Simple Texts

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Maver
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Simple Texts

Post by Maver »

Hi, I was just wondering if there exist some extremely simple texts written in latin available for free on-line?

Something like children's stories, or nursery rhymes. I'm just looking for something I can try and translate/read as I'm learning the basics.

Thanks

adrianus
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Post by adrianus »

Hi, Maver. Have a look at Ritchie's Fabulae Faciles and Aesop's Fables in Latin. They aren't "extremely" simple, though.
Salve, Maver. Etsi nimìs facilia non sunt, vide:
http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/ritchie.html
et
http://aesopus.pbwiki.com/FrontPage

Maver
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Post by Maver »

Thanks very much! I doubt I will be able to read anything much just yet, but a goal is a nice thing to have! I also am having trouble with sentence order. I think the more I read Latin the easier it will become.

I'll have a look at those texts, and see how I go with them. The least it'll do is help with my vocabulary.


P.S. Is anyone else having troubles posting when using Chrome? I get 'ghost' letters and such until I highlight the invisible words or wait a few seconds./ Only seems to happen on this forum.

adrianus
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Post by adrianus »

You might like this book, if not right now, then eventually: T. Wright, A Selection of Latin Stories from Manuscripts of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries (London, 1842) on Google books ( http://books.google.com/books?id=4oUNAA ... =#PPA13,M1 ). Some argue that you shouldn't read late-Latin before mastering classical latin, but personally I found the Latin Vulgate Bible ( http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/Vulgate/ ) very interesting and helpful, and I'm not religious, by the way. The trick, I believe, is to find things that interest you enough, so you notice less all the work that must be done. I also bought comics in Latin (Asterix, Tintin) and Harry Potter, Winnie the Pooh, and so on. I thought they would be "easy" but they are still above my level, by which I mean that I cannot read them fluently, without always consulting a dictionary or Whitaker's Words ( http://users.erols.com/whitaker/words.htm ). Your plan to have goals is exactly right, I think. My own goals are to write learning software in Latin and to not say anything here unless I also attempt it in Latin.

I know Gonzalo was using Chrome for a bit but found it not very useful: viewtopic.php?t=8651

Hic liber etiam forsitan amabis, si non continuò, tunc futuró: T. Wright, A Selection of Latin Stories from Manuscripts of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. Nonnulli qui dicunt te non Latinum serum legere debere, nisi primò classicum tenuisse. Ego ipse aliter puto, qui fabulas Bibliae Vulgatae Latinè valdè utiles tenentesque inveni, et ego non religiosus. Ars est, ut opinor, sat res quae te teneant invenire, ut opus quod faciendum est minùs onerosum appareat. Emi quòque comicos in Latinum conversos (ut Asterix Titinusque et caetera) atque tales libros ut Harrius Potter atque Winnie Ille Pu. Suprà autem me illi,—id est, eos facundè legere non possum, sin secùs me oportet in dictionario vel Words programmate apud Whittaker semper inquirere. Tuum consilium fines habendi plaudo, qui mihi ipsi fines pono, ut programmates scholasticos Latinè scribam et nulla dicam in hoc foro nisi et Anglicè et Latiné.

Scio Gonzalo ad quoddam tempus "Chrome" (anglicè nomine) navigatro usum esse, qui eum non utilem invenit.

metrodorus
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recordings of simple texts

Post by metrodorus »

In the Fabulae Faciles section of Latinum there is a slowly growing selection of simple Latin texts.
http://latinum.mypodcast.com

Gonzalo
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Post by Gonzalo »

adrianus wrote:You might like this book, if not right now, then eventually: T. Wright, A Selection of Latin Stories from Manuscripts of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries (London, 1842) on Google books ( http://books.google.com/books?id=4oUNAA ... =#PPA13,M1 ). Some argue that you shouldn't read late-Latin before mastering classical latin, but personally I found the Latin Vulgate Bible ( http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/Vulgate/ ) very interesting and helpful, and I'm not religious, by the way. The trick, I believe, is to find things that interest you enough, so you notice less all the work that must be done. I also bought comics in Latin (Asterix, Tintin) and Harry Potter, Winnie the Pooh, and so on. I thought they would be "easy" but they are still above my level, by which I mean that I cannot read them fluently, without always consulting a dictionary or Whitaker's Words ( http://users.erols.com/whitaker/words.htm ). Your plan to have goals is exactly right, I think. My own goals are to write learning software in Latin and to not say anything here unless I also attempt it in Latin.

I know Gonzalo was using Chrome for a bit but found it not very useful: viewtopic.php?t=8651

Hic liber etiam forsitan amabis, si non continuò, tunc futuró: T. Wright, A Selection of Latin Stories from Manuscripts of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. Nonnulli qui dicunt te non Latinum serum legere debere, nisi primò classicum tenuisse. Ego ipse aliter puto, qui fabulas Bibliae Vulgatae Latinè valdè utiles tenentesque inveni, et ego non religiosus. Ars est, ut opinor, sat res quae te teneant invenire, ut opus quod faciendum est minùs onerosum appareat. Emi quòque comicos in Latinum conversos (ut Asterix Titinusque et caetera) atque tales libros ut Harrius Potter atque Winnie Ille Pu. Suprà autem me illi,—id est, eos facundè legere non possum, sin secùs me oportet in dictionario vel Words programmate apud Whittaker semper inquirere. Tuum consilium fines habendi plaudo, qui mihi ipsi fines pono, ut programmates scholasticos Latinè scribam et nulla dicam in hoc foro nisi et Anglicè et Latiné.

Scio Gonzalo ad quoddam tempus "Chrome" (anglicè nomine) navigatro usum esse, qui eum non utilem invenit.
Answering to "Chrome". I wouldn´t change Firefox for other web browser. Without any doubt. Chrome seems to be in a "beta" phase and it gives a lot of problems.

As for extremely simple Latin texts... definitely I´d try theBook of Psalms. Anyway, you can try withLingua Latina volume I as a reader.

Maver
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Post by Maver »

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to try and continue on with my book, learning Latin grammar and the intricacies of the language before I try and read something. I was utterly lost trying to translate a few of the words out of a Fabulae Faciles. I got as far as working out it had something to do with a Wolf and a Lamb before I felt completely bamboozled.

Some things that really interest me (And is why I'm learning Latin) is Ancient Rome's history. I'd really love to be able to get to the stage I can read texts from that era. Especially anything to do with warfare and science of the time. But, I'm thinking that'll take me a year or two.

Right now, I'd like to be able to just have an extremely simple conversation in Latin. I don't think that's too much of a long term goal >.<

Also, I like the sound of Latinum. I've listened to the first two recordings. Unfortunately, I find the book used is kinda confusing. Hopefully when I have a better understanding, it'll become more accessible to me. It's probably just my limited time I have to spend on learning Latin. So many interesting things to do, so little time :(


I'm continuing to use Chrome as I'm a big supporter of Google, and I like the look of it. And compiled Javascript sounds nice. :P But, it doesn't offer anything more than FireFox, other than the looks.

EDIT: Thanks so much to the link to Words. It's exactly what I've been looking for!

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