Learning latin

Hey lains, this seems the most appropriate board to post this. >How did lains learn latin? >best resources >advice? >what was it actually like studying latin? >how does it feel to read he classics in their mother tongue? >is it easy if you're native english? >is it easy in general? >can you speak it/write it? I want it to be my first.

>>5224 A few other questions I just remembered >favorite books you've read in latin? >where did you find oriinal latin texts?

LETS ALL LOVE LATIN. Sorry.

>How did lains learn latin? >best resources Haven't learned it, but at one point I had started going through Lingua latina per se ilustrata. Roma oppidum est, btw. Would like to get back to it when I have the time. >is it easy if you're native english? Vocabulary should be fairly simple, grammar (which honestly is the main point) will probably be very counter intuitive given how simple English's grammar is. Fortunately, I grew up speaking a Slavic language, so I have some parallels. >how does it feel to read he classics in their mother tongue? Probably v comfy. Apparently there's tons lost to translation - there's lots of words/concepts that don't have a direct analogue in English/other modern languages, so they have to be poorly approximated (e.g. logos -> "the word" in the Bible).

>>5224 I'm learning it right now actually. I tried at university for a little while with a modern textbook in a class and dropped it after two months because I didn't feel like I was able to read anything in latin or form sentences. All I learned were the conceptual rules of grammar but my textbook didn't have any practice work or substantial way to apply what I've learned. HOWEVER, just this past month I downloaded a 100 year old textbook online, Collar & Daniel's beginner Latin Book from https://www.textkit.com and after maybe an hour or so every day doing the exercises in that book for about three weeks I can read some inscriptions on statues, form my own sentences, and I'm making more progress than I did in two months at University. After talking to a graduate student friend, I heard that the tough exercises and drills were removed from textbooks in the 60s because kids didn't like doing them, but from my perspective it really is the best way to learn. Honestly, any Latin book will be good to learn from so long as its at least 80 years old. I'd also just check out https://www.textkit.com because they have a lot of Latin and Greek resources and people way more knowledgeable than me.

>>5224 I was recommended the Dowling Method: http://wcdrutgers.net/Latin.htm Starts with pure grammar stuff before putting everything into context with LLPSI. Some people dislike it for frontloading on boring language rules, so be warned. Language learning these days is heavily commercialized, which in my opinion, doesn't result in very good solutions. Like >>6315 says, old books and old school ways are probably your best friends.

I cannot recommend the Cambridge Latin Course enough: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Latin_Course It's immersive and teaches you Latin *in* Latin, for the most part, which in my opinion as a polyglot, is the best way to learn a language.

>>6584 thanks lain. I hope i can find physical copies of these books

>>6584 Is there any significant difference between fourth and fifth edition I should be aware of, if you happen to know?

>>6584 So is this like LLPSI? Can/should they be used conjunctly?

>>6584 This is what we used in my latin classes. Some of the stories you translate are actually pretty good. I forget pretty much all of Latin by now (haven't used it in years and wasn't that studious to begin with), but I remember a lot of the little tidbits of Roman history, and the stories. >>6592 I think we used the third edition. Those books were falling apart in 2015 though. >>6648 it's meant to be self-contained.

I'm thinking about learning Latin and Ancient Greek, which one is easier to learn? And by "easier" I mean in which language would I be able to read and write proficiently faster? I've heard some people say that in the beginning ancient Greek is harder but it's harder to master Latin than Greek. I don't mind learning a new alphabet, on the contrary I'd think it would be pretty cool because I already know The Cyrillic script. I've already found some useful resources for studying both languages.

>>6652 I know little about ancient Greek, but I know that it is a lot more complicated than ancient Latin. But that may be because Greek is mostly remembered in poetic form while for Latin we have legal, religious, and even slang forms available. Latin in legal form (the kind of stuff they would make business deals with) is piss easy to learn. Latin poetic form is basically Romans trying to copy Greeks so you might as well learn Greek for that. Latin is easier to pronounce too.

>>5251 >Haven't learned it, but at one point I had started going through Lingua latina per se ilustrata. Roma oppidum est, btw. Would like to get back to it when I have the time. I have had latin classes with Familia Romana, it's a good book although my teacher was soykafty so I (and many of my ex-classmates) developed a distaste for latin. It is a good book, probably. Iulius verberat Marcum >Vocabulary should be fairly simple, grammar (which honestly is the main point) will probably be very counter intuitive given how simple English's grammar is. Fortunately, I grew up speaking a Slavic language, so I have some parallels. I know Portuguese, Italian and Spanish and I still had some difficulties learning all of the declensions and dealing with all special cases and exceptions. Maybe it was my teacher or maybe because I wasn't trying to learn latin for the sake of enjoying the language, but yeah, grammar is by far the worst part, and I can't imagine how hard it will be to someone that only speaks English.

