How should I learn latin?

[doll]

I'm very interested in learning Latin, but how should I do it? I don't want to spend alot of money on something like rosetta stone. Basically what I'm saying is, has anyone had any luck with books or online sources? If so, can you let me know? I don't wanna waste my time on something that doesn't work.
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“Action is the proper fruit of knowledge.”

[adrianus]

Hello, doll, welcome // Salve doll et gratus nobis tuus adventus

I have spend a lot of time reading a lot of stuff but I can't tell you what is a waste of time, nor indeed what is the best. I read much because I feel I need to read much. And I make many mistakes in my Latin, no doubt. Also, I thought some resources weren't worth spending time on so I didn't spend time on those, but others said they liked them. Just start anywhere, and find what suits you. BTW I started my study of latin with 16th-century Latin schoolbooks from EEBO (http://eebo.chadwyck.com/home),—but that's not everyone's cup of tea.

Magnam operam in multa legenda impendi. Nec inepta autem ex illis lectis nec optima dicere possum. Multa lego quia sic facere me oportet, ut sentio. Et frequenter erro, non nego. Fugi et multa quae inutilia habui at sunt qui eadem bona aestimavere. Ubivis incipias ut citiùs sciatur quod tibi aptum est. Ego obiter apud EEBO (cuius inscriptio supra citata) inter sexti decimi saeculi grammaticas studium linguae incepi,—quod non omnibus curae est.

[ivanus]

I think that everyone has to find what works for them, particularly in a self-study context. For myself, I would never have started down this road without someone showing me a copy of Hans Orberg's Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata. The first chapter had me hooked. While I quickly ran out of my depth and had to go scrambling for a grammar book, that first experience was what set the hook and made me think I could do it.

Our great fortune in Latin is that we are the beneficiaries are hundreds of years of scholarship that the Internet has made available at little or no cost:

• So, if you want forums, you have resources like Textkit and Schola.
• If you want to listen you can find lots of material on Latinum. Greek Latin Audio has recordings of the Latin New Testament if you have an ecclesiastical interest.
• If you prefer to watch, Latinum also has a growing selection of videos on youtube.
• If you prefer to read, texts are available from a number of sources (textkit, google books, and many others).

I would suggest you try out several resources and see what draws you in. I get a kick out of the Latin edition of Euclid that I found on Google Books and I've spent a lot of time with Comenius' Orbis Pictus because of the fascinating view of Europe in the 17th century. Some students are putting up Latin versions of music videos, so the range of material and expression is very wide and certainly not limited to the ancients (or the medieval, or the renaissance, or the enlightenment, et cetera).

Good luck!

[Bedell]

I'd look at Metrodorus' 'Latinum' site. http://latinum.mypodcast.com/

Click on 'About Latinum' and it'll help you navigate a vast free resource. If you really want to part with cash, that is an option too.

Best of luck!