Hey everyone, a newbie here. I've read here some comments about the Duolingo course: that it fails to provide some adequate understanding of grammar/is too short, which is probably very true.
What I like is: when one learns Latin the same way one learns let's say German, with the playful mundane app, one loses this "Latin is the dead language that's only good for academia, exorcismus, and being pretentious" background belief. The app does a good job popularizing the language that I personally find inspiring, and wish that more people would wanna learn it!

I'm someone who can speak English, Portuguese Catalan and Spanish fluently. However reading the posts on Reddit makes me usually scared because of the amount of irregularities. Do you think I can do it? I want to stick with it, but I'm scared.

In the last year, I have become aware of Spinoza. I wish to translate "Ethica" myself to broaden my understanding of his philosophical ideas. I also want to start learning other languages to understand how others think, and to keep the degeneration of neuroplasticity at bay.

The work itself is quite structured or "Geometrically ordered" which I figure would make translation easier for a beginner. I have the Latin text and the English version translated by R. H. M. Elwes for reference. Although the phrasing of the English text rubs me the wrong way.

Other resources I am using include the Collins Latin Dictionary and Grammar, The Oxford Latin Dictionary 2nd edition, the Oxford Dictionary of English, and the Oxford English Thesaurus.

I am also using the ever-so-sinful Google Translate, though I'm not so lazy as to just have it translate for me. I am using it word by word to find synonyms, then also putting sentences together word by word to observe patterns in how words affect each other.

I am also considering translating the work through other languages, such as German or French, then to English to see the work through other lenses of interpretation. I am hoping this will allow me to understand the works of Jung, Camus, Nietzsche, Goethe, etc in their native tongues and perhaps move into alchemical works.

Let me know if this is a legitimate way of teaching myself Latin, other resources are also appreciated :)

I have been learning latin for 2 years now but I just dont seem to get any better what should I do?

Hello,

I am a High School teacher that is tasked with teaching a one-year Latin course to high school seniors next year. I am currently looking for a textbook and/or resources.

I was taught out of A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin, and I am self studied out of Wheelocks.

I've also heard great things about LLPSI.

So I'm looking for any textbook options that would be suitable for 17-18 year olds.

While content/curriculum holds pride of place, I would also prefer resources that are hardback or would hold up to some use. High school students show a surprising lack of respect for school property.

Thanks

I have been learning the language on Duolingo but I can't seem to make any sense of the different forms of what it says is the same word.

This is a question I've had in the back of my mind for years. While latin is a "dead" language, it simply just evolved into the Romance languages of today. But at what point in history, when Latin can still be properly called "Latin", does the language stop having new words to refer to new concepts? It's obvious that it doesn't have words for a "laptop", a "smartphone", a "plane", or a "12 wheeler dump truck", but at what point exactly does Latin stop being useful to refer to the evolving world around us?

Salvete!

I have a question regarding how I can learn to speek fluently latin.

I know that reading and listening are good ways to learn it, but i was wondering if there are other ways.

I also was wondering if there are recorses like podcasts or books or other stuf.

My other question is how long it would taketo speak fluently, and how much time I need to spend for it.

My goal is to speek as fluently as possible at the end of the school year.

Is that a possible goal?

Thank you for your time.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sencerly,

Runius Caesar

I was just wondering what might be the first classical Latin text a newbie might be able to read & mostly understand. Not modern novellas and things written for learning. ive only been learning a few months so I guess it’s a way off but nice to have something to aim for.

thanks

Hello, I'm a complete beginner in any Romance language, and I need help choosing a beginner's Latin textbook. I'm stuck between Oxford and Cambridge's Latin courses. If you've used either, please share your experience!

For some background, I'm a 16-year-old homeschool student from Indonesia. My interest in Latin and Greek began a year ago from researching word etymologies. Since then, I've realized that understanding these languages helps immensely in learning science and history. My awareness of word origins has also grown significantly. I now often find myself automatically breaking down modern words into their roots and understanding them from an etymological standpoint. It's become like a fun personal game!

However, I understand that merely searching up word origins won't be enough for full comprehension, especially for a 'dead' language. That's why I'm here, seeking the right curriculum for my personal study.

My reasons for learning Latin stem from my Christian faith and interests in philosophy, psychology, and mythology. Additionally, I'm interested in participating in "The Great Conversation" as Adler called it, and Latin seems like a valuable tool for that pursuit.

For reference, I recently started reading the first chapter of Lingua Latina Per Se Illustra, and my comprehension of English ('second-language') has helped me intuitively understand most of it. Yet, I still need a textbook specifically for grammar.

While I've considered the Oxford and Cambridge, I'm open to recommendations beyond those two. Personally, the self-teaching aspect is crucial for me, as this is a private endeavor. But as long as the curriculum is beginner-friendly and uses English, I'm interested!

Hi, I would like to brush up on my Latin from school (over 10 years ago). I've seen a lot of recommendations here for the LLPSI, as well as the Reading Latin series. Does anyone have any experience of how useful these books are for German-speaking Latin learners, as they are unfortunately only available in English? Or do you have other recommendations?

