Latin

Originally published on 2021-09-07.

WHY I want to learn it and HOW I plan to do it

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Why?

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A current long term goal of mine is to read through many of the great works that have come out of Western Culture in chronological order. This year I have slowly been progressing through the great works of the ancient Greeks, starting with the Epics, moving on to the Drama and Lyrical works, followed by the Histories and finishing with the Philosophers. After completing the Greeks I will be moving on to the Romans and this has sparked an interest in looking into how difficult it would be to read these works in the original, Latin.

How?

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I have purchased the following Latin resources:

• Orberg, Hans H. - Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata Pars I Familia Romana
• Orberg, Hans H. - Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata Pars 1 Exercita Latina I
• Orberg, Hans H. - Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata Colloqvia Personarvm (Second Edition)
• Miraglia, Luigi - Fabvlae Syrae Graecorum Romanorumque Fabulae Ad Usum Discipulorum Latine Narratae

To start I am using Hans Orberg’s Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata. This book uses a unique approach to language learning in that there is no English translations. The entire book is written completly in Latin. This might sound absurd at first but it is written in such a way that the context clues and illustrations alone are enough to pick up the meaning. What is so fascinating about this approach is that it forces the reader to emerse themselves in the language, because you are reading without translations your mind begins to process in Latin. It removes the friction that comes along with most foreign language learning specifically that constant back and forth translation needed in most traditional approaches.

Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata is divided into 35 chapters and each chapter has exercises at the end to cover the material learned within that particular chapter. To suppliment these exercises I am using Orberg’s Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata Pars 1 Exervitia Latina I which contains additional exercises to be completed and follows along with Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata by chapter. The two additional books listed above will be used once I have exhausted Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata Pars I Familia Romana.

As mentioned above my long term goal is to read the great works of history in their original Latin without translation. In order to see this goal through I am willing to commit myself to an hour of intentional Latin learning each day. Below are my estimates for working through Orberg’s Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata:

• Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata Pars I Familia Romana
• 2 Hrs per Chapter
• 0.5 Hrs per End of Chapter Exercises
• Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata Pars 1 Exercita Latina I
• 1 Hr per Chapter Exercise

With the following estimates I think I can complete Orberg’s Lingva Latina Per Se Illvstrata Pars 1 in one hundred and twenty three hours. At an hour a day this should be attainable in just over four months time.

Latin Resources

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• Luke Ranieri’s general Youtube Channel polyMATHY and his Latin only Youtube Channel SscorpioMartianus
• Luke’s video on the LINGVA LATINA PER SE ILLVSTRATA Book Series with links for purchase in the description
• Vox Latina: A Guide to the Pronunciation of Classical Latin By W. Sidney Allen
• Aritcle by Luke Smith: Learn Latin
• Veterum Sapientia (English Translation) written by Pope John XXIII in 1962 on the promotion, study, and enduring importance of Latin in the modern Church.