Latin Language Resources

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aldocera

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Hi, brethen in Christ

I am interested to learn latin by myself. Not long ago I tried to find free resources available on the internet to start off but no success until then. In addition, I looked up for paid ones but I was not satisfied as well.

Would you mind to share recommendations like books, webpages, videos, etc., please?

This topic was addressed long ago in this forum and I think it is time to refresh it.

In Christ.
 
Salve,

If you’re looking for free stuff, subscribe to the Latin Word for the Day. There are some Latin apps available on iPhone and androids too. Learn some phrases before tackling Cicero. 🙂 Have fun.
 
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Textkit is an interesting site for both Latin and Greek. They don’t have online courses, but they have downloadable textbooks and they have forums where you can join a group, ask questions and (hopefully) have them answered.
https://www.textkit.com/
 
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Jones and Sidwell, Reading Latin, published by CUP. If you’re trying to learn entirely on your own it comes with a study guide that gives you the answers to the questions in the main text book. Give it six months to a year and you’ll be reading Cicero, Caesar, Catullus, Virgil, Ovid, Livy, and the rest of them.
 
Honestly the best resource for Latin is the various spoken Latin events around the country. Here’s one in Pittsburgh: (don’t be intimidated by the Latin, you can scroll down for English) https://www.hieronymus.us.com/
 
I agree with an earlier poster that Familia Romana/lingua latina is a great book, as is Wheelock for a more grammar centric approach; I also highly recommend “our Roman roots” if you just want something basic
 
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If this is of any help, here is a short (and in no way exhausted) list of resources NOT to use:
Any online language learning scheme(some are ok for other languages, but all the great latinists are still “old school”)

Anything by memoria press (Pedagogically deficienct)

The Fr Henle books (they’re an OK substitute for Wheelock at the highschool level, but leave a lot to be asked for when it comes to REAL Latin experience)
 
Yeah, I have heard recommendations as well. I looked it up and I think only some books are available.

Anyway, thank you!!
 
In undergrad, we used Miller’s, which was a book in black binding set in a typewritten-esque font. Eugene W. Miller was a classicist at the U of Pittsburgh who didn’t like any of the books available in the 1951-1979 time period, and so he wrote his own. My professor loved it, especially for its Fabulae Faciles (reading selections that increased in difficulty through the book), and had used it for ages for Latin I and Latin II. We were able to get almost all the way through, but we stopped short of some selections at the end from Roman writers— Eutropius, Nepos, Phaedrus, etc.

The second time I took Latin II (blush) (cough), she had transitioned over to Wheelock’s. Wheelock’s was also a good, solid resource, and is probably easier to find these days. Lots of people are really fond of it, and it exists in multiple editions. So you might check and see which one people recommend the most, in case the most recent isn’t always the best.

A while back ago, Cambridge Latin Course gave people a free peek at their Latin course (CLC). I had seen the Caecilius est en horto memes, and so I wanted to take a peek at it and see how far I could get with the scraps I remembered. I really liked it also, and thought it was a fun and gentle introduction, before you start getting bogged down with first pheriphrastic conjugations and causal clauses with the subjunctive and stuff like that. 😉

But when learning a foreign language, one of the things that always jumps out at you is how you learn to analyze your own grammar— because we take things for granted, but we don’t always analyze how we conjugate verbs or think about what tense we’re using.

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That’s interesting, I don’t live in the US but if I had the chance, I would definitely go! I appreciate it!
 
I find it very useful, it is cool that you are encouraging your daughter! Thanks!
 
Lingua Latina is fantastic, and the entire series is widely available. Just check amazon or Hackett Publishing. If you go this route, make sure you start with Familia Romana, and maybe consider picking up the college companion as well for a little more in depth grammar review.

Another resource, which I’ve actually had the chance to recommend twice recently in the last few days, is Linney’s Latin Class (http://www.linneyslatinclass.com/). It consists of free audio lectures to accompany The First Year of Latin, which is available as a free download on the course website, or which can be purchased on amazon for 15 or 16 bucks if you want a hard copy. It’s an awesome resource. Using this course, and studying Familia Romana as a supplement would have you reading Latin better than some with classical studies degrees.

I almost forgot Little Latin Readers (https://www.littlelatinreaders.com/). I’ve never personally used this program myself, but it looks pretty solid. It’s developed specifically to teach Ecclesiastical Latin to children and teens, and I would imagine could be very useful for adults who have no experience in the language. It starts at a very basic and slow pace, with rudimentary grammar and vocabulary, and advances through more in depth theological topics, ending with the Mass itself at the most advanced level. Obviously it’s not free, though the pricing seems reasonable for what you get. Just something else to consider.
 
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Wow, I do appreciate your (name removed by moderator)ut midori! God bless!! I will take it into account
 
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