Lingua Latina: A College Companion based on Hans Orberg's Latine Disco, with Vocabulary and Grammar [Perfect Paperback]

Hans H. Orberg (Author), Jeanne Marie Neumann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1585101915 | ISBN-13: 978-1585101917 | Edition: Bilingual

This title provides a running outline/commentary on the Latin grammar covered in Book 1 of Lingua Latina (Familia Romana), and includes the complete text of the Ørberg ancillaries Grammatica Latina and Latin-English Vocabulary. It also replaces the student guide, Latine Disco. The book is designed especially for college students who approach Lingua Latina at an accelerated pace. The Exercitia may still be used as an additional source of exercises.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Neumann's Lingua Latina: A College Companion fills a gap in the supplementary materials currently available for Lingua Latina. Following the spirit of Orberg s method, the Companion helps students manage and systematize the details they encounter in Lingua Latina. This aid is particularly vital for college or other students who must get through the text on schedule and do not have the luxury of taking requisite time to assimilate Latin by the natural method espoused by Oerberg. Classroom and home-school teachers alike will find the Companion helpful for organizing class sessions and activities, and self-taught students should find it an invaluable tool that confirms their progress through Lingua Latina. --Gina Soter, The University of Michigan

From the Back Cover

This title provides a running outline/commentary on the Latin grammar covered in Book 1 of Lingua Latina (Familia Romana), and includes the complete text of the Ørberg ancillaries Grammatica Latina and Latin-English Vocabulary. It also replaces the student guide, Latine Disco. The book is designed especially for college students who approach Lingua Latina at an accelerated pace. The Exercitia may still be used as an additional source of exercises.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co.; Bilingual edition (September 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585101915
• ISBN-13: 978-1585101917
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chapter by chapter hand holding through the direct method, November 1, 2007

By 

Julie Brennan "Living math" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lingua Latina: A College Companion based on Hans Orberg's Latine Disco, with Vocabulary and Grammar (Perfect Paperback)

THANK YOU. I received this a month ago and I am thrilled. I am self teaching, and this resource is making it so much easier for me to understand and move through the material with confidence I am learning and understanding what I should, chapter by chapter.

Many adult self learners and homeschool families have struggled with or passed on Lingua Latina because they do not have access to Latin teachers and/or have no Latin experience, as such, the 100% direct approach has been less attractive than traditional guided approaches. This guide provides the Latin experience of a teacher guiding you through the course. All the grammar that you are to learn in each chapter is explained, and the new vocabulary is defined chapter by chapter so you don't have to look it up in a tiny print glossary that was my only resource before. The Companion is in English - while I applaud the idea that one can learn Latin by total immersion, as a self-learner, I am much more comfortable having the grammatical explanations in English!

The sample pages at Focus Publishing provide a good feel for the how the entire book flows, it is well designed and easy to use. I never felt sure I was getting everything out of each chapter that I should until I went back and read through the related Companion chapters. It's caused me to review old material, but I am much more comfortable now with what I am learning.

Having failed miserably trying to self-teach with Wheelock's, I found Lingua Latina to be much more intuitive, enjoyable and doable, but I struggled to understand the grammatical structure, and the Latin-only support materials made it an uphill climb to construct this myself. The Companion has made this information much more accessible and ensures that this direct method course is an effective way to learn Latin for me.

Julie Brennan
San Diego, CA

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book but misleading title, November 15, 2008

By 

A. Keiser "Ite ad Thomam." (A backwater.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lingua Latina: A College Companion based on Hans Orberg's Latine Disco, with Vocabulary and Grammar (Perfect Paperback)

In the following review, I will discuss what this book contains, who it is good for, and its pluses and minuses. I hope it helps! "Lingua Latina" was a Godsend for me!

Neumann's "companion" book to the first volume of Orberg's "Lingua Latina" series (a total immersion Latin method) is a very helpful edition-for some people, namely the self-teaching (or for a teacher struggling to teach Orberg without much of a grounding in Latin). The fact is that it is really a substitute for a teacher. For this reason, the title is misleading, it ought to be "the autodidact's companion". However, if one does buy it (which I encourage the autodidact to do), it can replace the two books written by Orberg, "Latine Disco" and "Grammatica Latina." However, it would be best to study "Latine Disco as best as one can since the presentation preserves and strengthens the immersion method.

The whole point of "Lingua Latina" is that the student learns Latin from the inside as it were. Neumann's book functions as a sort of bridge for the autodidact, and as such it is in English. This fact alone impinges on the immersion method Orberg worked so hard to make. As such it is not an ideal book, and this and the fact that it's title is little misleading are the only reasons I gave it 4 stars instead of five. Ideally, one would have a teacher who asks questions in Latin, lectures in Latin, and demands answers in Latin, hence prodding the student to really live the language and internalise it.

However, we don't live in an ideal world, and even if one does find a teacher who uses the Orberg texts, he may not be a sufficiently trained teacher for the student to really know the material without a remedial text, such as is to be found in Neumann's book. It is extremely straightforward and crystal clear in its explanations.

So what exactly is in Neumann's book? It is a chapter-by-chapter grammar guide to the "Familia Roma" book, and it includes the vocabulary for each chapter presented in a more systematic fashion than is found in the main text and examples are given for each grammatical point as well as the occasional explication on some historic oddity. A morphology table is included at the end as is a vocabulary by chapter index and a Latin English dictionary.

I must emphasize, however, that the "Exercitia" are a vital part of the method and must be purchased and worked through to really get a grasp of Latin. The answer key is readily available and includes the answers for the main texts chapter homeworks, which is an added bonus for auto-didacts. For the self-learner or home-schooling parent, the following books should be used: "Familia Romana" (the main text", "Lingua Latina: A College Companion", and the "Exercitia." The CD is well worth buying as well because it features Orberg reading the text (and his reading is not dry or wooden) and it has an interactive version of the in-book homeworks. Be patient and don't study too much at once. Good luck!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Addition to Your Latin Library, October 13, 2007

By 

J. Jones - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lingua Latina: A College Companion based on Hans Orberg's Latine Disco, with Vocabulary and Grammar (Perfect Paperback)

I have found Jeannne Neumann's book fantastic and indispensable in my own study of Latin and, of course, with use of Hans Oerberg's Lingua Latina. As a self-learner, homeschool mom and teacher to homeschool students, this book has given me excellent insight into the Latin language; perspectives I wouldn't have discovered on my own, and background/historical information that answers questions that have been lingering in my mind for eons! I believe a person could benefit from this and LL even if using another curriculum (perhaps hitting a trouble spot) ~ the explanations and readings are so thorough and helpful.

I can't recommend it highly enough.