Product Description
Entirely composed in Latin, Part I, Familia Romana, provides an excellent introduction to Latin, including the essentials of Latin grammar and a basic vocabulary of over 1500 words. The thirty-five chapters describe the life of a Roman family in the 2nd century A.D., and culminate in readings from classical poets and Donatus’s Ars Grammatica, the standard Latin school text for a millennium. Each chapter is divided into two or three lectiones (lessons) of a couple pages each followed by a grammar section, Grammatica Latina, and three exercises or Pensa. Hans Ørberg’s impeccable Latinity, humorous stories, and the Peer Lauritzen illustrations make this work a classic. The book includes a table of inflections, a Roman calendar, and a word index, Index vocabulorum. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Best in Teach Yourself Latin
I have struggled to learn Latin. I have struggled to find a class to take. I have struggled to teach myself from a book. I have tries a few. Never have I found a book so easy to use. Hans Orberg is a genius. I have found that I look forward to opening the book and reading it. I look forward to the progress that is apparent in each chapter. If you want to learn latin on your own don't bother with another book. By this one you might also buy the companions Lingua Latina: Pars I--Exercitia Latina I (Latin Edition) (Pt. 1, No. 1)Lingua Latina: Part I: Latine Disco: Student's Manual (Latin Edition) as I have found them to be helpful especially when your doing this on your own.
I imagine it works well as a text for teaching a Latin class also, though I know little about that sort of thing. If your students have this book they might not need you to teach them!

Resources for Self-Learners
There are excellent reviews on this webpage, and I shall not repeat what others have said about this wonderful series. This is merely a list of important resources for self-learners, through Pars I-Familia Romana:

(Since reviewers are prohibited from giving more than 10 product links per review, I shall note only the ISBN numbers for some of the volumes mentioned; all are available on Amazon.)

1. This has been mentioned in other reviews--the exercise book for Vol I: ISBN1585102121. Numerous 'fill-in-the-blank'-type exercises, that have been very well designed; they really help consolidate the material introduced in each chapter.

2. The answer key to all the end-of-chapter drills (the Pensa), and exercise books, for *both* Vol.1 Familia Romana, and Vol.2 Roma Aeterna: ISBN1585100749. Indispensable for self-learners.

3. Audiobook/CD-ROMs: Ørberg himself has recorded the first 31 chapters of Pars I (There are 35 in total), which recordings have been released by Focus Publishing in two different formats: The first ten chapters are available as an audio cd (Lingua Latina: Latine Audio (Audio CD ONLY) Chapters 1-10 only from "Familia Romana" (Latin Edition) (Pt. 1)); which I believe is enough to get a sense of what the language is supposed to sound like. The remaining 21 chapters are available, as mp3 files, only in cd-rom editions of the series, of which there are several releases.

The release for Mac OS X, (Lingua Latina: (MAC OS X) CD-Rom of Familia Romana, Roma Aeterna, Excertia Latina I & II & Grammatica Latina (Latin Edition)) contains all recordings, exercise books for both parts of the text, and both parts of the text itself. In the PC edition, the same material has been spread out to 4 CD-ROMS. For the text of Pars I, the interactive Pensa, and the sound recordings, see: Lingua Latina: (PC/CD-ROM) Pars I: Familia Romana-Interactive CD Rom (Latin Edition). Exercise book for Pars I: Lingua Latina CD: Exercitia Latina I (Latin Edition). For Roma Aeterna: Lingva Latina: Interactive Latin Course, Pars II: Roma Aeterna (PC) (Lingua Latina) (Latin Edition); and Lingua Latina: Exercitia Latina II (PC/CD-ROM) (Latin Edition) (No. 2).

Now, it is *essential* to the study of Latin, to have a correct sense of how the language is pronounced. While this may sound like a truism, what is at stake in pronouncing Latin correctly is more than clarity or elegance; often the proper declension of a word is conveyed through the duration of vowels--and in a completely inflected language like Latin, word order is of *no* help in determining the meaning of an unintelligibly declined word. Thus, the audio component of Lingua Latina is very highly recommended.

4. Additional Reading Material: Ørberg has edited several readers for the benefit of students who have finished Familia Romana (links provided below); as an accompaniment to chapters 1-24 of this first part, however, he has also written a short reader, the Colloquia Personarum (Lingua Latina: Colloquia Personarum). Carefully graded extra reading material, such as the Colloquia Personarum, proves to be an invaluable resource for self-learners; I wish Ørberg had written more volumes like these, with his standard marginal notes and meticulously notated macrons.

To be read right after Familia Romana--abridged/annotated editions of Caesar and Plautus: ISBN1585102326 (Caesar); ISBN8799701677 (Plautus).

5. A handy little booklet that contains grammar charts: ISBN1585102237

6. This one is not by Ørberg; the Barrons' book of 501 Latin Verbs--ISBN0764137425. Latin verbs are a little tough, and the different root forms of verbs (through the last third of Familia Romana) are about the only thing Ørberg wants to have the student 'memorize'.

7. And these are highly informative and readable sources on the history of Latin, for enthusiasts who do not have expert knowledge in linguistics: Latin Alive Latin Alive: The Survival of Latin in English and the Romance Languages; for speakers of French, Spanish, or Italian, a book that consists of sound charts, tracking how Latin mutated into these 'Romance Languages': From Latin to Romance in Sound Charts; for a very broad historical survey: A Natural History of Latin.

There are also excellent, authoritative online resources for more advanced students; e.g. the Perseus library at Tufts University, or the Philologic project at the University of Chicago.

And as a general note about Familia Romana: This book has to be seen, 'to be believed'--please bear this in mind, if the reviews on this webpage have left you somewhat skeptical! It provides by no means a 'magical' method that teaches Latin with little effort on the part of the student; to the contrary, it is quite challenging, and as far as the grammatical foundations of the language are concerned, extremely thorough.

Every single word of the 'story' in this book has been picked with an amazingly precise sense of where the student is coming from, and in which direction, and in what manner, he or she needs to be guided. There is a perfect balance of repetition and new material. Both tasks are accomplished, furthermore, through a rich variety of forms--that is, Ørberg never repeats older material for the sake of repetition, but keeps using already drilled grammatical concepts in progressively interesting, varied, challenging contexts; and when he introduces a new concept, he makes sure the student sees examples that are varied enough, so that the 'idea' at work behind them may be grasped.

The 'story', by the way, even in the earliest chapters, is never boring, silly, or childish; and there's a good bit of humor, to keep the student's interest, and make the experience all the more enjoyable. Beginners may rest assured that the somewhat disjointed 'tableaux' of the earlier chapters set up in fact the dramatic background, against which it becomes possible for the later chapters to elaborate.

The book, in short, respects the student's intelligence.

This is a superb achievement. Ørberg is a genius of pedagogy.

Best Latin Primer!!
This is by far the best Latin textbook out there. I used this for self-study, and it worked marvelously. I did have some previous exposure to more conventional books (Wheelock) and so had some basic knowledge already, but I'm confident it works just as well if you start from scratch with this.

