Salve!
OK, first a bit about me:
I am a grad student in philosophy attempting to finish up language requirements. I had done a German class for my first language, which was far from well taught. After that experience I thought I would attempt to take the Latin comprehension exam to test out of the language. So, far my studies have been beneficial and (mostly) enjoyable. I have worked rapidly through Wheelock’s text and have also used Intensive Latin as a resource.
I am soon going to be scheduling the exam and I have hit a point where I am really frustrated with my self-study. I seem to be translating for hours per day and ending up with a lot of the same errors. What I think I need is for some Latinists to look at my work and help me to realize what are the common mistakes I am making.
Anyone interested? (Sure a personal tutor would be better, but as a married grad student with 1.9 kids, ie the second due in two weeks, the options are limited).
Each day I will post a paragraph of Latin of the Summa Theologiae and my English translation. If people are up for it I would enthusiastically welcome any sort of feedback regarding how to tighten it all up.
The exam will be two “full” pages of Thomas’ ST. It allows for the use of a dictionary. Three hours are allotted for the exam.
I am hoping to pull everything together and take the exam in four weeks. I have about four hours a day to work on Latin if necessary.
Thanks,
a
I can safely say that all of us here would love the chance to help you out. We’re all brooding Latin nerds desperate to find a use for our skills.
I have virtually no experience with the subject, but one thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that you’ll be dealing with medieval Latin. Since you’ve been learning from Wheelock, etc. you’ve been studying Classical and the difference might affect your translations. I’ve been lead to believe that Medieval Latin is easier to read, but it would be worth your time to look into differences between the two periods.
Also keep in mind that philosophical Latin may be more difficult than straight-forward translations. As a student of philosophy you know that certain words carry a special significance in context, e.g. ‘substance,’ ‘form,’ etc. Grabbing the first definition in the dictionary for philosophical terms may trip you up. I’m not sure if you’re a medievalist or just doing Thomas because it’s in Latin, but make sure to study his key concepts so that when you encounter the words in context you won’t be thrown off.
Thesaurus,
These are all good words. I am not a medievalist. I need an official second language for the program and French is already navigable (and I have already finished German), so I thought I would work on Latin which many of the moderns I am interested in wrote in Latin.
I had talked with the Thomas scholar at my school and she indicated that Thomas’ Latin was straight forward and did not include many of the “traditional medieval nuances” that are sometimes problematic.
I will certainly give you Latinphiles something to be useful toward! I am grateful for the chance and just a bit apprehensive due to my level. But i-anonymity is helpful.
I will post a paragraph later today.
al