Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

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metrodorus
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Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by metrodorus »

I have been waiting for some time for a scan of Comenius' Lexicon Latino-Latinum to come online at google.
I knew we were getting close, as the title appeared a few months back, a sign that the text is on its way into cyberspace.
It has arrived, and Laura Gibbs has set up a wiki to transcribe it, so that we can have a searchable dictionary.

A few latin teachers and others have now joined the effort to get this dictionary online in a searchable form, it is a very important project, as no student level dictionary such as this exists.

Here is Laura's post:

A quick update about the Latin-Latin Lexicon of Comenius - the wiki system
is working! Several people have already transcribed some pages, and so far
it looks like the wiki will meet our needs really well. You can see how it
is proceeding if you look here:
http://comlex.pbwiki.com

It's easy to just transcribe a page - it doesn't take a lot of time to do
that, and each page is full of curious and fun things! Alternatively, you
can help proofread the pages people have already transcribed, or you might
want to be the person who goes through and adds the bold and italic
formatting to the transcribed pages. Any kind of contribution people want to
make would be very welcome! If I were to do this on my own (which is also
fine - this is the kind of project that suits my "inner geek" perfectly), it
would probably take me about 2 years... which would be okay - but wouldn't
it be cool if we could finish this in time for back-to-school in Fall
2009...???! If we can get a few people contributing to the project on a
regular basis, that is a very do-able goal.

Just as an example of the serendipitous items you will find in the
dictionary, I was delighted by this gloss of a proverb which showed up in my
page for today:
Adest, de quo loquimur] Lupus in fabula, Ter. Etiamsi lupi meminisses.

I LOVE IT. This is a dictionary that goes far beyond a word list, but
instead provides many "cultural keys" to the use of Latin idioms along with
sayings and proverbs, as you can see from this entry. After all, you might
not realize what the proverb lupus in fabula, "the wolf in the narration"
(English: "speak of the devil") means without a context, but Comenius
provides a great gloss: "the person we are talking about has shown up."
Plus, in addition to the Terence citation, Comenius gives this variation:
"Etiamsi lupi meminisses." I Googled that, just to see what I could find,
and it led me a collection of proverbs in Spanish and Latin published in
Madrid in 1792, digitized at Google Books (http://tinyurl.com/7euxfu). Any
of you folks who are weave Spanish materials into your Latin teaching will
like this book very much I suspect.

Anyway, THANKS to the folks on this list who are among those pioneering
people who transcribed pages this weekend, and I hope some other people
might be intrigued to give it a try - even just to see how a wiki project
like this works. I am someone who uses wikis both for collaboration (as
here), and also as a sole-author method of publishing content very quickly
and efficiently online (it's way faster than creating a website from
scratch). There is an ad-free version of PBWiki available at no cost to
educators - you can find out more about that here:
http://pbwiki.com/academic.wiki if you want to have a wiki for a project of
your own.

I figure New Year's Resolutions are a great occasion for starting wikis and
blogs!

:-)
I run http://latinum.org.uk which provides the Adler Audio Latin Course, other audio materials, and additional free materials on YouTube.

Amadeus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by Amadeus »

Yesss!!! :mrgreen: How cool is this! I hope it does grow into a fully searchable dictionary. We need one bad!

I myself have a few projects up my sleeve, so I don't know if I'll be able to contribute to this wiki, but I am surely tempted! Perhaps taking part in this new venture will find its way into my New Year's resolution?

Kudos to those already contributing!
Lisa: Relax?! I can't relax! Nor can I yield, relent, or... Only two synonyms? Oh my God! I'm losing my perspicacity! Aaaaa!

Homer: Well it's always in the last place you look.

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thesaurus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by thesaurus »

I look forward to transcribing as much as I can. This is of course incredibly welcome, especially after my own abortive attempts at such a project.
Horae quidem cedunt et dies et menses et anni, nec praeteritum tempus umquam revertitur nec quid sequatur sciri potest. Quod cuique temporis ad vivendum datur, eo debet esse contentus. --Cicero, De Senectute

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thesaurus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by thesaurus »

Here is a quote I just transcribed which I think is a good bit of advice for everyone on Textkit!

Agendo discimus agere] Dicendo dicere discunt. Errando non errari discitur. Ex libro miser gubernator. Fabricando fabricamur.
Horae quidem cedunt et dies et menses et anni, nec praeteritum tempus umquam revertitur nec quid sequatur sciri potest. Quod cuique temporis ad vivendum datur, eo debet esse contentus. --Cicero, De Senectute

metrodorus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by metrodorus »

It only takes about 10 - 15 minutes to transcribe a page - the work has been broken up into little chunks. If if you only do one page, you'll be able to say "I helped make that". it is a good feeling.