Other reviewers have commented on the many virtues and the high entertainment value of Orberg's method (especially if compared with the mind-numbing drudgery of, say, Wheelock's book). In my opinion, what really makes this stand head and shoulders above everything else out there is the fact that this is the only Latin text that gives you a wealth of REASONABLY PACED reading material. It seems obvious that reading proficiency can only be gained through a lot of practice, but other textbook authors seem not to have noticed. Rather, they let you memorize abstract grammar ad nauseam and then, to add insult to injury, let you try your wits at literary material that is completely out of reach at this point (see Wheelock again, for illustration).

As a (prospective) self-learner of Latin, you'd be out of your mind to try anything else. And don't let concerns about whether "Latin only" is a good idea scare you; this is a very minor aspect of Orberg's book, and probably you'll be using some of the English supplementary materials anyway.

Is Lingua Latina for you?
I have been wanting to learn Latin for some time for two primary reasons: 1) So I could teach it to my son and give him a distinct academic advantage, and 2) so that I could access the enormous wealth of literature available in the Latin language.I really liked the Rosetta Stone concept and thought that approach might best suit me.However, it soon became clear that I would not be able to afford such an expense any time soon.Doing some research online, I discovered that Wheelock's Latin was the standard college textbook for Latin classes, so I ordered it.Wheelock is very grueling, but it provides the information needed to understand the intricacies of Latin.I tried it for some time, but I soon came to realize that it was going to take me many, many years to learn via this method.That's when I decided to give Lingua Latina a try.

Having begun with Wheelock, I found the methodology in Lingua Latina absolutely pleasant.I was now learning a new language in much the same way I had learned my native tongue of English.Most of my vocabulary and grammar skills have been formed from years of reading - which method, to me, feels very natural.If you are currently grinding through Wheelock and are reading this review because you are considering giving Lingua Latina a try, go for it!

Do not think that you will sit down and be able to absorb Latin with no difficulty, though.Persistence is still needed, as is a good study ethic.It is just much more rewarding doing it this way and, I must say, it will give you much more confidence in your ability to learn the language.

I would offer a few recommendations to improve your pace.First, I would recommend picking up a copy of Wheelock for reference.Lingua Latina is composed entirely in Latin.An accompanying workbook is available for sale separately, but it is not the best reference material.Second, you will want to have a Latin-English dictionary on hand.As you progress through Lingua Latina, the vocabulary enlarges quickly and words can easily be forgotten.It is much more difficult to try and go back to find the first time the word appeared than it is to simply open a dictionary to remind yourself.There are also plenty of free online Latin-English dictionaries, if your budget is tight.I have come to prefer the one located at [...].Third, after reviewing the "Grammatica Latina" at the end of each chapter, go back and reread the chapter to better retain what you have learned.Repetition is incredibly important when learning new skills.

So, to answer the question in my review title, is Lingua Latina for you?The answer is a resounding yes, if...

1) You have a strong desire to learn Latin (you cannot do this half-heartedly and be successful)
2) You are able to understand vocabulary well through context alone (there is NO English whatsoever in this book)
3) You have the time to consistently spend reading this book.

If these traits describe you, then buy this book NOW!Bonam Fortunam!

Two stars to the software, four stars to the book
I bought this CD in my local bookshop a couple of days ago, and I must say I'm not at all satisfied with it.

*** EDIT: ***
---You can check the screenshots I uploaded and judge the program by yourself ---


*First, it looks like a program from the windows 95 era:

Basically,there are two frames, one for the controls and the other for the pages, and there's no way to change the size of either frame. The pages' frame is just a window that displays the pages of the book (which, by the way, are simple images of the book Familia Romana) and the controls are buttons (simple squares) with text written inside. To move the pages forward, you just have to click on the page, however if you want to move backwards, you'll have to type the number of the page in a circle on the right corner, there is no other way. Apparently, they forgot to put arrows. In the toolbar menu you'll find no options to change anything but the chapter, and some charts. It comes with audio files of the pages, read by the author (probably). Unfortunately, you won't have a time bar to forward/rewind. Instead, you'll have some buttons to skip some sentences.

*Second, the CD-Rom is not exactly interactive, and has several problems with the usability:

You can select the pages you want to read, and then move the file sound until it is in the correct part. I would have expected to have that done automatically, but it isn't, so if you move to the middle of a chapter, you'll have to spend some time untill you find the correct part of the audio file.

Also, you won't be able to listen to individual sentences or words, nor repeat them. That would have been a great feature. The only interactivity you'll find will be in the exercises section, Pensa. But there you won't be able to learn from your mistakes, they present you some sentences that you must complete either with endings or with full words. If you answer correctly, you'll move to the next, if not, you'll have two additional chances, and if you fail, the correct answer will be given, with no notes at all. Also, the program won't be able to remember your scores (nor your preferences nor any other thing).

The program contains no way to bookmark a section, so every time you open the program, you'll be taken to the first chapter, which I find annoying.

*Third, about the contents:

The book in general is good if you use it together with a grammar book, like Wheelock's Latin or some other book that helps you figure out grammar rules. You can listen to the entire book, which is in theory a good thing. The reality is that it is read in a rather monotonous tone. Even the parts that are supposed to be dialogues are read by the same person. The book was not adapted to fit an interactive CD-rom, I would like to see some more people reading at least the dialogues.

It is supposed to be used for self-taught people, however it does not include any recommendations on how to use it. Should I read/listen one chapter every day? Half of a chapter? How about the inflection charts?

My conclusion is that it could have been a great tool, however this book is simply an audio book with a few exercises. It would be better to download some free podcasts from the internet, like those produced by Yle Radio. They contain the most recent news read in latin with their transcriptions, just google Nuntii Latini. ... Read more

Product Description
Latin Alive and Well is a classroom-tested textbook consisting of 36 units. It is designed for both high school and university classes, in both two-semester courses and intensive one-semester courses. Clear and direct, it avoids lengthy explanations in teaching grammar, instead introducing modern students to this venerable language by focusing on exercises and translations that make fine points of grammar more readily understandable. ... Read more

Product Description
Latin is a living, breathing language! Many of the English words you use today, such as ad hoc, memorandum, et cetera, and habitat, are based on Latin roots. A basic understanding of Latin will vastly improve your English vocabulary and provide keys to understanding legal, medical, and scientific nomenclature.

The Everything® Learning Latin Book builds upon what you already know about English to teach you the basics of Latin grammar, usage, and vocabulary. Through step-by-step instruction, practical exercises, and cultural information, The Everything® Learning Latin Book will have you speaking like a Roman in no time.

Other features include:
·The history and evolution of the Latin language
·Extensive glossaries
·Exercises
·Pronunciation instruction ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great for a reference, bad for learning
This is a book that I would recommend to a person (or persons) for reference material only.If you are learning the language for the first time, either independently or in a class room setting, this should not be your main source of information.My reasoning behind these statements is simple:subject ordering and matter.How the writer has his subject matter ordered is completely out of sync with a formal textbook within public schools and universities.Chapter 3 is about verbs but does not give you any verb endings while Chapter 4 is about Perfect Verbs and Imperfect Verbs.He throws a lot of information at the reading assuming basic knowledge about the Latin language.The subject matter is rather incomplete.Back to Chapter 3 and Chapter4, the writer gives you verbs (Chapter 4) with endings but doesn't give any verb endings as a whole (Chapter 3).The assumption that the writer has is that you already know the verb endings.Given my supportive statements, this is why I would recommend this book as reference material only.

