Learning Latin?

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DL82

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I’d be interested in whether anyone on this board has learned Latin in any formal way? DId you find it improved your understanding of the faith? I have posted a poll, please tick all that apply. I’ve sometimes thought it would be good to learn Latin, although I have also heard that the Church’s Latin is different from the classical form, so would also welcome any suggestions for how to get the most out of it?
 
I learned it in school. I have not been to a Latin mass (yet). I believe it is somewhat useful in general and in everyday life you can see where a lot of words come from. So there would be benefits in and out of the mass setting, prayers, etc. IMHO.
 
i really want too learn the Most Holy Rosary in Latin all I know now is the Glory Be and the Sign of the Cross in latin. God bless
 
Would be willing to learn it but do not have the time to do so.
 
estesbob said:
I am curious as to why?
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well it would help keep me connected too the Church world wide well that’s just my opinion anyways, and also Latin is the language of the Holy Church and it keeps tradition, i think Latin is beautiful, and most importantly to please God and Our Lady. God bless
 
Studied Latin in HS and learned all the altar prayers just before the big change to the vernacular. Latin is a good discipline but not really necessary to understand anything of the Faith, seeing how much has been translated over the years. I recently purchased the “New American Bible” from St. Benedict Press, which is a translation from the original Hebrew and Greek, believing it will be more accurate to my use than a translation of the Vulgate. If I was a Latin reader the Vulgate would suit my use.

I love praying the Ave Maria and Pater Noster just as a discipline and to draw my attention better to my prayers. If one learns these two along with the Gloria Pater, you have the Rosary nearly complete. Of course you could learn also the Credo.
 
CountrySteve said:
well it would help keep me connected too the Church world wide well that’s just my opinion anyways, and also Latin is the language of the Holy Church and it keeps tradition, i think Latin is beautiful, and most importantly to please God and Our Lady. God bless
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Sounds good. Whatever brings us closer to God. Just curious
 
I studied it decades ago and now I have to practice it again to help my son with his homework. I find it very useful when comparing Church documents and making an English/Italian/Latin comparison.
 
chipeto said:
I have studied on my own using Lingua Latina. It’s just a wonderful language.
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Is the a good beginner’s book?

I need/want to study it to mentally prepare for my future due to my vocation. Have 2-3 years before I can proceed but would like to devote that time to a philosophical degree and learning latin, at least the basics. Need suggestions from the community! 🙂
 
Trevor_Stamm said:
Is the a good beginner’s book?
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Yes, I recommend it highly. It takes an unusual approach: there is not a word of English anywhere in it, it is all Latin. The chapters start out very easy and have pictures in the margins, so you can understand the meaning of the text from the first word. There is more info at focusbookstore.com/lingualatina.aspx.

A great site and forum for Latin/Greek is Textkit, which also has free online textbooks, grammar books, and readers.
 
I’m a bit of a hybrid case. Before Ontario removed the Grade 13 curruculum/year, my private Catholic School made all students take one year of introductory Latin, and then it was a language option in Grades 11-13. Now it’s only a language option in my school (sadly).

Short history: I took it for 2 years in High school and got A’s in it. Now I’m studying it in bits and pieces in my spare time using a classical education course called Cambridge Latin Course. This is to help me with the Latin Mass. For both High School and now, Cambridge is the series I am using. It’s classical Latin and has either a 4 book series with accompanying teacher’s manuals and workbooks and such (USA and North America) or a 5 book series (UK/Great Britain, its country of origin as it is created by Cambridge University).
 
YoungTradCath said:
Ecclesiastical Latin is very close to Classical Latin.
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Yes, Ecclesiastical Latin is the Latin codifed by Cicero et al but Christianized by the early Church. For example, where “oratio” had been “speech,” it became “prayer.” Verb and noun endings are pretty much the same. The real noticeable difference now is the pronunciations; Ecclesiastical Latin now follows the Italian school of pronunciation, especially the “v” as “v” and “c” as “c” or “ch.”

For veni, vidi, vici:

Classical Latin: ˈweːniː ˈwiːdiː ˈwiːkiː]; Ecclesiastical Latin: ˈvɛni ˈvidi ˈvitʃi]]
 
Poppingnuts said:
Studied Latin in HS and learned all the altar prayers just before the big change to the vernacular. Latin is a good discipline but not really necessary to understand anything of the Faith, seeing how much has been translated over the years.
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Seeing how much disagreement there is in the translations, I think learning a little bit of Latin is a must. In my early years I was taught by Polish priests and almost found the faith taught in British and American schools as somewhat different and became even more divert after the Mass was babelized.
 
I had a few years of latin in high school and I chose it as one of the two languages I needed for my doctorate. My formal studies were satisfying but they really didn’t do much for me spiritually. However, my altarboy latin is still with me and the responses come to mind at times during Mass. It feels good when this happens.
 
Grateful I studied it for 2 years in school. It’s a valuable language. I can often puzzle out written words in French and Italian because I know Latin. Not to mention medical and legal words, (and Jeopardy! categories!)
 
Finishing off my honours degree in Philosophy (1 more week to go!) so can’t do much - but I have learnt pronunciations and have learnt the Rosary in Latin for the most part.

If the FSsR accept me after my visit as an Aspirant then I will be learning Latin full time in the monastery 🙂
 
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