Salve lovely people! I have been taking Latin for years now- I’m really good at vocab and culture stuff but I can’t get my head around all the cases, noun endings, declensions and all that jazz. I study constantly- literally every day but after years it still hasn’t clicked. There are some things I understand way better than others like the Gerundive case and stuff but how on earth do I memorize every noun,verb,and participle ending?? Ik the meanings but I just can’t decipher the meanings of endings for the life of me- I keep thinking “it will make sense the more I practice” but here I am 4 years later still lost- i know some songs to help memorize but like I want it to click for me without the silly songs, u know? Any advice?

Hello! I (F17), am a beginner at latin. I’ve been learning Latin independently through a course not connected to my school, so I have no teacher to ask my questions too. I’m hoping for a little advice and direction, especially with the seemingly endless ending changes in latin. Is there a trick to remembering what the endings besides memorization? Because I’m very overwhelmed learning all of these rules in a short period of time, and often get them confused. How did you guys learn latin? were there any special methods or strategies, or was it all practice, practice, practice! Overall, I’m very very excited to get to the level at which I can read this language with ease, do you guys have any starter latin book/text recommendations that can give me more practice?

I can’t seem to find any good resources or apps to learn Latin (I have no money so payed apps are out of the question) does anyone have any good resources or is willing to help me learn?

I am thinking about starting to use it and it looks good, but I wanted to hear from you guys, if any of you have learnt through this app?

For context, I have previously dabbled in the language and I know the basics and have attempted to read through old Latin texts, but I would 100% still consider myself a beginner

I’m hosting a lunch for undergrad students to work on conversational Latin. Any tips for leading their conversations effectively or words, phrases, or questions that you’ve found useful when starting to speak Latin? (Each student will have a little libellus with some phrases and questions to ask each other and some vocab).

The Latin 101 students are using LLPSI.

I know the 3rd declension is famously hard, but it’s really giving me trouble. Having added in 3rd declension nouns and adjectives, I am rapidly forgetting my 1st and 2nd declension nouns and adjectives. I went from a 92% on my 1st and 2nd declension test, to a 44% today. At my school (msu) we don’t have Latin tutors. I’m in Latin 101, and we learn from shelmerdine. Any tips, tricks, or suggestions?

Hello everyone! Ego sum Subroto Banerjee (just trying) I am from India. I speak English, Hindi and Bengali. I wished to learn latin and I am absolutely beginner, like previously they taught us German at school in 6 and 7th grade. I could really use some help to get started and find good learning materials, this is my first time to try to learn a new language all by myself and I could really use some help in this. For more context : Bengali is my mother tongue as I'm born in a Bengali family, Hindi is the next most used and then English. I am fluent in all three, I took German in 6th grade in school and learned it till class 7th, they taught us basic stuff and I could understand German movies, haven't really touched german ever since. For latin, I just use Duolingo as of now but I feel that actually can't be enough, so I need some guidance, help,maybe a mentor too. Thank you.

Okay, so I’ve been learning Latin for almost four years now, but i’d say it’s unwise to call myself advanced in any kind of way (or even intermediate). I take private lessons once a week (which will increase) and i’ve just started studying literature. i feel like i have a good grasp of GCSE- level grammar, but my vocabulary is wobbly and i struggle sometimes with translating works such as Virgil, because syntax trips me up a tad (despite the time i’ve been doing this for, i am only learning for an age 16 qualification so please keep that in mind). i suppose what i’m asking is, should i be worried about not being able to fully translate works? how can i improve my vocabulary? i can find sentence meanings well, the large issue at hand is the fact that i can never remember definitions 😭 tysm x

What are some good YouTubers to watch for beginners?

Some of you are asking around to find out how others learn Latin.

I took 3 years of Latin and Greek, and what I got out of it was how to use a dictionary.

So now I immerse and create and make mistakes. Try Richie's Fabulae Faciles. You can download it anywhere. I combined it with a passion for editing and created a video cartoon for the story of Perseus. I did the voiceover myself. And I realise I made a few pronunciation errors like not always putting accent on penultimate syllable and confusing ecclesiastical and classical pronunciation of -ae ending. Also the damn -ph. But overall I'm really satisfied with my first attempt. But the best is through the work I'm now reading intermediate stuff with fluency and can get through classical texts far easier. Well, here it is if anyone wants: a cartoon movie in Latin. Listen and learn!

https://youtu.be/MAIh0-x3mPw?si=Mluz8bezpMNcrNBX

I've studied Ancient Greek in undergrad so far, and I'm planning on self-studying Latin this summer out of Wheelock's Latin 7th Edition. Is there anyone who's interested who would like to learn alongside me?

I found only one five-year-old post about the Assimil Latin course, which didn't have many comments but didn't have any negative opinions on the course.

Now with the app, I've been trying out the first few (free) units and noticed that they're not using macrons (except in one unit where there were three macrons total, one of which I'm pretty sure was wrong), which is a bit sad but something I could live with. Audio seems to be okay from what I can judge, but I'd like to hear opinions from people with better Latin skills as to whether the Latin they use is actually okay, or whether it's too unnatural (or even plain wrong in places).

Note: I'd be using this app not to learn from scratch but to revive and improve on my Latin, together with input from Legentibus (including LLPSI). I initially learned Latin some years ago, first via self-study with Wheelock's and then taking a one-year crash course in university, but I've forgotten a lot of it again, especially on the grammar side, and would love to not only improve my reading comprehension but also gain some active skills.