Supplemental learning
I bought this book to help my daughter with her Latin in High School.She scored the perfect score on the National Latin Exam.Remember, learning is all up to the student.But sometimes the teacher needs some help, and the school text book really sucks.Use other books for help, sometimes someone or book can explain things more clearly.

Learning Latin by Richard Prior
The author explains the structure of the Latin language utilizing words
in the singular, plural, present tense, past tense and various other
forms germane to the Latin language. For instance, endings in "s" pertain
to the singular; whereas, "tis" pertains to the plural. The word "plane"
means evenly. Planius means rather evenly and Planissime means amazingly
even.

Certain words utilized in English have Latin roots.i.e.
o cetera
o habitat
o ad hoc
o memorandum

This volume would be excellent to assist in vocabulary building for
students of Latin or English literature.

A good refresher, a good survey
This is a book that is a good starting place for those who want to know about Latin, but don't really have the need to master the language thoroughly.There are many ways in which a familiarity with and appreciation of Latin can enhance one's facility with English as well as other languages, and this book by Richard Prior (not the comedian, whose name is spelled Pryor, but rather the professor from Furman University) provides an easy and engaging text to gain such.

That said, this is not a book for those who want to master the language.This book could serve as a good secondary text for that purpose, but there are insufficient exercises, drills, and translation problems for this to be a stand-alone text for learning Latin beyond the very elementary level.There are good vocabulary lists and a good glossary, and Prior's explanation of the different aspects of language (tense, mood, conjugation, declension, etc.) is worthwhile and helpful, but again, these are probably best used in connection with another text.

This book will probably be best for those who have already studied Latin in the past and are seeking a refresher course.I think this is particularly true of the way that the verb conjugations are presented - for those who are not familiar with inflected languages, Prior's explanation will be helpful but not comprehensive; for those who have studied the multiple conjugation forms of Latin, it seems like a very small amount of coverage.I freely confess a bias toward an arrangement that will have separate chapters and/or sections for different conjugations, which does not happen here (and the same is true for the different declensions of nouns), but I suspect this is more a product of my prior training (as opposed to Prior training) than any particular shortcoming of this text.

Particularly for those who intend to go into legal and medical professions (not just doctors and lawyers, but nurses, aides, paralegals, secretaries, and others who must master the terminology to work in and around such professions), this book would be a good, brief, accessible introduction to Latin.For those who are going to become Latin scholars, this book will serve as a good secondary text along the way.

An amazing resource
This is a very clear, linguistically-updated, Latin course.Its strength is its clarity and conciseness.It's amazing how much other Latin books either beat around the bush or just don't know how to say things in clear manner.It will help anyone who is familiar with the basics of English grammar, also.Contrary to the other review of this book, I thought it was "dumbed-down" enough without being condescending.Face it, learning any language is not a task for "idiots" or "dummies". ... Read more

Product Description
The Latin language is popularly imagined in a number of specific ways: as a masculine language, an imperial language, a classical language, a dead language. This book considers the sources of these metaphors and analyzes their effect on how Latin literature is read. By reading with and more commonly against these metaphors, the book offers a different view of Latin as a language and as a vehicle for cultural practice. The argument ranges over a variety of texts in Latin and texts about Latin from antiquity to the twentieth century. ... Read more

Product Description
This text makes use of contemporary work in linguistics to provide up-to-date commentary on the development of Latin, from its prehistoric origins in the Indo-European language family, through the earliest texts, to the creation of the Classical Language of Cicero and Vergil, and examines the impact of the spread of spoken Latin through the Roman Empire.

• The first book in English in more than 50 years to provide comprehensive coverage of the history of the Latin language
  
• Gives a full account of the transformation of the language in the context of the rise and fall of Ancient Rome
  
• Presents up-to-date commentary on the key linguistic issues
  
• Makes use of carefully selected texts, many of which have only recently come to light
  
• Includes maps and glossary as well as fully translated and annotated sample texts that illustrate the different stages of the language
  
• Accessible to readers without a formal knowledge of Latin or linguistics

Customer Reviews (1)

A history of Latin that finally reflects the application of sociolinguistics to historical linguistics
THE BLACKWELL HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE by James Clackson and Geoffrey Horrocks finally brings us a reference based on all the great research into historical linguistics over the last few of decades, superseding to some degree Palmer's The Latin Language. Note that while the authors gloss each Latin word, some previous experience with Latin is necessary to make much use of the book, and you'd be better off with more knowledge of basic linguistics than the average Classics student has.

The book consists of seven chapters, "Latin and Indo-European", "The Languages of Italy", "The Background to Standardization", "'Old' Latin and its Varieties in the Period c. 400--150 BC", "The Road to Standardization", "Elite Latin in the Late Republic and Early Empire", "Sub-Elite Latin in the Empire", and finally "Latin in Late Antiquity and Beyond".

The first two chapters, which track Latin's evolution from Proto-Indo-European and describe some of its neighbouring Indo-European languages, requires some basic knowledge of Indo-European linguistics. Happily, at the same time that this book was published, Clackson's new textbook Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction appeared. The material is quite mainstream and elegantly presented. My only complaint is that the authors use the Praenestine Fibula as evidence of Early Latin without mention the controversy over its authenticity--it's been twenty years now since a good case was made that it's a forgery.

The chapters on the development of Latin in the late Republic and in the Empire make much use of modern sociolinguistics and of J.N. Adams' recent work on bilingualism in the classical world. The authors include a great number of non-literary attestations of Classical Latin, such as letters and epigrapha, which I never got to encounter when I read Classics as an undergraduate.

The last chapter gives the standard account of the phonological developments from Classical Latin into late Latin/Proto-Romance. However, I was very unhappy with the limited scope of the chapter. Early in the chapter the authors write, "Throughout the whole period [the first millennium] speakers within the Romance area were able to communicate with each other." This does not hold for Romanian, which lost contact with the other Romance languages early on. And indeed, for the rest of the chapter Eastern Romance is completely neglected, with Romanian getting only one mention (and one possibly erroneous), and Dalmatian nothing at all. It's a real pity that a book which generally moves beyond the limitations of earlier histories of Latin nonetheless concentrates only on Western Romance.

In spite of my new complaints, I nonetheless think that this work of Clackson and Horrocks is worth reading for Indo-Europeanists and anyone with some basic training in linguistics who wants a full view of the historical development of Latin. Readers interested in the Indo-European portion may want to supplement it with Baldi's Foundations of Latin ... Read more

Product Description
Liber prosperissimus et mirabilis ex Britannia ad Americam tandem advenit! Umquam vexatus es quando homo inritans "sine qua non" aut "mea culpa" dicit? Aut postmeridiana tempora vetera, quando verba obscura ediscere conatus es, terrunt?

Nil desperandum!

Linguae Latinae hoc in itinere iucundo, qui omnia ex lectione grammatica ab Monte Pythone ad Angelinae Jolia in pelle notas et omnia optima in historiae litteratae annis duo milliis ex poese et litteris excerpta habet, Henricus Mons pulvem ex libellis odiosis deterget et in linguam maximam in aeternum vitam respirat.

The phenomenal bestseller from the U.K. finally arrives in the States! Have you even found yourself irritated when a sine qua non or a mea culpa is thrown into the conversation by a particularly annoying person? Or do distant memories of afternoons spent struggling to learn obscure verbs fill you with dread?