Salvete meos amicos! >>5224 >advice? Begin by learning basic syntax (subject, verb (direct and indirect) object), declensions and verbs in present, imperfect and futurum tenses. If you can handle a textbook great, if not you should focus on finding some simple beginners text and start translating, De Bello Gallico is a classic entrance book, that way you will learn by doing. Learn the basics before you read anything though! With a certain proficiency you could read text (just plain reading) thereby exposing yourself faster which is great for learning vocabulary and how it's used in various situations. Build up your vocabulary! Knowing many words and basic grammar will take you very far. >how does it feel to read the classics in their mother tongue? Satisfying, like when you can ride your bike on your own. >is it easy in general? Depends on what background in languages you have + what era of latin use you want to read. For example classical Latin (during the reign of the Roman Empire) is much harder than medieval which is very easy in comparison. In one way it's easier, in how it's generally taught, because you focus almost solely on understanding texts, not reproducing orally or written (Hi, how are you? Where is the café?), though it means there are less resources for immersive learning (passively). >can you speak it/write it? Extremely few learn it for reproduction (e.g. writing talking) as far as I know. Reading and translation is the main thing. >where did you find original latin texts? https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/collection?collection=Perseus:collection:Greco-Roman Gutenberg might have some too. Otherwise texts can sometimes be linked in the sources for Wikipedia pages. Also Uni libraries. If you have the money, Loeb books are bilingual. >>6652 Begin with Latin. I have studied some of both and Latin is far easier, even if you know the Greek alphabet. Latin is easier because a larger part of the vocabulary can be found in modern languages such as Romance languages (French, Italian etc) and to a large degree in English too. Greek makes up a lesser part of our words today and is not connected to Romance, Germanical or Slavic languages as I know. Also there are several Greek dialects (Homeric, Doric, Attic) and the grammar is very complex. It helps knowing Latin before you try to learn Ancient Greek. [/b]And if you're learning this by yourself I seriously urge you to begin with the easier just to not run out steam or pull all your hair out and stop learning![b] Primum, linguam latinam disce! Et deinde graeca antiqua. Hope it helps

Are there any good dictionaries online to look up vocabulary?

Me and my friend (both noobs) decided to learn Latin. We created a study group on telegram which is bridged to a matrix room: https://matrix.to/#/#lingvalatina:midov.pl http://t.me/lingvalatina_chat Feel free to join ^-^

>>6706 Lexilogos worked for me. It offers multiple dictionaries and Eng --> Latin translation as well. https://www.lexilogos.com/english/latin_dictionary.htm For working out the conjugation of words, this might be helpful. https://latin.cactus2000.de/index.en.php

>how does it feel to read he classics in their mother tongue? if you think you are ever going to read latin fluently you're beyond delusional.

>>6940 Not with that attitude, you're not.

>>6940 EGO STULTUS NŌN SUM, SED TŪ ES STULTUS

>>5224 >How did lains learn latin? I learned in middle and highschool, but never much. For the final A Level exam, I had to translate a page off Suetone about the domus aurea, which is very easy. Started again last summer, in order to better understand the classics. >best resources I use a trilingual dictionary (Greek and Latin), a grammar reference and simple texts recommended on the Internet. >what was it actually like studying latin? It was hard, especially classics like Virgil or Cicero are a nightmare to translate. There are simpler texts for a larger audience (Cesar, Church Latin). >how does it feel to read he classics in their mother tongue? My immediate goal is to better understand what I read. I read bilingual editions, well annotated, with philological as well as grammatical annotations. This is very important for "intellectual" or political texts because the authors make references to other authors or to Roman culture through grammatical hints, particular phrase structure, etc. >is it easy in general? Until you get to Horatius level, it's manageable (Suetone, Ovid, the Vatican mythographs, etc). After that it gets pretty hard. >can you speak it/write it? I never mastered the scansion (the classical speaking rythm).

Question for you grammar nerds... What's wrong with Italian? Is it too modern a spaghetti recipe? Would Ceasar sound like an illiterate plumber if you were reading it in Italian?

>>5224 >best resources >advice? You need a lot of easy texts in Latin. idk, find a textbook that contains a lot of texts in Latin. You also need a book that contains the Latin grammar. >>6652 >which one is easier to learn? It always depends on which other languages you speak. But Latin is easier objectively speaking. However, you can learn any language if you have the motivation and the time to study it often enough (multiple times a week).

>How did lains learn latin? Through school >best resources School books >advice? Learn grammar properly. Vocab you can look up in tests and so on, not knowing grammar on the other site is fatal, but latin grammar is not too hard, so don't worry. >what was it actually like studying latin? >how does it feel to read he classics in their mother tongue? Never read anything big or important other than a few pages of Caesar's "Commentarii de Bello Gallico et Civili" >is it easy if you're native english? I am not native english, so I don't know. >is it easy in general? It's doable and much easier than other languages. >can you speak it/write it? I can write a little, but I can't speak.

>>7097 I am proud that after all this time where I haven't touched latin I know to tran slate this simple sentence.

Here's a method for learning Latin. https://archive.org/details/lingua-latina-orberg/page/n5/mode/2up It's something similar to what Lain posted here: >>6584 It teaches you Latin in Latin. Now, I've never studied Latin beyond the very basic stuff, but I find myself able to read what's in these texts. It's pretty fascinating that this method is able to convey the knowledge of a language as such. A bonus is that is also has images, which is a great tool for image-orientated learners. You can see that I've added the archive.org-link, but the book is also available for purchase. You can decide for yourself what works for you.

>>9553 How often are you going to wage slave this while still being a lack-latin?