Customer Reviews

Lingua Latina: Pars I: Familia Romana (Pt. 1)

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Oerberg's Lingua Latina is an amazing accomplishment. It will not be received well by everyone, but this is not owing to any deficiency in the text. Unfortunately, we live in a time when the study of Latin has been relegated to the grammarians---who would rather concoct a rule for the language than understand it *as* a language.

We also live in a time when Latin in general is only very poorly understood, even by those who are bold enough to teach it. Catch the average university Latinist off guard with any real question about Latin, and you'll learn quickly how bad it really is. As they have been taught, so they are producing: students who can only recite a conjugation paradigm but cannot "ask where the bathroom is". Texts like Wheelock contribute horribly to this problem.

Lingua Latina offers something different. It is for those who want to actually learn Latin for what it is, not a tricky puzzle but a language which can be understood. Without exaggeration, when you have finished Lingua Latina you will have read many times more Latin than by finishing Wheelock's. You probably won't be so quick to respond when someone asks you, "so what is a passive periphrastic?" But you also won't be subvocalizing in English when reading simple, real Latin authors.

Trust me, as a recovering student-of-Wheelock, this book will help you actually understand *Latin*. So cast off your chains of grammar and start learning the language. Stop learning *about* Latin and start understanding it.

Maybe it's me, but I have a hard time learning languages. I learned only one language as a child, rendering me totally and utterly monolinguistic. I've tried learning languages using various methods, but none struck me as particularly effective.

So when I found the need to have some familiarity with Latin, I looked at Latin language books and courses, and rejected one after the other as being too similar to previous failed attempts. Lingua Latina, however, is different. I admit, I took a chance on this one without being able to preview or sample it (hint hint, Hans), but I am glad I did! (Note added 10 Mar 2009: there is now a preview available at http://www.lingua-latina.dk/index2.htm).

It's Dick and Jane for Latin. Rather than memorize lists of words and their meanings in your native language, Lingua Latina contains only Latin, starts off with very simple sentences, makes you think about each word, and requires you to figure out what each word means by context. Here's a brief example from the very beginning of the book:

"Roma in Italia est. Italia in Europa est. Graecia in Europa est. Italia et Graecia in Europa sunt."

Since we bootstrap off words in English that should already be known to you, and that are the same or similar in Latin, it is obvious what these sentences mean. And once you get through those, it usually becomes obvious what new words mean, and what contexts to use them in.

The cases and declinations of verbs and nouns are not given to you as in other language books: like a punch in the face using a table and a stern admonition to memorize the endings. Lingua Latina lets you thoroughly understand one case or declination before moving on to another. As the knowledge builds, the reading becomes easier and easier.

Each chapter consists of a reading, marginal notes (in Latin) and pictures to explain concepts that may not necessarily be clear from the text, a grammatical summary (in Latin), and three types of tests at the end of each chapter: endings, vocabulary, and comprehension. Together these cement the knowledge gained through the reading.

There is not a speck of non-Latin in this book except for the copyright page.

My only beef with Lingua Latina is that some of the words are not so obvious from context. Because of this, I would recommend either a Latin dictionary, or, better yet, the program "Latin Words" (free from http://users.erols.com/whitaker/words.htm). The program allows you to type in a Latin word including its ending, and gives you back the meaning, plus case, number, gender, and so on.

Also, a warning: unless your native language is Latin-derived (as English is), you will probably not get anything out of this book, since your language and Latin are probably alien to each other, and there would not be enough overlap for you to make sense out of the Latin.

I'm extremely satisfied with Lingua Latina! Carpe Linguam Latinam!

For those studying independently or in a dedicated group, this book aims to make you fluent in Latin, in reading it at least, but also it helps for those wishing to speak it better. It's a complete course in the language and works great as review. I'm not sure I'd recommend it as the _only_ text for complete beginners, especially if those beginners have never studied a second language before, but it would work fine in conjunction with another text such as Wheelock's.

Lingua Latina is composed entirely in Latin. It tells a story, beginning with simple, declarative sentences, and moving up to more complex sentences as you progress. This method allows you to acquire Latin intuitively, without conscious effort.

There are no rules to memorize, no tables or charts (except a couple in the appendix, if you are curious). You develop skill with the language by practice, by experiencing actual Latin sentences that say something you can understand. In this way, you develop an intuitive sense of what sounds correct, not by looking up a suffix in a chart.

Lingua Latina is the modern, proven method of rapid language acquisition, not the old-fashioned, formal "drill and kill" way of studying a language by memorizing its grammar and rules. I do not believe it is possible to acquire the use of a language by merely studying its formal rules. That's a form of language appreciation, perhaps, or a kind of basic linguistic study, but it does not help you communicate. It is possible to study formal grammar rules for many years and never experience what it is like to think in a new language.