Never fear!

In this delightful guided tour of Latin, which features everything from a Monty Python grammar lesson to Angelina Jolie's tattoo and all the best snippets of prose and poetry from two thousand years of literary history, Harry Mount wipes the dust off those boring primers and breathes life back into the greatest language of them all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Discouraging
It is sad to say that some of the people that reviewed this book showed an ample amount of vindictive behaviour towards Harry Mount and his book. Frankly, most of them act like pendejos and pieces of khraa (merde if you understand French), that it makes me want to stay as far away that I can from the world of classical antiquity.

I am sixteen, and study Latin ardently at school and whenever I can; my dream is to become a Classics professor. Yet, seeing the way that people get treated in this kind of business definitely makes me realise that my time could better be spent doing something useful. Sure I love history and linguistics, and yes I think they are both beneficial, but the attitudes of all the snobs that think they know everything is so repelling, I might just be better apt sacrificing my useless life into something thatdoesn't have such an odour of snobbery.

The book was not all that bad, and honestly it did a great job in even attracting my friends at school into Latin. Not only did they think it humorous, but they asked me to help them find out more about the language itself. If the tradition of Latin is to be carried on, it can not be so convoluted that it ceases to attract a generation willing to hold up its banner. As one progresses in the language then it is acceptable that one should learn the intricacies of said language, but how would someone want to learn a language that is perceived as impossibly difficult and stand-offish from the get go?

All in all, I think the older generation should be more encouraging to those younger concerning thestudies of classical languages and histories. Only then will knowledge and love of Latin increase.

Another thing that upsets me is the way Mount is treated for simply being British. Now don't take this the wrong way, I love America and am proud of my country, but Americans are the most unaccepting sort there is. All the places I have travelled have accepted me and tried to understand American culture. Right away, some people simply chided Mr. Mount for being British. Well, it is not his fault he is British. Valgame Dios!!! If you can't even take a step to try to overlook the fact that he is not American then obviously you will hate the book.

Fun, but still lacking
Although this little tome is fun to read and take a bit of the boredom out of learning the language, it is still just a primer, and is, at times, still boring.However, by biggest gripe about the book is that it doesn't have a pronunciation guide.So, for someone like me who speaks both English and Spanish, it's very confusing and frustrating to try and say these things out loud.

He overlooked my favorite, "Illegitimi non carborundum!":-)

I have never studied Latin (other than memorizing a bunch as an altar boy back in the day) nor do I intend to, but after having read "Carpe Diem" I certainly understand a lot more than I did about Latin grammar and how it works.

The book is also chock full of interesting anecdotes and bits of history concerning Latin that is well worth reading even if you do skip over the grammar parts.

Deemed crappy
Back in the day, when I was a tender young sprout, I (an altar boy) had begun training to respond to the priest in Latin during Mass. Alas, the Church just then decided that Mass would be said in the vernacular (the Latin-derived French of my immigrant neighborhood) and by the time my training had ended, so had the Latin Mass. This experience set up a lifelong longing for the glories of Latin. When I heard of "Carpe Diem," I believed that at long last, I would be able to pick up this lost language and set my soul at ease.

Alas, "Carpe Diem" (seize the day) should have been titled "Caveat Emptor" (buyer beware). The book purports to make it easy for would-be student of Latin to pick up enough of the dead tongue to be able to read the odd tombstone or epitaph. Instead, the book is a cleverly-packaged snarky memento of a childhood spent learning Latin in England's school system. Following every few pages of ironic memories is a list of declensions of Latin nouns, which pop in like so many errant birds through the window of the narrative, leaving behind only a memory of their pleasant yet unintelligible twittering. To think that one could learn Latin from this approach is akin to thinking that slipping a series times tables into a kid's comic book would teach him math.

When memories run out, the author inserts long discussion of classical architecture, glossaries of common (and commonplace)Latin expressions, and even a short, "clever" summary of the history of Roman emperors. Incredibly, the centurion scene from Monty Python's "Life of Brian" is rendered in full, as are long snippets of Latin poetry, which remain unintelligible to all but the author and his circle of friends.

To say that "Carpe Diem " is a disappointment is understating the case significantly. The book is a fraud, a distraction, a broken promise, an unforgivable tease and a lost opportunity. There remain those (like myself) for whom a rudimentary knowledge of Latin is a life's desire. There is a need (in this, as in all subjects) for the guidance of an old master to provide a trail map through the thicket of Latin conjugations, declensions, syntax and vocabulary. This book is not that guide.

Wish that it were.

Carpe Diem - Carpe Liber
This is an excellent Latin primer - set forth in an engaging, yet competent fashion.I studied Latin in high school and reading the book brought back the language with a rush.It's not a novel or a collection of useful sayings such as "Latin for the Illiterati" or "Amo, Amas. Amat and More".but for anyone with an interest in Latin at any level of understanding, it is a worthwhile buy. ... Read more

Product Description
Reading Latin is a Latin course designed to help mature beginners read Latin fluently and intelligently, primarily in the context of classical culture, but with some mediaeval Latin too. It does this in three ways; it encourages reading of continuous texts from the start; it offers generous help with translation at every stage; and it integrates the learning of Classical Latin with an appreciation of the influence of the Latin language upon English and European culture from Antiquity to the present. The text, richly illustrated, consists at the start of carefully graded adaptations from original Classical Latin texts. The adaptations are gradually phased out until unadultered prose and verse can be read. The Grammar, Vocabulary and Exercises volume supplies all the help needed to do this, together with a range of reinforcing exercises for each section, including English into Latin for those who want it. At the end of each section, a selection of Latin epigrams, mottoes, quotations, everyday Latin, word-derivations, examples of mediaeval Latin and discussions of the influence of Latin upon English illustrate the language's impact on Western culture. Reading Latin is principally designed for university and adult beginners, and also for sixth-formers (eleventh and twelth graders in the USA). It is also ideal for those people who may have learned Latin many years ago, and wish to renew their acquaintance with the language. Its companion course, Reading Greek is one of the most widely used mature beginners' courses in the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Latin book
This book was missing its first 7 pages, and those pages were kinda important, so that was upsetting.Other than that, there was just a bit of writing, nothing too bad throughout the book.

Learning Latin
The entire three volume set of Reading Latin is excellent.Peter Jones and his fellow authors provide a highly structured, easy to follow, and excellent method for learning Latin.For those that can't take a formal course or courses, it doesn't get any better than this.Even for those like me who minored in Latin, it's the best review of Latin that you can get on the market.

John F. Gilligan, Ph.D.

Excellent methodology
This course (3 volumes if you are learning on your own: Reading Latin, Vocabulary and Exercises, Self Study Guide) is excellent. It is prepared somewhat like a programmed course, giving little bits of information at each step with detailed explanations and full translations of the reading texts(in the self-study guide) and then having you test your mastery with exercises.Very effective.I have used a similar method to learn basic musical harmony and I can say that this step-wise approach which takes nothing for granted, explaining every piece of new information and then immediately testing it, is very effective.You can sense from the way the explanations are written that the authors really care about you learning Latin.I have used the Oxford Latin Course volume 1 and can say that that course is not for adult learners without a teacher.This is the one to get if you are an adult student learning on your own. Great course, highly recommended. The only problems I see with this method is first it's very dense, so your progress is slow. The authors recommend to do a bit each day , even if it's just half a page or so. I find that this works. Also, since if you are studying on your own you have to use 3 separate volumes, plus probably your notebook for vocabulary and notes to do the translations and the exercises, so it's cumbersome to say the least but the method is very good.

