Lost on Lingua Latina

Here you can discuss all things Latin. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Latin, and more.
Post Reply
devdev142
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 4:39 am

Lost on Lingua Latina

Post by devdev142 »

I have just gotten Lingua Latina I.
Ive read through it, but coming from Wheelock...Im not exactly sure how to use it.
Any Suggestions

User avatar
thesaurus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 1012
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:44 pm

Re: Lost on Lingua Latina

Post by thesaurus »

If you've in fact read through the entire book, chances are you need to do so again, but slower. With this approach you are supposed to learn the grammar and reading skills through use. You should be able to pick up the new points of grammar from the marginal notes and context in a chapter, and at the end of the chapter there will be a brief section explaining the new grammar. After you've slowly read through a chapter, looking at all the marginal notes and making sure you understand every sentence (not understand in English via translation, but understand what the sentencing means/is saying), do the exercises at the end of the chapter. These are a variety of simple but effective drills where you fill in case endings and missing words. The exercises should be very similar to the text of the chapter, so if you understand the chapter you should be able to complete them without too much trouble.

That's basically how you use Lingua Latina. Each chapter will be difficult because you will be learning new things, but the previous chapters then will be much easier. Reread chapters several times if necessarily, even out loud. Repetition is key to learning a new language.

Si vere dicis te totum librum perlegere, tibi commendo idem lentior facere. Hic liber ad linguam discendam modo intuitivo utitur quo discipulus per usum grammaticam artemque legendi discit. Commentationes in marginibus positae novos punctos grammatici tradent sicut contextus capitulorum sententiarumque ipsorum atque in capituli omnis finem est posita lectio brevis quae grammaticam novam exponit. Postquam lente capitulum aliquem legisti semper notas in marginibus positas consultans necnon rationem sententiae omnis intellegens (haud Anglice, sed sententiam ipsam Latinam sententiarum), exercitationes quae sunt extremam in capituli partem positae confice. Hae simplices sed efficaces sunt in Latinam inparandam.
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

nov.ialiste
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 1:56 pm

Re: Lost on Lingua Latina

Post by nov.ialiste »

devdev142 wrote:I have just gotten Lingua Latina I.
Ive read through it, but coming from Wheelock...Im not exactly sure how to use it.
Any Suggestions
When you say you've "read through it" do you mean that you have quickly looked over some chapters to get a feel for the level?

What would you say is your level of knowledge at the moment?

Just that people will be able to answer more usefully knowing that.

I worked through D'Ooge from the beginning to about chapter 60. At that point I wanted much more reading practice to consolidate my knowledge of noun and pronoun declensions and the verb conjugations.

Fortunately, through this message board I discovered Lingua Latina and purchased book I and the ancillary books for part I.

LL was just the sort of thing I wanted with lots of carefully graded reading practice and the texts are reasonably interesting and sometimes humorous, which helps maintain the student's interest.

I decided to transcribe the whole book in longhand and so far I have reached chapter 24. I read a chapter, looking up any words which I do not know. Then I copy the text into a notebook reading the Latin as Latin in my head as I go along, and again looking up any words I am still unsure of. I also keep a small separate notebook in which I list the new vocabulary of each chapter.

One advantage of transcribing the texts, for me at least, is that I find that I remember the vowel lengths more thoroughly and the whole exercise forces me to spend more time on and concentrate more on each text than I might otherwise do.

If anybody else is working through LL part one it would be interesting to have a discussion thread as we work through chapter by chapter. This might help motivate me more as studying alone it quite easy to lose motivation and end up doing little for weeks at a time.

I also have LL book 2 which I hope to move onto before the end of this year.

User avatar
Scribo
Global Moderator
Posts: 917
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:28 pm
Location: Between Ilias and Odysseia (ok sometimes Athens).

Re: Lost on Lingua Latina

Post by Scribo »

nov.ialiste wrote:
devdev142 wrote:I have just gotten Lingua Latina I.
Ive read through it, but coming from Wheelock...Im not exactly sure how to use it.
Any Suggestions
When you say you've "read through it" do you mean that you have quickly looked over some chapters to get a feel for the level?

What would you say is your level of knowledge at the moment?

Just that people will be able to answer more usefully knowing that.

I worked through D'Ooge from the beginning to about chapter 60. At that point I wanted much more reading practice to consolidate my knowledge of noun and pronoun declensions and the verb conjugations.

Fortunately, through this message board I discovered Lingua Latina and purchased book I and the ancillary books for part I.

LL was just the sort of thing I wanted with lots of carefully graded reading practice and the texts are reasonably interesting and sometimes humorous, which helps maintain the student's interest.

I decided to transcribe the whole book in longhand and so far I have reached chapter 24. I read a chapter, looking up any words which I do not know. Then I copy the text into a notebook reading the Latin as Latin in my head as I go along, and again looking up any words I am still unsure of. I also keep a small separate notebook in which I list the new vocabulary of each chapter.

One advantage of transcribing the texts, for me at least, is that I find that I remember the vowel lengths more thoroughly and the whole exercise forces me to spend more time on and concentrate more on each text than I might otherwise do.

If anybody else is working through LL part one it would be interesting to have a discussion thread as we work through chapter by chapter. This might help motivate me more as studying alone it quite easy to lose motivation and end up doing little for weeks at a time.


I also have LL book 2 which I hope to move onto before the end of this year.
Yes, someone get going, I start uni again in Sept and am screwed lol.
(Occasionally) Working on the following tutorials:

(P)Aristotle, Theophrastus and Peripatetic Greek
Intro Greek Poetry
Latin Historical Prose

nov.ialiste
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 1:56 pm

Re: Lost on Lingua Latina

Post by nov.ialiste »

Scribo wrote:Yes, someone get going, I start uni again in Sept and am screwed lol.
How far into the Lingua Latina course have you studied?

I am on chapter 24 at the moment.

User avatar
Scribo
Global Moderator
Posts: 917
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:28 pm
Location: Between Ilias and Odysseia (ok sometimes Athens).

Re: Lost on Lingua Latina

Post by Scribo »

Oh, haha, only chapter 3, been concentrating more on Wheelocks.
(Occasionally) Working on the following tutorials:

(P)Aristotle, Theophrastus and Peripatetic Greek
Intro Greek Poetry
Latin Historical Prose

Post Reply