Want to learn latin

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Arturo_Ortiz

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Iv’e had wanted to learn Latin for a long time so that I could visit a Tridentine Latin Mass and be able to understand what is being said, I also want to be able to pray and read in Latin. Are their any good resources or websites that can be guides in learning Latin?
 
Well, what I’ve always used is for Classical Latin, not Ecclesiastic Latin. However, learning the Classical version will get you through the Latin Mass and know what’s going on.

May I suggest the Cambridge Latin Course books. You can get them off Amazon and they’re fantastic. By book 3 you’ll learn the grammar well enough for the Tridentine Mass, though you may need a dictionary for vocabulary.

I use it and love it. God bless!
 
Salve, Amici!

Latin is a blast to learn, but I have to tell you that you will have to work hard on the grammar.
If you are looking to translate individual words, do not use google translate. instead, use this: archives.nd.edu/words.html

God Bless!
 
I actually am studying Latin through a book called “A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin,” which I found on Amazon at a pretty cheap price. I was in a college course last year that used “Wheelock’s Latin,” but that all about the classics. Still, it was very comprehensive.
 
We use Wheelock’s Latin at my university. You should know, though, that Latin is a very difficult language to learn in such a manner that you can listen to someone speak in Latin and know what they’re saying. Unless you’re a priest or a seminarian, or someone who needs to be able to sight translate Latin such as the readings, etc, you can get through the TLM and praying in Latin with a Latin/English hand Missal. The more you use it, the more you will memorize the prayers.

I’m not trying to discourage your from learning Latin, but just trying to keep it realistic.
 
Domnall said:
Well, what I’ve always used is for Classical Latin, not Ecclesiastic Latin. However, learning the Classical version will get you through the Latin Mass and know what’s going on.

May I suggest the Cambridge Latin Course books. You can get them off Amazon and they’re fantastic. By book 3 you’ll learn the grammar well enough for the Tridentine Mass, though you may need a dictionary for vocabulary.

I use it and love it. God bless!
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Caecilius est in triclinium?

That course?
 
A fun way to learn prayers and such is to buy CDs. The Rosary in Latin or chant CDs are both great ways to learn. Of course you’ll want to also learn the translations, but attempting to learn the prayers, hearing them, and then saying them repeatedly is a great way to go.

The grammar part is obviously a bit harder.
 
I had a look at the two links but there is no audio and also no explanation as to how to pronounce the words.
 
thistle said:
I had a look at the two links but there is no audio and also no explanation as to how to pronounce the words.
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Latin being a “dead” language, according to my Latin prof, there is little emphasis on learning how to pronounce the words, as it’s not required to learn conversational Latin. He also stated that there is no one correct way to pronounce the Latin words, as depending where one lived in the time of the Romans, depended on how words were pronounced. Further, ecclesiastical Latin pronunciation is different from Classical Latin.

This isn’t much help if you’re wishing to pray out loud in Latin. I picked up my pronunciations from attending the EF Mass. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty accurate.

The emphasis is placed on learning vocabulary, conjugating verbs, declining nouns, and trying to translate sentences.
 
Hmmm. I’ve seriously never heard of anyone wanting to learn Latin so that they can understand what is being said at Mass. That is why missals are printed in Latin with a vulgate translation along side. If your intent is to learn Latin well enough so that you can translate what is being said as it is being said, forget it. It might certainly be a fun hobby but you will never get to that point without years of intensive study.

As far as praying in Latin, you should memorize your favorite prayers like the rosary and use a missal for the latin of any other prayers you would like to say.

Whatever you do, do not wait until you can speak Latin to visit the TLM. Just buy or borrow a missal and ask a helpful soul at Mass for assistance. Most would be honored to help.
 
I would highly recommend Pray It In Latin for learning prayers in Latin. Not only does it have the Latin & English, it has the phonetics so you know how to say the Latin correctly. It’s very simple and straight forward.
 
giuseppeTO said:
Hmmm. I’ve seriously never heard of anyone wanting to learn Latin so that they can understand what is being said at Mass. That is why missals are printed in Latin with a vulgate translation along side. If your intent is to learn Latin well enough so that you can translate what is being said as it is being said, forget it. It might certainly be a fun hobby but you will never get to that point without years of intensive study.

As far as praying in Latin, you should memorize your favorite prayers like the rosary and use a missal for the latin of any other prayers you would like to say.

Whatever you do, do not wait until you can speak Latin to visit the TLM. Just buy or borrow a missal and ask a helpful soul at Mass for assistance. Most would be honored to help.
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I don’t know that it will take years. My daughter is in 7th grade and is in her 2nd year of Latin. She is pretty good at understanding MOST of what is said at EF Mass by listening to it. She needs a dictionary with some words, but even I can pick out many of the words and I have had nothing but reading in my missal. You will quickly pick up on some words that are used over and over.

My daughter and her teacher can speak simple sentences to each other in Latin and understand. Latin at her age is such a blessing. She also has Spanish and has found that Latin is making it much easier for her to pick our words in French and especially Italian.

I wish Latin was offered to me when I was her age. It would have made learning most of the european romance languages much easier.

As for me, sprechen sie Deutsch?
 
Good recommendations here.
For book-studying, there is Fr Henle’s 1st Year, 2nd Year, 3rd and 4th year Latin. It was originally published in the '40’s and has been reprinted and is readily available. It has a grammar book that goes with it, the same for all 4 years.
A common, or adequate way that can be effective in learning latin to understand what has been said at Mass(by listening; I would also recommend a hand missal) is to go through the 1st year book, doing the exercises assigned, and jumping into Scanolon’s Latin Grammas(1 and 2) reprinted by Tan.
Originally put out after WW2, it was meant for men returning from the war that needed a brush up on their latin before or when they entered seminary. Scanlon’s books contain all the word’s of the Roman Breviary and Missal.
I can say(and I am not the first) that to just jump into Scanlon without having had a previous/more beginner orientated book could be rather tough.
Declensions, verb endings, etc, to learn the language thoroughly, need to be walked through.
Henle, like Collins and other Latin books, can be done on your own, but discipline is key and not much can be accomplished without it. I wish you well in such a worthwhile endeavor. I would just say if there is by-the-book TLM accessible, one does not have to wait to assist at it.

CB
 
triumphguy said:
I checked online - it was the same course I took about 40 years ago:eek::eek::eek:! It brought back fond memories!
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Yes, I took it back in 2007 and 2008 in high school (I’m in college now) It is a really funny course, and the first book is super goofy. However, things get super serious plot wise later on…racketeering, mobs, consipracies involving the emperor, oh my! 😛

There’s even a Dr. Who episode when they travel to Pompeii. The writer had used Cambridge Latin in school, so the characters are all named from the book.
 
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