Great volume
This book and its companion volumes, already mentioned by previous reviewers, make up a large part of the material for the two Open University Latin courses in the UK. I am doing the first of these this year. It does start right at the very beginning for people with no previous experience of Latin but the learning curve is fast and you need to be prepared to work hard.

It is a very detailed volume and the OU miss quite a lot of exercises out, which shows you that there is enough material here to keep you occupied for years and years, if you are just learning Latin for fun. I suspect most people buying this volume will be doing more than that though!

Latin takes a lot of disipline to learn as I am finding out, and this volume and its companions will give you everything you need to know and more to reach a pretty high standard. The OU offer a diploma in classical studies of which the two Latin courses, based around this book, can constitute 50%.

No better way to learn Latin
This is the companion volume to Reading Latin, by the same authors (q.v.).This volume contains the vocabularies for the reading exercises in Reading Latin, as well as the grammar for each section and copious exercises.The combination is a thorough and effective way to learn Latin while introducing you to some of the best of Latin literature.The vocabularies are cleverly constructed so that you build up a good core vocabulary, without producing ridiculously simple reading sections by trying to keep the vocabulary too restricted.A hint: the authors suggest you don't do all the exercises, but choose a few.You'll do much better if you do most, if not all, of them.Secondly, the course is not called Reading Latin for nothing.There are exercises in translating from English to Latin, but if you want to write Latin, you would be better off with a Latin Prose Composition course.Latin is not an easy language and all language learning takes time.The whole Reading Latin Course will take 18 months to 2 years to work through at a comfortable pace. ... Read more

Product Description
This textbook bridges the gap between beginning and advanced college Latin. Includes a review of the basic grammar usually covered in a year of beginning college Latin, featuring accompanying exercises, both Latin to English and English to Latin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Best Intermediate Book for the Real World
The book ain't pretty, but it's packed with good stuff. In the real world of teaching college Latin where students forget almost everything over the summer, the Sinkovich book is the only one out there that delivers on two fronts: reviewing ALL of Latin grammar with excellent exercises, AND gradually introducing students to REAL continuous Latin passages. Each passage is accompanied by a commentary that's aimed at this level (not at scholars). The trick is to move quickly through the review and onto the passages. For Latin professors who aren't snobs and choose not to punish students for having the audacity to start Latin in college, this is a user-friendly and pedagocially sound text.

Too simple
This 2nd-year Latin text is good for students at the remedial level, as all of the exercises are very simple--normally one line long. Certain respected professors consider the text "worthless," but use itfor lack of another 2nd-year text. The typeface is not very pretty, either.(monospace font) ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Modern students' lack of formal training in the grammar even of their own language leads to an impatience with the jargon and rules of syntax in their study of the ancient inflected languages. This comparative approach to Greek and Latin (first published in 1934) serves to introduce students to the syntax of both languages side by side. It has three main thrusts: the first critical - to explain usages and the labels and theories attached to them; the second historical - to explain the process by which the languages developed and changed; the third psychological - how did the working of speakers' or writers' thoughts make them express themselves? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

for language lovers
I think you have to be in love with languages to like this book, but then who else would buy it in the first place.Inflected languages are so foreign to an English speaker that every little bit helps.I understood Latin much better after learning Russian.Since Russian has more cases, they are more logical (in my opinion).In a similar way, the presentation of cases in this book makes everything clearer by comparing the two languages.For me, when I compared the different inflected languages I could get to the basic meaning of each case, instead of just memorizing individual functions.I also learned in this book that "accusative" is a bad translation of the term used by the Greeks, which is why it doesn't make much sense.If you are crazy about languages, I recommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description

Do you know Latin American Spanish already and want to go a stage further? If you're planning a visit to South America, need to brush up your Latin American Spanish for work, or are simply doing a course, Colloquial Spanish of Latin America 2 is the ideal way to refresh your knowledge of the language and extend your skills.

Colloquial Spanish of Latin America 2 is designed to help those involved in self-study. Structured to give you the opportunity to listen to and read lots of modern, everyday Latin American Spanish, it has been developed to work systematically on reinforcing and extending your grasp of the grammar and vocabulary.

Key features of Colloquial Spanish of Latin America 2 include:

• Revision material to help consolidate and build up your basics
• Lots of spoken and written exercises in each unit
• A grammar reference and detailed answer keys
• Extensive Spanish/English and English/Spanish glossaries
• Supplementary exercises and Latin American Spanish web-links at routledge.com/colloquials/spanishlatinamerica

Audio material is available to purchase to accompany this title. Recorded by native speakers, this material will help you perfect your pronunciation and listening skills.

Customer Reviews (1)

New Latin Teacher--This Series is Excellent!
I have been a Spanish teacher for the past five years, but was given the opportunity to teach Latin for the first time this year.I was unsure as to where to start or how to establish the scope and sequence--even after seeking the advice of many wonderful Latinists.After watching a demo lesson in a class I took this past summer, the guest speaker recommended this series as a supplemental resource.Dr. Polsky breaks Latin down for you as if you were a child--just READ the introduction! Optime! I want to hug her! What an excellent way to begin my new teaching adventure. ... Read more

Product Description
Singing together is a form of amusement and delight...singing in a foreign language provides an enjoyable opportunity to practice the linguistic structures vital to communication in a foreign language.

The translations aim at the literal while retaining original rhyme scheme and rhythm where possible.

Also includes three appendices of traditional Latin favorites, Christmas songs, and well-known Gregorian chants.

Special Features

* Nursery Rhymes
* Chanties
* Christmas carols
* Folk songs
* Spirituals

Enhanced by Schlosser's new translations and clever illustrations, Latine Cantemus is a portable, attractive edition that provides hours of fun for those who enjoy the musical approach to enriching their language experience. Included are:
- New Latin translations 60 popular songs - 49 traditional favorites
- Original illustrations by Schlosser
- Appendices of traditional Latin
favorites, Christmas songs, and well-known Gregorian chants

Also available:

Latin Aloud: Audio AP Selections from Vergil, Catullus, Ovid, Cicero, and Horace - UPC B000Y86EBW
Latin Music Through the Ages - ISBN 0865162425

For over 30 years Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers has produced the highest quality Latin and ancient Greek books. From Dr. Seuss books in Latin to Plato's Apology, Bolchazy-Carducci's titles help readers learn about ancient Rome and Greece; the Latin and ancient Greek languages are alive and well with titles like Cicero's De Amicitia and Kaegi's Greek Grammar. We also feature a line of contemporary eastern European and WWII books.

Some of the areas we publish in include:

Selections From The Aeneid
Latin Grammar & Pronunciation
Greek Grammar & Pronunciation
Texts Supporting Wheelock's Latin
Classical author workbooks: Vergil, Ovid, Horace, Catullus, Cicero
Vocabulary Cards For AP Selections: Vergil, Ovid, Catullus, Horace
Greek Mythology
Greek Lexicon
Slovak Culture And History ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fun for the whole group!
This compilation of songs in Latin is a fun addition to any classroom or party. The Latin words work well with the popular tunes, so that the audience would still be able to follow along. Moreover, I can attest to the fact that the singers will immediately feel smart, and perhaps a bit silly, at knowing how to sing in Latin!

