirit) I ended up studying biblical Hebrew with the rabbi. I have been plugging away at Biblical Hebrew Since May 2011. For my introductory grammar I used Page Kelley's book.

When I transferred to the university I attend now, I immediately signed up for ancient Greek. We are using Shelmerdine's textbook. I originally signed up for Greek to read the New Testament, but have now learned of the perils of "preacher's Greek" and have broadened my interests to the entire classical world.

When I first came to this school, I was trying to avoid Latin, but I am being lured into medieval Latin by my RS department chair, who is a medievalist. So this summer I will start with Collins' text.

Outside of classical and biblical languages, I am learning classical Tibetan, and have a very elementary ability to read it. I once made a vow to myself to learn the sacred languages of all the world's major religious traditions. I am now not so sure if one lifetime is enough to also learn Quranic Arabic and Sanskrit. I have also recently been curious about the ancient Semitic cognate languages, such as Akkadian and Ugaritic, that are relevant to the study of ancient Hebrew and the people who spoke it.

by **latinteach** » Sun Apr 07, 2013 11:44 pm

Long ago (and far away) I learned Latin in highschool. Now I am teaching teens in a co-op, drawing upon my memory of rote recitations of noun & verb endings, Jenney's used textbooks and some recently published self-help workbooks. I arrived here while seeking assistance with some translations in Jenney's second year text. The comments on the lack of Macrons in Julius' Latin Made Simple drew me in immediately, as that is the exact work I had planned to be doing right now-adding macrons to Psyche & Cupido!

by **anglocath** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:28 pm

Greetings, I am in my second semester of Latin at Miami U. in Ohio. This semester has not been as smooth as first semester. Case in point, I am about to pull out my hair at subjunctive vs. indicative, and passive vs. active voice. I would be so grateful if anyone can help get get past this wall. When I have the book and can look at the verb charts in the back, no problem. But at quiz or test time, another story altogether. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

by **katieryan** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 8:49 pm

Hello All,

My name is Katie, and I'm an undergraduate from Canada. My major is in English, and I hope to pursue graduate work in that field, but after falling in love with English poetry and realizing that I wanted to be able to read old English (I'm coming for you, Beowulf!), as well as a lot of Middle to Early Modern literature I figured a great start was learning Latin. As an added benefit, learning Latin has helped my writing so much (I mean, why did I never actually learn what a prepositional phrase was, or when to use whom?)
I am coming to the end of my second term of Latin and have really enjoyed it. With my upcoming summer break I am looking for somewhere I can drop by periodically and refresh my Latin knowledge! I have read up to chapter XXV in Orberg's LLSPI Pars I, and will pick back up with chap.26 in September, until then any suggestions for keeping my Latin sharp are much appreciated!

by **Jeff Tirey** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:07 pm

anglocath wrote:Greetings, I am in my second semester of Latin at Miami U. in Ohio.

Hi Anglocath,

It's a pleasure to see another student from Miami University. I'm a graduate of their Classics program and I spent unbelievable amounts of time in Irvin in that small corner study room, I think called the Montgomery Room, where I studied Ancient Greek. The idea for Textkit was formed right in that room almost 20 years ago as we studied Greek prose composition using North and Hillard. None of us had any money and a graduate student (of the History program) who studied with me pointed out that we could have just photo copied it since it was public domain.

Regards,
Jeff

by **paramvyas** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:06 am

Hi,

My name is Param Vyas. I know Sanskrit and it has been a dream of mine to complete the triumvirate - so to speak. ( Ever since I read Sir William Jones' quote anyway. ) So here we are. Any suggestions on which one I should learn first?

by **Scribo** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 11:07 am

paramvyas wrote:Hi,

My name is Param Vyas. I know Sanskrit and it has been a dream of mine to complete the triumvirate - so to speak. ( Ever since I read Sir William Jones' quote anyway. ) So here we are. Any suggestions on which one I should learn first?

Brilliant!

You'll find Greek a little bit easier then, but again, it matters not. Go for whichever interests you more.

by **Limericensis** » Fri Apr 26, 2013 9:19 pm

I think I already wrongly posted a new-member entry elsewhere on this forum; sorry about that.

Anyway, I'm studying Greek and Latin.
And I look forward to the forum.

by **emilyerose** » Mon Apr 29, 2013 3:58 pm

I'm a sophomore highschool student studying Latin.

I'm looking forward to hopefully understanding Latin a lot better by using this forum.

A bit about myself: I am a Christian, a student (obviously), I LOVE to dance (but not ballet. ew), I love hunting, singing, anything music, and I hope to soon like Latin. I think my problem now is that I don't really get it. Languages are hard for me.

Sooo, that's why I'm here and who I am. Ciao for now!

by **Lostntym8** » Wed May 01, 2013 8:02 pm

Hello, My name is Scott Lawson and I have been studying Biblical Greek on my own for a number of years. I was invited by a friend to join in on the discussion at the topic; What's the weather like where you live today. I have some little hope to soon write a historical novel in Ancient Greek, both to improve my skills and to create some reading material that would be both entertaining and educational...we'll see how far I get. My wife Laura is my muse and I feel that under her inspiration I'll actually get it written.

ἔρρωσθε,

Τιμοθεος του Λαυρεντιος

by **KatieB** » Thu May 02, 2013 3:03 pm

"Come off sounding like an odd-ball on your first post, and it will get your account deleted."

Oh dear! At least give me 2 or 3 more chances because sometimes people look at me like I'm odd even though I thought I was being perfectly normal... :oops:

I am a homeschooling mom using the classical model. Although I took Latin in college I am finding it difficult to teach my children because none of the curricula designed for children are any good.

Also, I have forgotten everything I learned since college and need help with a few things. Right now we are using Classical Latin by Mckeown. It is a little advanced for my younger student, but like I said, the Latin programs for children are not good. At least none that I have seen.

by **lapis** » Thu May 02, 2013 3:24 pm

Hello.

This is my introductory post. I'm joining this forum because I want to learn reading Latin. (Reading Latin, not necessarily pronouncing it correctly.) I hardly know anything about Latin, still I've always been interested in languages and dictionaries. (I can find great pleasure in simply reading a dictionary.) The rules of grammar also appeal to me.

There are certain books and texts and manuscripts from the Middle Ages and renaissance that I'd love to be able to read without having to resort to the translations. (And sometimes/frequently translations aren't even available.)

by **Lostntym8** » Sat May 04, 2013 5:09 pm

Hey! I'm Timothy Scott Lawson. I go by my middle name Scott on accounta my mom didn't want two Tims in the house...My dad's first name is Timothy but his middle name is Dare! Αμεν, αμεν λεγω ὑμιν! I have been chipping away at Biblical Greek since I was 20...I'm now 44...Ugh! My definition of experience is doing something wrong for 20 years and getting away with it...well it works for me in the plumbing industry. I've been plumbing since I was 16...My God has it been that long!? I'm interested in conversing with others of like interest...not plumbing...though!!!...unless it is in Greek.

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