I’m new here, so I apologize if I’m asking a question that has been discussed before.
I am interested in getting a solid grasp of Latin for reading and translation. I’m a PhD Student specializing in literature of the English Renaissance, so Latin is an important language for me to learn.
At this stage, I want to get some of the basics down on my own. I do plan in the future on taking a course at my university, but I have heard that they can be very intensive and time-consuming so its a good idea to have some understanding of the language going in.
All that said, I’m wondering: what book would be best to start with? I want to avoid spending the money on Wheelock just yet, so of the two beginner books, the COllar & Daniell or the D’Ooge, which is best? Or would one of the others be better suited? I’m a complete beginner, so any advice would be helpful.
Nice to see a student of English realising that Latin is necessary! I wish the english ‘teachers’ in my school would stop gesticulating at the mention of advanced technical terms terms such as “pronoun”. And why do they all think that Shakespeare was a genius? He sucked my mother could write a better play than his. Am I missing something here? Were his letters gilt with gold? sugit vero.
Apologies! I just assume that every one knows D’Ooge is the text to pick. Yes, work through D’Ooge, at least an hour a day, for 6 months and you have a basic grasp of Latin on which to build. Good luck.
I am familiar w/Lingua Latina. I would love to hear from people who have used it solely as a means for learning Latin. I think it would be awfully difficult to “self-study” with this text without the help and guidance of an experienced Latinist. While grammar is covered, I think one would need the insights of those more experienced to really get the most out of it.
I love Lingua Latina for its excellent, gradual introduction to reading Latin.
I just don’t see it as a good stand-alone self-study text. I am currently using a standard grammar/translation text and supplement with readings from LL.
The combination of approaches has been helpful to me. I’m not crazy about Oerberg’s grammar explanations and rely on Henle for that.
I and a few others have experienced Lingua Latina quite a bit. If you have any specific questions, I’ll be happy to answer, and perhaps the others too.
I don’t have any specific questions right now. As I said in my other post, I’d love to hear from those who have used LL as the sole means for learning Latin.
Don’t worry about the name! Actually I præfer “Lucius” for my actual Latin name. That way I just have to write “L.” and it’s understood. Though you can call me Lucam, Lucium, or Lucum; ut uÄ«s. As long as it starts with “Luc-”, that’s fine with me.
Though I did have some prævious experience with Wheelock, most of my Latin learning has been through Lingua Latina. I recommend it beyond all others.
Confiteor me mirari quin alia agenda reperire tibi liceat, Episcope o bone, nihilominus cuilibet nuntio Latine perscripto mi offeras respondere haud umquam mihi displiceat, immo semper libenter.
I want every one who is here to learn latin well; I am not biased. I just pick the best book to learn Latin with and this just happens to be D’Ooge. Lingua Latina might be good as a supplement, but learning latin from scratch entirely in latin may lead to misunderstandings and confusion for the student. It is also the equivalent to going to your latin class dressed in a toga.
Not only is the anology a non sequitur, Episcope, but your reasoning does not follow the evidence. The proven optimum meathod for learning a language is by means of that language, through total immersion or close to it. There is no reason that Latin should be different.
Have you even read Lingua Latina? Perhaps, as with so many cases in our world, your bias in this instance comes from ignorance.
Sorry for my english, i’m try to tell your about mmy problem. I try to find any program for study latin language. Where i can get free program??
P.S. Yours forum so intresting!
However, for someone who has always struggled and ultimately failed learning “other” languages, I have resorted to buying a number of textbooks and reading many simultaneously! Or more accurately, going back and forth between a number of different books.
After a few chapters in Lingua Latina (LL), I ended up ordering all the supplemental LL materials - including the English-Latin Vocabulary, Grammatica Latina, Latina Disco (students manual), the Colloquia Personarum (supplemental dialogs), as well as the audio CD.
Since purchasing these LL supplemental materials (little more than pamplets - save Colloquia Personarum & Audio CD), it’s bothered me that these materials are not included in the LL text itself! I’m guessing these were created after having recieved quite a bit of feedback that these were indeed necessary for many students.
These supplemental materials certainly helped, but not completely as I was still struggling.
Prior to LL, I had purchased a number of other texts that I stuggled with and ultimately retired to my library. Wheelock’s Latin, Latin - An Intensive Course (who was I kidding? ), and Learn Latin in 24 Hours are a few examples.
I found the Cambrige Latin Course a few months later and fell in love with it at the same time I began to get bogged down toward the end of Chapter 5 in LL. I raced through Unit 1 of CLC in a single week and returned to LL. I started rotating my reading between LL, LLCP (Colloquia Personarum), and CLCU2 (CLC Unit 2).
For those of you not familiar with the Cambridge Latin Course, it is made up of 4 Books or Units and divided into sections or what they call “stages”. Each book is a continuous story, much like LL but it includes gramatical explainations and exercises throughout the section, ending with some historical, archeological, and cultural context related to the stories. This is a nice break before starting the next “Stage”.
After struggling through chapters 19 & 20, I find myself bogged down again in LL, . I spent the last week getting through the last 2 “stages” of CLCU2 and reviewed all the grammar which is conveniently summarized in the “About the Language” section at the end of each unit/book.
Also, I should note that I started to read LL24 (Learning Latin in 24 Hours) again as a way to review what I have learned in the past 10 months. I’m glad I did this because the book uses a number passages from Midevial Latin Literature for translation which I am enjoying.
Last night and earlier today, I finished the first “stage” or section in CLCU3. I’ll propably read two or three sections in CLCU3 before going back to LL. I will re-read chapters 10 - 20 in LL and LLCP, respectively while continuing to read CLCU3 and LL24.
Yes, this is a lot of reading and redunancy and repitition… I am not “gifted” or “blessed” with Lucus’ “natural” ability. However, I am determined and disciplined - and with that, I have made good progress given my struggles and lack of natural ability with languages.
BTW, I was planning to chronical my struggles by starting a new topic here in this forum… I spend 3 hours writing until about 3 am when I realized that I should get to bed. I awoke the next morning, intending to finish writing what I had started and submit it. However, when I returned to finish it, I decided that it was too much for anyone to read!
I did not know Cambridge offered comprehensive grammar explanations. The samples on the Cambridge site are obviously not representative of all that is in the program.
Right now, I am fast-tracking it through the D’ooge text. I am already up to lesson XXIII in just over a week. Most of it is review so far. I am finding that it complements the grammar sequence in LL very nicely. D’ooge is great for the grammar and LL is great for context. However, I am finding the D’ooge translation ex. and stories to be much less contrived than those in the other text I was using.
I’m sure my pace will be slowing down soon. That is when I’ll start to ask LOTS of Q. over on the D’ooge board.
Thanks for sharing your experiences w/learning Latin.
Though you can call me Lucam, Lucium, or Lucum; ut uÄ«s. As long as it starts with “Luc-”, that’s fine with me.