Most of the songs are popular enough that the tunes are known, but some were unfamiliar to me, and there is only musical notation provided for the Gregorian chants. There is no vocabulary or glossary, so the book is geared more towards enjoying the songs rather than teaching Latin. Also, some songs have more than one version appearing in different chapters, referenced at the bottom of each page.It is interesting to compare the different versions in Latin, just as songs in English may have slightly different lyrics.

"Latine Cantemus" would be perfect for classroom practice--students might even pick up a few new words from among the 64 new translations. Even if you do not study Latin, though, it is fun to sing together, and even more fun to sing something familiar but new!

Great Lyrics, Great Fun
This collection of Latin lyrics for many songs and song types is a gem. Only two things could I possibly complain of: more music (even just a melody line would help); group the alternative versions of lyrics together (some are repeated in several locations in the book.) This book will provide entertainment and learning opportunities for Latin students, Latin teachers, and lovers of Latin everywhere. ... Read more

Product Description
This Conversational program contains 8 hours of interactive audio-only instruction, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.

The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Spanish structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Spanish can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only these pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.

When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.

With Pimsleur you get:

• Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
• Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
• The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
• 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.

Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without textbooks, written exercises, or drills.

Conversational Spanish includes the 10 lessons from Pimsleur's Basic Spanish plus an additional 6 lessons.

The 16 lessons in Conversational Spanish are the same first 16 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Spanish Level 1. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Beer & a sanwich?!
The method is excellent.The content not always helpful!Repeated conversations about liking, ordering, buying, paying for, and otherwise interacting with beer.Also, there is the minimally useful discussion about "un sandwich frio."A cold sandwich?!Give me a break!At least make it an enchillada and some beans!

Hablo Espanlo
You cannot help but speak spanish after using this program.I think it is the basis for Rosetta Stone without the high price.The method leads you to understand as you learn to speak.I am really enjoying this program...it has cut down on the road rage!!

Good resource but a bit easy for those with some experience.
This audio set is a great resource for picking up Spanish after not speaking or studying it since high school. I already have a pretty good grasp on the language and just need to be able to converse while traveling in South America. I think this set will do a good job of putting me back on track, but it's still a bit too basic for me. I've had 5 years of advanced Spanish education so I need something a bit more advanced, but for those with little experience who want to pick up some lingo, this is a great resource!

Very Helpful
My husband and I are learning spanish and the class we are taking recommended this program.It is very helpful in teaching correct pronunciation.It is great for beginners but not too simple.You will learn phrases and basic communication after the first lesson.I highly recommend it.

Learning made easy!
I've been wanting to learn to speak Spanish and this has been a wonderful help.Listening to how the phrases are pronounced by a native speaker and then repeating it back has really helped me.Best yet is that I can use my driving time to & from work for these lessons! ... Read more

Product Description

This revised and updated edition includes a brand new foreword by Richard LaFleur and more than fifteen hundred new entries and abbreviations. Organized alphabetically within the categories of verba (common words and expressions), dicta (common phrases and familiar sayings), and abbreviations, this practical and helpful reference guide is a comprehensive compendium of more than 7,000 Latin words, expressions, phrases, and sayings taken from the world of art, music, law, philosophy, theology, medicine and the theatre, as well as witty remarks and sage advice from ancient writers such as Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, and more.

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic Reading for the Latin Student
I just happened to run across this book the other day, and have not put it down. It has relly given me a great way to look up phrases and termonology that I had been searching for. Please do not use the online translators, they are pure garbage and will not gine you the correct grammar or translation for the phrase you are looking for. This book does not have them all, but it does have many, many that you may have seen or heard over the years.
I would recommend it for anyone who has an interest in Latin at all, or for the student of Latin who is starting out. You can increase your Latin vocabulary tremendously right now if you really wanted just by reading this book.
A lot of fun and a must have. ... Read more

Product Description
If you find learning Latin daunting, Teach Yourself Beginner's Latin is just what your language teacher ordered. The book makes for a friendly introduction to the language that's easy to follow, from start to finish. In contrast to other courses, it presents an exciting and humorous text, set in a medieval monastery that is under threat of attack from Vikings. It includes:

• Enhanced English-Latin and Latin-English vocabularies
• A special section on pronunciation
• Fascinating language and cultural information
• CD for quick and easy access to lessons, dialogues, and exercises

Customer Reviews (5)

Interesting Medieval Story Line
I enjoyed reading through this book, although I must confess I didn't work many of the exercises.I think the best part of "Teach Yourself Beginner's Latin" was the running story line set in medieval England.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a story set in ancient Rome--as in "Lingua Latina," or "The Cambridge Latin Course."But setting the story in England makes the point that there has never been a time in the past 2,000 years that Latin was not spoken in Great Britain. The story offers intrigue, murder, a love interest, and some interesting vocabulary picked up along the way.Somehow studying Latin spoken in 12th-century England seemed closer to home than following a story set in Rome time-back-way-back.We still have monks and monasteries around, but not many emperors, slaves, legions, or tribunes.

I also liked hearing Latin from the CD.The author selected an interesting variety of ancient and less-ancient passages for the CD, in addition to reading (in dramatic fashion) most of the story.I feel much better about my pronunciation having heard the readers on this recording.

On the down side, the grammar and syntax explanations are superficial, and I had trouble understanding what the exercises wanted me to do.Self-learners might want to try "Lingua Latina" and its companion "College Guide," or "Latin Via Ovid."Both books are excellent introductions, and probably the two best texts I've found.I thought "Wheelock's Latin" was far too analytical--grammar-intensive--to use without a teacher.

So on the whole, "Teach Yourself Beginner's Latin" was a relief from pure grammar study, and it let me use some of the Latin I was learning from other books."Great," I thought, "I'm actually reading in Latin."Acquiring Latin does take work, but it's not impossible.It can be fun.

Also, you should check our some of the many resources available online for Latin and classics generally.

Not very well laid out.
I purchased this Latin guide as well as several others at the same time. To be honest, I have to agree with the two star reviewer, the text and the CD do not really work that well together. My impression is right out of the packaging. I put it into my CD player, opened the book and expected some walk through. Instead, what I got was the reader reading the English translation AFTER the Latin and in the book the order is reversed, so I had to scramble to figure out where the readers were on the CD in relation to the text. A flurry of page flipping and no audio queues for what was next. Not a good first impression and as the other reviewer noted, it seemed to have a very amateur feel to it, especially when I compare it to other works in Latin that I purchased; I found this one wanting.

Personally I found for a beginners, the Cambridge Latin Course (units 1 -4) to be much more helpful and far better laid out and visually stimulating. They also have a story context that builds on each lesson in a nice historical context, and 15 - 20 word vocabulary lists. ** Update: initially I had thought that the Cambridge series lacked the audio component, however, this isn't the case. They do have a CD for the series.

