Veni Vidi Vici

January 6, 2005 8:50 AM

What's the best way to learn Latin outside of a classroom? Can anyone recommend a textbook, piece of software, dictionary, etc.? The goal is more to read Abelard and Aquinas rather than Aurelius, but I'll take what I can get.
posted by vraxoin to Education (16 answers total)

Many years ago Wheelock's Latin was considered a good text book to start with. It's still readily available. Study Guides are also available.

I haven't kept up so I don't know if anything better has come along, but the number of Google hits seem to indicate it's still very popular.
posted by beowulf573 at 8:58 AM on January 6, 2005

I used that textbook in college and it was pretty good from what I remember. Except that there were a few errors in it (4th edition), which you wouldn't know about if you didn't have a teacher.

good luck.
posted by evening at 9:01 AM on January 6, 2005

there were a few errors in it (4th edition)
Wheelock is in it's sixth ed. right now, so hopefully some of those are cleared up.


Aurelius/Virgil/Cicero are fairly easy when compared to the Medieval writers. Golden latin was simple and followed the rules. Thus, it is much easier to learn than Silver, Late, and Medieval latin.

As far as learning the language goes, I think you may want to start with basic latin, for which there are many books.

As for learning medieval latin after that, there are fewer books, but possibly enough to get you started. I'd enlist the aid of some classics majors if I were you, though.
posted by The White Hat at 9:07 AM on January 6, 2005

There's also Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency: Phrase Book and Dictionary, for when you need to converse with some folks at the Vatican.

As for errata, there ?were/are? pretty active mailing lists. I was a member of one that followed Wheelock. They provide a support group for clarification and correction. Thet can discipline you via a common lesson schedule ...etc. Here are a few.
posted by Gyan at 9:20 AM on January 6, 2005

I took a bit of Latin in high school and have been using this book to brush up lately. I'm finding it pretty useful so far.
posted by katie at 10:53 AM on January 6, 2005

You might look into the LatinStudy list. It's an email list for group study of Latin. There are weekly assignments, collations of answers, and discussion beginner groups, using Wheelock, start at least a couple of times a year (you can join on at any time). I couldn't really find a definitive homepage for it, but there's a faq and a list of the groups on this page.

If you do subscribe, you'll probably want to set up filters in your mailbox, because they get a lot of traffic.
posted by cosmonaught at 11:19 AM on January 6, 2005

Languagehat linked (on his site) to some Latin textbooks written in Latin. Here's his post.
posted by kenko at 11:50 AM on January 6, 2005

Latin by the Dowling Method.
A pretty ugly webpage, but another proponent of Lingua Latina, opponent of Wheelock.
posted by miniape at 12:35 PM on January 6, 2005

Moreland and Fleischer's Latin: An Intensive Course is used in Oxford's medieval history program. I hear they occasionally read Abelard and Aquinas there. I also like Sidwell's Reading Medieval Latin as a good introductory reader.

However, my favorite text for getting into medieval Latin has always been the Vulgate: Biblia Sacra Iuxta Vulgatam Versionem. All of the medieval authors quote it and the Latin is relatively easy to grasp.
posted by ahughey at 12:50 PM on January 6, 2005

As for software, I've heard good things about Rosetta Stone for modern languages. They have a Latin module for Rosetta Stone, but I have no idea how effective it is.
posted by ahughey at 12:56 PM on January 6, 2005

I used the Ecce series in high school, and the previously mentioned Wheelock in college. I thought Ecce was easier for a beginner.
posted by Kellydamnit at 1:05 PM on January 6, 2005

I bought Wheelock's Latin because it gets praise. I found it to be a very bad self-study book. It goes very fast and I didn't really understand what they were talking about in the first chapters. I also wish they had been clearer on what bits you should memorize before going further.
posted by smackfu at 1:11 PM on January 6, 2005

Wheelock seems to be popular among the anglophones I've encountered. I used the Lingua Latina (also above in the ref to languagehat), and I think it can be used outside a classroom.

Unlike The White Hat I didn't have much trouble reading mediaeval Latin after a Classical Latin crash course: Investing in a dictionary that has mediaeval Latin vocabulary is an idea though, since that is a bit different than the classic.

I also used Sidwell's book as an introduction to mediaeval Latin, and I've also found it all right for self study.

Personally I found mediaeval much easier to read than classical and the syntax is usually more similar to what we use today, making it easier to read, although this depends on the author. Also there's huge amounts of simple and fun mediaeval Latin that ought to be read.
posted by mummimamma at 3:05 PM on January 6, 2005

This program is fantastic. Get it, especially if you are translating.
posted by princelyfox at 4:47 PM on January 6, 2005

These worked pretty well for me though more Aurelius than Aquinas.
posted by Fezboy! at 5:44 PM on January 6, 2005

I enjoyed Jenney's First Year Latin, but apparently it underwent a major revision in 1990 and simply wasn't as good thereafter.

My copy was from 1984 or thereabouts.
posted by ikkyu2 at 2:52 PM on January 7, 2005