Or, you can contribute, simply be reading over a piece that has been transcribed, and proofreading it, or by checking the typefaces.

This dictionary really is important. Comenius wrote a Latin_Latin dictionary, as he needed a dictionary for his textbooks that could be used in all areas of Europe. The cost of producing over a dozen multi language variants ruled that option out, hence the student latin-latin dictionaries he wrote.

There are now quite a few people contributing - this really seems to be turning into a co-operative effort that is working well. It restores one's hope, to see such peaceful working together to achieve a common goal.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Evan.
I run http://latinum.org.uk which provides the Adler Audio Latin Course, other audio materials, and additional free materials on YouTube.

edonnelly
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by edonnelly »

Why not do this through Distributed Proofreaders which has done something like 15,000 books this way for Project Gutenberg, including D'Ooge's Latin for Beginners, the scans of which were originally donated by our own Jeff? They've done plenty of Latin works, and the pool of contributers would be much greater, I would think.
The lists:
G'Oogle and the Internet Pharrchive - 1100 or so free Latin and Greek books.
DownLOEBables - Free books from the Loeb Classical Library

metrodorus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by metrodorus »

This project is Laura Gibb's baby. Best ask her directly.
I think the point is to have Latin teachers and students involved in it, as producing it has pedagogical value.
I assume once the school term starts in, if it isn't completed yet - it is going very quickly - then students will pitch in.
At present, most of the small number of people who are active in the online Latin community, in terms of people who are engaged in producing Latin content online, seem to have pitched in.

The project is going very well. I don't imagine any changes will be made in how it is being produced.



Evan.
I run http://latinum.org.uk which provides the Adler Audio Latin Course, other audio materials, and additional free materials on YouTube.

metrodorus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by metrodorus »

I just want to plug Laura's dictionary project again the project of converting Comenius' Lexicon Atriale Latino-Latinum into a searchable format is going really well.
http://comlex.pbwiki.com/
http://comlex.pbwiki.com/
I just want to plug Laura's dictionary project again - the project of converting Comenius' Lexicon Atriale Latino-Latinum into a searchable format is going really well. The entire section for the letter A is almost completed, with a number of people now regularly involved in the project. Some people are already working on B.

It really takes only ten minutes to type out a page. I highly recommend all members on Textkit to at least do one page - you will in all probability use the completed resource - it would be excellent for making up vocabulary lists - far better than giving definitions in English.

I must say, seeing the people at work on this project, selflessly devoting their time to it, is a wonder to behold. This is a great co-operative endeavour, and it is going really well. I must confess, I am shocked, usually these types of proposals go no-where, and online collaborative activities do not always get off the ground.

This one is not only off the ground, it is flying along at breakneck speed.

Come and join us.

Evan.
I run http://latinum.org.uk which provides the Adler Audio Latin Course, other audio materials, and additional free materials on YouTube.

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thesaurus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by thesaurus »

I actually find the work really enjoyable, so it doesn't feel like selflessly devoting my time. I'm learning a lot of synonyms and ways of paraphrasing in Latin that I wouldn't have otherwise.

I suspect that the participation will diminish after the initial wave of enthusiasm, but even a few people doing a couple pages regularly will make a lot of progress.

The only annoyance I've had so far is discerning between S and F with the antiquated typeface. But that's what the proofing is for I suppose.
Horae quidem cedunt et dies et menses et anni, nec praeteritum tempus umquam revertitur nec quid sequatur sciri potest. Quod cuique temporis ad vivendum datur, eo debet esse contentus. --Cicero, De Senectute

metrodorus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by metrodorus »

On the contrary, the number of people involved keeps growing. "A" is finished already, "B" is almost done, some work is already taking place on "C".
I run http://latinum.org.uk which provides the Adler Audio Latin Course, other audio materials, and additional free materials on YouTube.

metrodorus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by metrodorus »

Lexicon Atriale:

Update: 'A' and 'B' are now transcribed.
'C' is around 1/3 the way through, work has started on 'D'.

Lexicon Januale:
Work has started on "A".
I run http://latinum.org.uk which provides the Adler Audio Latin Course, other audio materials, and additional free materials on YouTube.

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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by Johannes_Vigorniae »

A note - if you have any doubts about the text you're looking at, there is another edition of the Lexicon Atriale online (at least for university students or staff who have academic access): the EEBO (Early English Books Online) has a copy of an English edition of 1660 online. It is, i must say, like a lot of that particular series, not clearly scanned - it's a simple b/w scan. You can download pages as PDFs or image files if you have access.

metrodorus
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Re: Latin Latin dictionary is here!!!

Post by metrodorus »

Eos qui in COMLEX operam dant, gratias tibi agunt.

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