As Latin courses go, if you feel comfortable hurriedly flipping pages while the CD plays, then for the money I suppose this isn't a "horrible" place to start. Then again, one could always go the Rosetta stone route, however, it doesn't have English translations, so you're thrown into the deep end of the pool, but you pick it up quickly. I was scoring 95 -100% on the CD my first go through. The only other issue is that they only have one CD whereas the other languages in the Rosetta series have 2 - 3.

I'd search around before buying this CD. Also, search AMAZON in the UK. They have a MUCH larger selection of Latin materials than the US.

A very good one for beginners
How can you make it easier for people to start learning a language?

-- Make the language look as easy as possible. Use a serpentine and not a straight road.
-- Do not try to teach 50 words a lesson, try to make it 10-15.
-- Try to grade grammar by offering very basic texts with a strongly controlled variety of structures. You don't even need to teach the whole chart, teach it line by line.
-- Boost the learner's confidence with an audio material to help get over the intimidating barrier of "how the heck should this sound?" ...

This is the secret of this book, it makes you believe that you can actually learn the language. You won't think that Latin is an ivory tower built of strange vocabulary and an impenetrable mesh of intricate rules.

A work well done.

Odd
Seems like a very amateurish production.I'm still confused as to how to use the materials.The CD is almost worthless (it's filled with stories, but doesn't teach you the basics of pronunciation).

This product is a shame because it appears to be one of the only audio Latin programs available.I'm going to renew my search though.

A fun to get an overview of the language
Years ago I enjoyed going through this book. It doesn't place enormous demands on the reader in terms of vocabulary memorization or learning lots of grammar. If I remember correctly, although it takes the reader through the subjunctive mood, it steers clear of subtleties. Mainly, I remember the amusing story line.

This book would be great for a first semester introductory course in Latin, where the teacher's main interest was to present students with an outline of the Latin language, preparatory to a more in-depth treatment in subsequent semesters.

Another good part of the book is the frequent excerpts of classical authors as late as Boethius (perhaps later, I don't remember). The student will not likely be able to translate these on his own but a teacher might use them to illustrate how various points of grammar come into play in real passages. Reading extended portions of these authors in translation would be a good way of introducing a Latin Civ. element into the course.

I don't know anything about the CD that accompanies the book.

Also, caveat emptor: this book teaches very basic Latin grammar and employs a small vocabulary. It does not provide sufficient grounding to allow one to go on and translate Cicero or Livy. For this, a student needs to complete a more comprehensive grammar like Wheelock or Gavin Betts' Teach Yourself Latin.

Finally, because the story takes place in a medieval setting, the class can consider the persistence of Latin into the early modern period as a language that allowed communication across cultures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

A Gem
This is a lovely book about a lovable bear, his friends and adventures. If you like Winnie you should love this book. The Latin is fairly easy to understand and gives Winnie a new appeal. If you find this book easy you could give InsulaThesauraria (Latin Edition) a try, if you're in need of something a bit easier have a look at Puer Zingiberi Panis: et Fabulae Alterae (Latin Edition).

After Basic Latin Instruction, The Bear Can Take Over...
I didn't have very much instruction in Latin prior to buying this book.I learned how to read it out loud, and I got a basic grasp on the grammar.After only that, I can still read and understand this little book.The folks I have been working with have found that after a few readings, they know what is being said.This is how we learn our first language, and this is how people learn to think in other languages.

I'd recommend this book to beginners who are looking to begin "the Natural way."

Amusing ...
Treat yourself to this charming little jeu d'esprit. It will do wonders for lifting your sagging Latin spirits when struggling with some of the heavy-duty stuff.

winnie ille pu
Most people who only know a little Latin should hopefully be able to understand Winnie Ille Pu.The ending has a 'notes' section where unusual phrases such as 'scire velim' are listed under their respective chapters for easy reference.

There is something a bit more elegant about the Latin of Winnie Ille Pu compared to Fabulae Mirabiles, but that is caused by the differing genres of the writings.However, Fabulae Mirabliles would be my choice for the Latin beginner.

Infectis rebus abeo
I sing of a boy and a bear...
Perhaps Vergil would have opted for Pu (Pooh) rather than Aeneid had he the choice, and begun his tome not in the journey from Troy, but rather the journey around the forest.

I have this sitting next to books of equally interesting exercise, such as a translation of modern poetry into Old English. Likewise, Henry Beard's translations of various ordinary statements and phrases in Latin (and cat behaviours in to French) also sit next to this honoured tome.

When I returned from Britain and began to think in theological-training terms, I had to re-acquaint myself with Latin; for an exam I had to memorise one biblical passage, one passage from the Aeneid, and one passage of my choice. I chose Winnie Ille Pu, and, as it had not been excluded from the list, I was permitted this indulgence (I believe that the exam list now has a section of excluded works, including this one, more's the pity).

Do not be frightened off by the fact that this is a book in Latin. It is very accessible, and quite fun to read with the English version of Winnie-the-Pooh at its side. The Latin version has kept many of the original illustrations as well as the page layout forms, for example:

In English:
And then he got up, and said: 'And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it.' So he began to climb the tree.

He
climbed
and he
climbed
and he
climbed,
and as he
climbed
he
sang
a little
song
to himself.
It went

like this:

Isn't it funny
How a bear likes honey
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
I wonder why he does?

In Latin:

Et nisus est
et
nisus est
et
nisus est
et
nisus est
et nitens carmen sic coepit canere:

Cur ursus clamat?
Cur adeo mel amat?
Burr, burr, burr
Quid est causae cur?

Statements sound much more grand in Latin: 'Ior mi,' dixit sollemniter, 'egomet, Winnie ille Pu, caudam tuam reperiam.' which means, 'Eeyore,' he said solemnly, 'I, Winnie-the-Pooh, will find your tail for you.'

This is a delightful romp through a language study. I have recommended this to friends who want an introduction to Latin, together with the Lingua Latina series, which uses a natural language method for instruction.

Alexander Lenard, the translator, obviously did a great labour of love here, and I agree with the Chicago Tribune's statement that this book 'does more to attract interest in Latin than Cicero, Caesar, and Virgil combined.' One wonders if the Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet will be translated into Latin to make them seem 'more philosophical; or indeed, will Winnie ille Pu be likewise translated into Sanskrit and other such languages? It is not uncommon that the entertaining use of language does more for language enrichment and interest than any academic or official push of the tongue. It is no mistake that the Welsh language effort incorporated cartoons from the beginning -- it is natural for people to respond to fun and lively things, and this kind of treatment can be rather tricky, in that the average reader might not be so consciously aware that education is going on...

Winnie-the-Pooh in Akkadian? Hmmm, I feel a Ph.D. dissertation topic coming on...

This work is no small endeavour, but rather a thorough and engaging translation of the entire Pooh story. From the start, when we are introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh, through to the adventures in the Tight Place (in angustias incurrit), when Piglet meets a heffalump (heffalumpum), meeting Kanga and Roo (Canga and Ru), the expedition to the North Pole (Palum Septentrionalem), and finally saying goodbye, the entire story and text is here. One can (as I do) set the Dell Yearling 60th Anniversary Version of Winnie-the-Pooh side-by-side with Winnie-ille-Pu and follow line by line the engaging story, which translates well into this one-time universal language. And why ever not? Surely if there is a story nearly universal appeal, it would be of dear Winnie.

