Learning Latin

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Shea96

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No idea which forum to put this in…media seemed most appropriate 🤷

Anyway, looking for recommendations for a good Ecclesiastical Latin program for myself and children.

We have used:

Henle (apparently I am not smart enough for Henle, I was lost by page 3…)

Latina Christiana: not as difficult but the pronunciations are horrible and we just were not getting a lot out of the program.

Anyone ever tried Biblia Sacra?

I’m sure there is plenty of stuff I’ve not heard of, so any recs would be welcome!

Thanks!
 
Isn’t Wheelocks classical Latin? I know the differences between Classical and Ecclesiastical are few, but think I would be better to learn it one way only, rather than learning and trying to sort out pronunciations. My brain can’t handle that 😛
 
Shea96 said:
Isn’t Wheelocks classical Latin? I know the differences between Classical and Ecclesiastical are few, but think I would be better to learn it one way only, rather than learning and trying to sort out pronunciations. My brain can’t handle that 😛
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Yes, Wheelock’s is classical, but I do use it; I just use the ecclesiastical pronunciations, and Dr. Wheelock never knows the difference 😛

If you want a specifically ecclesiastically-oriented textbook, then this is excellent:

amazon.com/Primer-Ecclesiastical-Latin-John-Collins/dp/0813206677/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452111718&sr=1-1&keywords=ecclesiastical+latin
 
It may be. However, I try to use what I can find and if someone knows of good programs or sites to go to, I too would be interested as well. I’m just not that knowledgeable on how to tackle getting started with Latin.
 
Shea96 said:
Isn’t Wheelocks classical Latin? I know the differences between Classical and Ecclesiastical are few, but think I would be better to learn it one way only, rather than learning and trying to sort out pronunciations. My brain can’t handle that 😛
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I wouldn’t sweat the pronunciations too much. You’ll find a few differences even between priests who recite or sing Ecclesiastical Latin too. (prin CHEE pi oh vs prin SI pi oh, for example). One thing nice is that there are no silent letters, save the “h.” 🙂
 
I would personally not recommend using Wheelock’s latin. For me, I don’t enjoy using it for my studies. I find other Latin courses more useful to learning the language. One that I enjoy is the Cambridge Latin series. This is how I learned Latin.

And I know that you are specifically saying for ecclesiastical Latin, but I found through just learning the actual latin language that the ecclesiastical side of it just fell into play.
 
In college I studied classical Latin and realise the differences of church Latin, but to this day, I still pronounce the ae diphthong the classical way. It’s the one thing I haven’t been able to shake. Now i just accept it.

My fave Latin pronunciation was a priest from Texas who you could obviously tell was from Texas. It was a great Mass actually bc there were various accents there – very interesting and unifying!

I know Mango offers an online Latin course, but the description wasn’t clear which form it was, so I suspect it’s not church, but am not sure.
 
amsjj said:
In college I studied classical Latin and realise the differences of church Latin, but to this day, I still pronounce the ae diphthong the classical way. It’s the one thing I haven’t been able to shake. Now i just accept it.

My fave Latin pronunciation was a priest from Texas who you could obviously tell was from Texas. It was a great Mass actually bc there were various accents there – very interesting and unifying!

I know Mango offers an online Latin course, but the description wasn’t clear which form it was, so I suspect it’s not church, but am not sure.
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Your suspicion would be correct. Caesar, Phaedrus, Martial, and Cicero.
 
I wonder if there are any Diocesan or parish resources around for learning Latin?
 
Shea96 said:
No idea which forum to put this in…media seemed most appropriate 🤷

Anyway, looking for recommendations for a good Ecclesiastical Latin program for myself and children.

We have used:

Henle (apparently I am not smart enough for Henle, I was lost by page 3…)

Latina Christiana: not as difficult but the pronunciations are horrible and we just were not getting a lot out of the program.

Anyone ever tried Biblia Sacra?

I’m sure there is plenty of stuff I’ve not heard of, so any recs would be welcome!

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Have a look at: Latin Links and Resources, compiled by Fr. Gary Coulter
 
Duolingo is a great way to learn a language, and its free. duolingo.com

They are working on adding Latin, but they have not yet. If more people ask for Latin, it will probably move up their priority list.
 
ProVobis said:
I wouldn’t sweat the pronunciations too much. You’ll find a few differences even between priests who recite or sing Ecclesiastical Latin too. (prin CHEE pi oh vs prin SI pi oh, for example). One thing nice is that there are no silent letters, save the “h.” 🙂
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True. But I already speak “southern” so I’m coming into it challenged LOL
 
Before I retired from teaching, the best thing I had for Anglophone students was “A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin” from the Catholic University of America Press. You’ll be learning ecclesiastical pronunciation, which is different from classical, and you’ll be working with relatively familiar texts, which makes self-directed study a bit easier than if you’re translating ancient Roman funerary inscriptions.

If you want something also for fun, get Henry Beard’s books. The Americans really enjoyed them most of all and Henry is amusing for his unconventional usage. Latin for All Occasions (Lingua Latina Occasionibus Omnibus) and Latin for Even More Occasions (Lingua Latina Multo Pluribus Occasionibus).

These last two are more just for fun…you won’t learn much but it was a nice exercise to turn to at the end of the week when they couldn’t stand one more declension. Students would remember years later silly and ridiculous phrases they memorized from those books. Noli reficere quod non fractum est. (Do not repair what is not broken – or, as the Americans liked to say it, "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.)
 
Shea96 said:
Anyway, looking for recommendations for a good Ecclesiastical Latin program for myself and children.

I’m sure there is plenty of stuff I’ve not heard of, so any recs would be welcome!

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I (and others) review many tools in this thread: [thread=121562]LATIN: Language Study Resources[/thread].

Much of the information is repeated, with some additional recommendations as well, at this post ff [post=2538477]Please read before posting #6[/post].

Bonam fortunam :tiphat:
tee
 
DaveBj said:
Yes, Wheelock’s is classical, but I do use it; I just use the ecclesiastical pronunciations, and Dr. Wheelock never knows the difference 😛

If you want a specifically ecclesiastically-oriented textbook, then this is excellent:

amazon.com/Primer-Ecclesiastical-Latin-John-Collins/dp/0813206677/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452111718&sr=1-1&keywords=ecclesiastical+latin
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It should be noted that John Collin’s Primer has an answer key making it ideal for self study. You just have to be dedicated.
 
Benjamin D’ooge’s Latin for Beginners should be free on Kindle. I think it’s classical but it’s reasonably easy to follow.
 
Maddie26 said:
Benjamin D’ooge’s Latin for Beginners should be free on Kindle. I think it’s classical but it’s reasonably easy to follow.
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It’s a good book, but the formatting, at least on my earlier-generation Kindle, is all screwed up. It might be easier to navigate on tablet-type Kindles.
 
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