The best part about the Hans Orberg method presented in Lingua Latina is that you begin thinking in Latin from the very beginning. As a beginner, one's range of Latin-based thought is, of course, relatively simple (e.g., "Roma est in Italia."). But as you move on, you soon find yourself immersed in the language, and that you do not have to consciously translate each word into English to understand. In fact, that process of word-by-word translation is not only boring and unpleasant, but affirmatively counterproductive.

Once I experienced that feeling of thinking entirely in Latin, I was hooked.

There is one substantial difference between Hans Orberg and many of today's teachers of Latin: Hans Orberg knows the language he teaches. For high school Latin his text is arguably better than anything else, but it demands more than it usually gets: enough teaching hours, and a fully competent instructor, one who is actively aware that a working knowledge of Latin is poles apart from knowing Latin grammar.

For someone who loves learning (and learning about) languages, this book is absolutely delightful.

Learning your first post-childhood language requires developing all sorts of new skills, and this takes real effort and dedication. Consequently, most language instruction books spend considerable time trying to teach you how to learn a language and employ all sorts of tactics in an attempt to re-capture your attention, buoy your confidence, crank up your motivation, etc.

For the "repeat offender" language learner, however, all of the extracurricular interludes and hand-holding fluff become tiresome and annoying. The only motivation you really need is that familiar feeling : "Hey, I'm *understanding* this !" This book provides exactly that, in as efficient and painless a manner as I could ever hope for.

My original plan for learning Latin was to alternate between Lingua Latina (LL) and that frumpy old standard, Wheelock's Latin Grammar (WLG). After completing about 5 chapters of each, I began to feel that reading WLG was not only a chore, but also (to my surprise) largely unnecessary. I now use it only as a reference.

Reading LL, on the other hand, was surprisingly satisfying; in many ways it felt similar to reading a novel or a history that you don't want to put down. Although it begins much like a child's first book ("Roma in Italia est. Italia in Europa est...."), the author is quite skilful at introducing new words, forms, and usages at a comfortable clip and repeating them sufficiently often for them to sink in. Each chapter requires thought, and I often find it useful to re-read one after some elusive point of grammar has had time to "sink in". But what surprised me was how soon I began to feel that I was internalizing the language. At around page 100, there is chapter describing the Romans' calendar and their (unusual) system of measuring time. I was interested enough in this that I completely forgot about grammar, and part of me began actually "using" genitive and ablative cases, etc. without effort.

Some of the grammar you need to learn is explained (in Latin) at the end of each chapter. Some, as well as hints to the meaning of new words, is presented in the margins. But some things just sort of appear in the reading and then float around in your head without resolution until later in the book. This kind of "teasing you with the bait" approach can be very effective, but on some occasions I feel I just want to clarify things right now. That's when I turn to Wheelock. After reading his explanation and a few of his (dreary !) examples, I quickly rush back to LL.

A few pointers I have on using the book:

1) Before you begin, spend some time either with another book or (better) online and learn how classical Latin is pronounced. Having a clear understanding of the (simple) rules of pronunciation will make the reading flow much more naturally.

2) If you come across a word that you don't recognize, be sure to check the word index at the end of the book. Rather than providing a definition, it refers you to the line of text in the reading where the word was first introduced. I find this very helpful because you (re-) experience the word in a familiar context, rather feeling like you are just "looking it up".

3) Once you have finished a few chapters (and seen a handful of verb conjugations, noun case inflections, etc.) be sure to look at the grammar outline in the back of the book. Before I noticed it, I was wishing I had a convenient little table summarizing all the stuff I was learning....

In summary, I have found the first volume of Lingua Latina to be a thoroughly effective and enjoyable means to add classical Latin to your stable of languages. The book excludes all of the unnecessary filler that typifies so many language instruction books, and skilfully introduces vocabulary and grammar almost exclusively in the context of reading Latin prose. I am thoroughly pleased with the book and highly recommend it.

I love this book! There is no English and we have to figure it all out - and at the same time it is written so that it is easy to figure out! The way it is written makes learning and reviewing vocabulary and grammar fun and "easy" (you still need to study!) It does help to have an idea the basics of Latin vocabulary.

The Natural Approach has a lot to say for it. But it makes a fatal assumption: adults learn the same way as children.

Fact: Adults already have a lifetime of experiences children do not have.

Fact: Anybody learning a second or third language as an adult will initially associate the new language with those languages already known.

When I used this method in a university class, the first thing all of the students did was to go out to the bookstores and buy grammar texts and a Latin-English dictionary.

This is not a textbook that makes a good primary text. However, this book would be an excellent second book for a Latin language class.

This Latin reader is all Latin: There are no English explanations of anything. It is a great component of a Latin curriculum, for the student must really work to learn the Latin by means of close observation and repetition. It has readings and exercises, and the stories focus on a Roman familia, to which students may become attached! The book has no frills: no colored pictures, no glossy pages. But it's packed with information and is a good reader or extra reader for the beginning Latin student.

This the best course of latin that I have heard of. User-friendly, dynamic and above all a real intelectual pleasure.

Worth every cent.

Alex C Tort