As A.A. Milne was a graduate of the Westminster School (which is housed down the block from my old Parliamentary offices) and of Cambridge, he might consider the translation of his classic work into the classical language a signal honour, and one wonders if, given the fact that Milne studied classical languages himself, if he ever translated any pieces, however small, into those languages that every English schoolboy learns to hate and love.

The story leaves off with Christophorus Robinus heading off to bath (and presumably, bed) ...

Of course, being a person of small importance myself, I identify much more with Porcellus (Piglet) than Pu. I know the struggles against the clerical/hierarchical/academic heffalumpum, and as Pooh has given me a new language of consideration for such conditions, Pu has given me a bilingual command of that language.

Long live the Porcelli amicus!

... Read more

Product Description
A Latin grammar and reader all in one, Learn to ReadLatin presents basic Latin morphology and syntax with clearexplanations and examples, and it offers direct access to great worksof Latin literature even at the earliest stages of learning thelanguage. As beginning students learn basic forms and grammar, theyalso gain familiarity with patterns of Latin word order and otherfeatures of style, thus becoming well prepared for later, moredifficult texts.No other beginning Latin book contains unalteredversions of ancient texts. Learn to Read Latin includes the writingsof such authors as Caesar, Cicero, Sallust, Catullus, Vergil, andOvid, arranged chronologically and accompanied by introductions toeach author and each work. These readings serve as the chief trainingtexts around which the book's fifteen chapters are constructed. Aworkbook is also available, providing abundant drills for each chapterof the text. The workbook exercises can be used in the classroom, forhomework assignments, for extra individual drill work, or as a homestudy tool. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

This textbook has some weaknesses
I'll skip over the positives and get straight to the dirt. This textbook's treatment of participles, gerunds, gerundives: what they are and the relationship between them, is unnecessarily confusing and unclear. In my opinion those sections need to be entirely rewritten. After 2 semesters of learning Latin with this textbook I was thoroughly confused about what should have been a simple subject. Other than that it's probably a fine coursebook.

Classics - Latin
This book has been really helpful. I'm using it for my Latin course and have had no qualms with it and it has been a perfect guide. It's very easy to understand and the workbook that comes with it is immensely helpful. If you do the drills along with the chapters, you will fully comprehend the material.

Excelent for the self taught student
Presuming one's goal, in learning Latin, is to develop the ability to read comprehensively, this book provides a rapid, complete and enjoyable method by which to achieve this goal.Having used several other Latin textbooks over the years, "Learn To Read Latin" provides an excellent groundwork and is far more intelligently constructed than "Ecce Romani" with its partial introduction of concepts and uninspiring passages.
Students taking Latin for the first time will likely not have any choice of text; however, this book could nevertheless provide an excellent resource to students using other Latin textbooks.

A pretty darned good textbook
My two cents' worth is that this is a really good textbook for learning Latin starting from zero.I had two semesters of undergraduate Latin, in which we did this entire book except for Chapter XV.It seemed like insanity to me at the time!(I learned French starting from zero in college also, and the pace seemed reasonable to me by comparison.)A year later, I am trying to take up Latin again as a graduate student and all I hear from my classmates is "Wheelock."I read the reviews of Wheelock.I would shell out the dough for 'Learn to Read Latin' by Keller and Russell instead.(You don't need both!)

The best Latin grammar!
This is the best Latin grammar out there, I have 6 different Latin grammars and I just wished I had found this sooner. If you enjoy Latin and want the most in-depth learning tool, get this, the price is high but completely worthy. If you are studying just because you have to, perhaps the best option would be Latin Via Ovid: A First Course Second Edition, which is more fun and lighter, but not so complete. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Cartoons Teach You Latin!
My son (age 12) and I use this book to learn Latin.The text is similar to texts I used to learn Spanish in 7th grade in the early '80's.The text features cartoons where folks are talking with one another in Latin.The text helps people that learn through a combination of pictures and text rather than going directly for grammar, rules, and the like.

I recommend this.Oh, and I received this as a used book and it is in great shape.

Latin for Beginners
My teenage granddaughter loves this book.The illustrations help you remember the vocabulary.Lessons are theme oriented and guide the reader gradually to an understanding of language and culture.

Potet esse melior, sed bonus liber est
This is a very lively and colourful book, a good asset to learning Latin. On the other hand, unless you have some background in the structure of Latin, this book will be somewhat confusing. Also, this book is more for conversational Latin, which is alright since there are a few places one can speak Latin such as on the net and in universities. So those who seek Latin for literary purposes ought to be warned that this is a more conversational Latin book. Travellers and tourists may find this book useful for even far-flung descendants of Latin like Romanian can still be interchangable. People going to Romance-language-speaking countries will be able to converse in Latin with the natives, be understood, and maybe understand what they say back in their language. Try it on the clergy and educated people too. I would reccomend a backround in the structure first before tackling this book

Not for complete beginners!
I purchased this book as a summer "starter" for my two children beginning Latin this fall.I had taken four years of Latin and needed a refresher myself to be able to help them get ahead.I believe the book is very confusing and there is no way without my help that my children could use this book.
The book gives action verbs on page 11 but goes back to show the actual conjugation of the basic "to be" on page 13.Logically this should be reversed!The book also does not immediately address one of the very basics of Latin(finally page 8)...the masculine and feminine declension of nouns...and their relationship to their modifying adjectives is never truly explained well.
This book seems to be set up to "speak" the language as you would study Spanish or French if traveling abroad. The book begins with "hello", "good-bye", "what is your name?" and other vocabulary.Someone should tell the author that learning Latin is to learn the fundamentals of how language works, not to learn the language to speak the language.You would have a hard time finding an audience!

Lively Latin for Learners of All Ages!
"Latin for Beginners" is aimed directly at kids, not their teachers.(In olden days, when I began studying Latin, I suspected that our texts were designed to please our teachers. Although the books laid out the materiallogically, they were dull: completion of homework was a victory overboredom.)Now, along come Wilkes and Schakell-two halves of the samebrain?-to bring some pizzazz to learning Latin.Schakell uses explosivecolors in a cartoon format, and his zany characters speak in Wilkes'impeccable Latin.The twenty chapters, two large pages each, cover suchsubjects as What is Your Name?, Your Family, What Do You Like Eating?,Shopping (including Roman money), and Going to a Café.Each chapterintroduces some grammar and about 25 words or phrases.Puzzles and quizzesreinforce the pictures (answers in back of book).Concluding pages providesuch basics as pronunciation, tables of grammar, Roman numerals, times ofday, dates, and a good index.All noun declensions are given but not allverb conjugations.Still, after a student has finished this basic course,he may well be hooked and ready for more.Anachronisms are part ofthe book's charm: the characters ride bicycles, drive cars, eat hamburgers,and boogie with gusto.A note claims that the modern words have beencobbled by a committee of Latin scholars.(Latin is indeed spoken andE-mailed today by the intrepid, and of course new words are needed.)I'dlike to have seen more on this cobbling process, though.The agestargeted by the book depend on the way it's presented.If onlyLatin-to-English is asked for, readers in the third or fourth grades wouldprobably be attracted to it.Adding English-to-Latin and encouraging thespeaking of Latin might intrigue students through middle school and beyond. My one suggestion for future editions of the book is adding a list ofcommon English derivatives, which help in memorizing vocabulary. ... Read more