Lingua Latina - how far?

[Sino-Classicist]

Hi all. I'm studying Latin using Lingua Latina in preparation for studying it in college starting this fall (maybe as a major, maybe just a minor). In the first year of their Latin courses they use Wheelock's, so I was wondering how far Lingua Latina will take me compared to Wheelock's. I know the courses are quite different, but would I likely be able to test out of the first year if I'm finished with Lingua Latina, or does Wheelock's go farther than that? Thanks for the help.

[thesaurus]

If you fully complete both volumes of Lingua Latina, you'll be far ahead of Wheelock's. Grammatical knowledge will be similar (you'll lack knowledge of technical terms and constructions, you might need to review tables of declensions and conjugations), but your reading ability and vocabulary knowledge will many, many times greater. Whereas classmates, just having finished Wheelock's, will stumble with the most simple of Latin passages, you will understand them at a pass without needing to translate. If you really nailed the material, and worked through the course methodically, you could skip the first two years of Latin and be reading various authors in literature classes. By the end of the second volume you're reading unadapted authors like Cicero. The first volume alone should take you through a first year knowledge, considering that Orberg has an edition of Caesar's Gallic Wars (traditional 2nd year material) intended for those who have finished the first volume of his course. There will of course be odd gaps in knowledge, but these should not present much of a problem. Rather, the problem will be theirs who have only begun reading Latin after learning the grammar.

Si libros utrosque linguae latinae cursus adusque legis scrutarisque, ultra fines libri Wheelock's te invenies. Scientia terminum grammaticorum minus tibi erit, atque forsitan opus sit chartas grammaticas inspicias, sed facudissime Latine leges, plurima verba in mente cohibebis. Cum condiscipuli, cursu Wheelock's mox perlecto, simplices textus Latinos legendo semper claudant, statim mente sententias ipsas sine versionis auxilio concipies. Si libri Linguae Latinae imis in medullis venisque insiderunt, sine dubio duos studiorum annos transire poteris, quo in loco auctores ipsos legere incipies. Fine voluminis secundi Linguae Latinae opera Ciceronis quaedam sine adulteratione legenda sunt. Cum Orberg librum scripsit Caesaris De Bello Gallico, quod solent legere discipuli secundi studiorum anni, ut qui Linguae Latinae volumen primum sunt perfecti id legere possint, certe hoc volumen solum unius anni scientiam tibi dare potest. Ut fit, hic illicque aliquid parvum nescies, sed haec tibi non multum obstent. Immo, obstant multa eis qui modo res grammaticas solvere, haud latine legere didicerunt.

[Scribo]

A bit over the top wouldn't you say friend? Whilst I agree that LL is an excellent aid (and good fun in itself) I've yet to met anyone who has finished Wheelock's only to stumble over the most basic of Latin passages. WL's contains many passages of increasing difficulty and is an excellent method in and of itself.

[thesaurus]

A bit over the top wouldn't you say friend? Whilst I agree that LL is an excellent aid (and good fun in itself) I've yet to met anyone who has finished Wheelock's only to stumble over the most basic of Latin passages. WL's contains many passages of increasing difficulty and is an excellent method in and of itself.

Guilty as charged. Wheelock's is a fine course--I used it to learn Latin, and only later discovered LL. I will restrain my comments to LL, which is also a fine course. I still submit that if you are comfortable at the end of the second volume of LL (a challenge, undoubtedly), then you'd do just fine in third year courses.

Manifestum habes me. Cursus Wheelock's certe bonus est atque eo usus sum et ego, modo postea Linguam Latinam inveni. Sententias dabo usque ad Linguam Latinam, bonum etiam cursum. Iterum dico aliquem, si sine molestia volumen secundum Linguae Latinae legere possit--conamen haud leve--cursibus tertii anni vincere posse.

[Sino-Classicist]

Thanks guys! That helps. I'm not sure if I'll even be able to finish LL that soon, but hopefully!

[Scribo]

I see, I too love LL though I'm not sure how easy I would have found it sine WLs.

Actually WL's is to date my favourite Latin course, by a wide margin. I've used that, the Oxford Latin Course, Latin for Beginners, D'Ooge, and another one I can't recall the name of and as far as grammar courses go WL is the finest.