How and where do you learn to speak Latin?

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jesusmademe

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How and where do you learn to speak Latin?
I refuse to learn a language by remembering declensions. It does not work for me at all.
I do not learn by too much theory.
I wanna speak. One of my teachers is Italian and I like to try some simple sentences with him.
This is harder in Latin as people refuse to speak it nowadays.
 
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It is one of the classes on offer in my Masters. If you are considering learning , do you want Ecclesiastical Latin, ( that is the language of the Church) or classical Latin.
I have done Ecclesiastical Latin with Seminarians. It is compulsory for them.
 
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Many resources listed here (many links are broken from the old forum software, but should be reconstructable).
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LATIN: Language Study Resources Traditional Catholicism
A few weeks ago I posted a [post=1603994]list of my favorite self-study resources for Latin[/post], and though I bookmarked it for future reference, I got to thinking it might be more useful as a devoted thread (especially for people who come to the forum looking for such). So: This is a thread for people to contribute resources to aid in the study of Latin. (Hopefully, if it is useful enough, it will be tagged sticky
wink
) My first advice to those who would study Latin is: Make sure you kn…
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I do not know why you would refuse to learn declensions, but perhaps you would be better served by an intuitive course than by a grammar-based one? The most well-known intuitive curriculum is probably Hans Oerberg (or Ørberg depending on the alphabet) Lingua Latina per se Illustrata.

Another recent method, which certainly has not emphasized memorizing declensions as much as examples, is that duolingo.com has recently added a Latin unit (still in beta testing).
 
As Titivillus says duolingo is goos. Memrise also has a few courses in latin, The primer course is based on a Masters level course.
 
I just ordered a student text on learning Latin. Seems you’d want to know declensions, but that’s just me. My wife knows Latin, so if I can ever get her to be a better teacher, I should be able to practice with her. 🙂
 
Titivillus said:
I do not know why you would refuse to learn declensions
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I wan to learn language in a natural way. Who the heck chooses to learn a language with grammar first rather than practical exercices like grettings or asking simole questions?
 
What I disslike about Duolingo is that it focuses soley on memorizing rather than understanding.
Kids learn by trying to make up their own sentences and speak to people.
I cannot speak Latin like that by using Duolingua
 
Sure. She speaks Latin. Now, if she just will have the patience to practice with me. I struggle with languages…
 
From a pedagogical standpoint, you have to acquire the lexicon in order to be able to speak the language. Children have a natural proclivity for learning/memorizing words quickly. As we age, this ability diminishes in many. Immersion programs are only good if you are also willing to supplement your language acquisition with learning/memorizing the lexicon and then utilizing it in meaningful communicative events.
 
I wish I could find a person who can help me with easy Latin phrases.
If they could speak Latin at universities in the medieval times then I should be able to learn to speak in Latin.
I am sure they did not leatn to speak by making everything about theory.
 
jvickers said:
Children have a natural proclivity for learning/memorizing words quickly. As we age, this ability diminishes in many. Immersion programs are only good if you are also willing to supplement your language acquisition with learning/memorizing the lexicon and then utilizing it in meaningful communicative events.
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Adults take Latin too serious.
We can learn by immersion and trying out some sentences but nobody uses Latin in their daily lives anynore. This is the problem.
 
Well, I’m not convinced that it is a matter of taking Latin (or any language one attempts to learn) too seriously. Second language acquisition theory, which I have studied, is a little more complex then immersing oneself in a culture. You have to have phrases repeated constantly, and you basically memorize these phrases. You have to have the vocabulary to understand the phrases, especially at the adult level. When you have the vocabulary, you begin noticing the words in phrases, and this allows for more easy learning of the phrases. There are some savants, so to speak, who easily pick up a language. That’s just their ability to learn more quickly than others. As I said, a lot of things go into communicative competence that goes beyond immersion. Immersion can facilitate quicker acquisition of a language, but you still have to work in other areas to develop the linguistic ability.
 
jesusmademe said:
I wan to learn language in a natural way. Who the heck chooses to learn a language with grammar first rather than practical exercices like grettings or asking simole questions?
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Mea culpa, it was not my intent to be confrontational. Merely observational.

I will repeat the recommendation to seek out an Oerberg text, course, or instructor. I am aware of many teachers who swear by the method (to the point where it can seem almost cult-like 😵 )

Likewise, I am aware, but have never attended so have no links at my fingertips, of a handful of immersive Latin “camps” – Usually in the summer, marketed toward teachers, and hence hardly any if at all geared for beginners.

 
GiftofMercy said:
It is one of the classes on offer in my Masters. If you are considering learning , do you want Ecclesiastical Latin, ( that is the language of the Church) or classical Latin.
I have done Ecclesiastical Latin with Seminarians. It is compulsory for them.
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I would like to learn ecclesiastical Latin.
 
I had trouble with declensions as well. With adjectives, for example, you can have at least 90 different endings, depending on whether the word is masculine, feminine, or neuter; whether it’s singular or plural; and the part of speech. I ultimately only got a pity pass myself… we used Miller’s and Wheelock’s.

The plus about declensions and stuff is that it makes you understand English better. We’re so used to using words in certain ways because they “sound right”, we don’t really break them down in our heads and think of things as pluperfects or reflexive pronouns or imperfect tense or gerundives or whatever. So there is a benefit to learning the mechanics.

I tried picking up a Latin video from Memoria Press to see if I could just listen to kids chanting their endings and get them drummed into my memory… but that didn’t work. 😦

I’ve got a DVD of School Song Latin on my desk that I haven’t listened to in a few years. I’ll check it out and report back if it’s interesting.

You also might check out the Cambridge Latin Course (or the children’s version, Minimus). I was able to peek at it during a free trial period, and was curious how far I could get. It was very gentle and friendly. So while it wouldn’t really help with pronunciation, it starts off as pretty much a beginner-level picture book level of reading, and grows very organically.
 
Oooh, I forgot to mention that – Due to their market being Latin teachers*, most immersive programs will lean toward restored Classical pronunciation.**
*
Because most of them are teaching Classical.
**
But I know of at least one which I expect would use Ecclesiastical pronunciation.
 
How did eg St Thomas Aquinas learn Latin? By memorizing declension and having a teaching writtibg something on a whiteboard?
I guess he did not learn to speak with that method. People nowadays learn to compose Latin but they cannot speak it.
 
jesusmademe said:
People nowadays learn to compose Latin but they cannot speak it.
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And yet earlier you asked for help with easy Latin phrases.

What exactly will you learn Latin for? What will be your purpose for it? If you want to speak, or read it correctly, you must understand the grammar involved. Learning a few phrases does not mean one speaks a language.
 
jvickers said:
complex then immersing oneself
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Egads! The egregious mistake of using “then” instead of “than”! I wish we had more time to edit. Or, perhaps I should proofread a little better?
 
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