Lately I’ve been teaching myself Latin.
I don’t know why. It’s a daunting task, because there’s so much to memorize. The problem isn’t the vocabulary — many Latin words have English-language cognates, so they’re not hard to remember; the problem is the fricking grammar. Latin is an inflected language, which means that there are numerous endings for nouns and verbs, depending on their function in the sentence. The verbs aren’t particularly hard — it’s the noun endings, the declensions, that are killer. They seem impossible to memorize. And some of the endings are identical in some instances but not in others. There is no logic to it at all.
No wonder it’s a dead language.
Why am I doing this? It’s not like I need to. I’m not in school, I’m not preparing for the SAT, and if I want to read the great works of Roman literature, there are plenty of translations. But I’ve always been curious about Latin and how it works. I’ve sung many pieces in Latin; I like the way it looks and sounds; it’s the basis for so many English words; and it just seems elegantly put together, with so much information packed into one word.
A few years ago I decided to study ancient Greek. I decided that I wanted to learn the two classical languages, and I figured I’d be really ambitious and start with the one that came first, because perhaps it would inform my eventual study of Latin. (I like to get to the bottom of things.) I bought this book and began working my way through it, but it got harder and harder, and there was more and more to memorize, and eventually I wondered why I was doing it, and I gave up.
But the other weekend I read a review of a new book, Reading the OED. I took a look at it, because the OED has always fascinated me. But instead of that book, I decided to read The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, by Simon Winchester. Thus my interest in language was rekindled, and I decided it was time to study Latin. So I took this book out of the library the other day and have started going through it.
I’ve always felt that I missed something in my formal education. I never took a survey course in Western civilization, never read many of the so-called “great books,” never studied Greece and Rome, never learned about Western philosophy. Occasionally over the last few years I’ve tried to rectify this. I’ve read an introductory survey of Western philosophy, I’ve read about the great books and I’ve read some of the works themselves. The idea of the “Western canon” is passé these days, but it’s still the foundation of our culture. And I like to see the big picture, the connections among things. I think that’s why I enjoy history so much — because it tells us how we got from there to here.
And part of me thinks that in some way, studying all of this stuff — especially the ancient Greeks and Romans — can make me a better person, by making me a clearer thinker and a better writer. I envy people who did study all of this. I really envy those who went to St. John’s College, where you get immersed in the canon.
But can it really make you better or smarter? I think I’m already a clear thinker, and perhaps my writing would benefit less from classical languages and literature and more from actual writing, and courage, and discipline. But maybe I’m wrong? Perhaps it really can help?
I don’t know.
But I do love language.
I was a history major and a Latin minor in college. I opted to minor in Latin largely because the Latin professor (we really didn’t have much of a Classics department other than Latin) was one of the most exciting, energetic, thought-provoking, and fun teachers I’ve ever had. I took at least one of his classes each semester and have reaped enough benefits from it — largely because thanks to Latin I pretty much spell any word from a Romance background.
As far as the difficulty of the language goes, Latin is remarkably regular and easy to memorize compared to other languages; the real killer is the syntax, which can be tortuous to try work through. Since the word endings indicate the word’s role in the sentence, Latin authors liked to be fancy and arrange their text in as compiicated a way as possible. In terms of grammar its very similar to Russian, with the benefit at least of using the “Latin” alphabet.
Language is one of my passions, so I heartily encourage your endeavor. Wheelock’S Latin is the text-book I used in college and I highly recommend it; I’m not familiar with the one you’re working on.
I can understand the frustration having started with Greek. I’ve very interested in that language, too, but it’s several degrees even more removed from us than Latin — not in the least because its separate alphabet. I’d recommend Teach Yourself Ancient Greek next time you get in the mood.
Western history, culture, and language has been shaped much more by Rome and Latin than Greece and its language and so I think Latin is an excellent place to start. Roman history is fascinating, too, and increasingly relevant as our own Republic seems tottering on toward Empire. Studying Latin and the classics gives you access to vast troves of phrases, allusions, similes, and metaphors that can truly enhance and enliven one’s writing.
Not only do I think it can help, I know it can help.
What other languages have you studied, btw? I assume you learned some Japanese. What else?
Well:
* French from first grade through high school.
* Hebrew when I was a kid — I can still read it today, but I can’t really understand what I’m reading.
* three years of Japanese in high school overseas, plus another semester in college.
Latin isn’t seeming easy though. Those noun declensions are driving me nuts.
And the allusions, metaphors, etc. are interesting, but aren’t they more surface-y, pretty and ornate, instead of being substantive and teaching you how to think? Aren’t they information as opposed to wisdom?
I took 2 years of Latin in high school and college. The way that I learned the declensions was by writing out the endings in the chart form, like in the Wikipedia page you linked to. I have notebooks full of those charts, where I wrote out the endings hundreds of times. I also used Wheelock’s Latin in college, it’s a good text book. I always think I’ll go back and freshen up on my Latin, but so far I haven’t in the 8 years since I last studied it. But I do love it, and wish you luck in learning it!
I fell in love with Latin the first time I took it in college, and I’ve been hooked since. Good for you for picking it up on your own! It’s pretty self-teachable (to varying degrees, depending on the book).
Cases, as far as functions go, aren’t that different from the Japanese particles (though I speak only from one semester’s experience): ã¯/㌠= nominative, ã® = genitive, ã‚’ = accusative … And the basic word order is pretty similar: subject objects adverbials verb.
You must have hit 3rd declension though, from your frustration. How are you memorizing? There’s a strategy, which elementary texts tend not to be explicit about. I’d be happy to correspond further.
At least there’s no gender in the verbs like in Hebrew!
And it ain’t Sanskrit.
Translations are fine for prose works, but one misses out on the poetry. No translation can capture the beauty in the original.
Anyhow, ad astra per aspera! As they say.
My suggestion for someone who likes language and grammar is to dive right in with Moreland and Fleischer rather than Wheelock.
If you go to the website for Centre for Medieval Studies @ U Toronto (M.A., 1988), you’ll find a collection of “unseens” from past exams for their students; these can be great fun to work on and try to figure out. You might simply google “latin unseens” and see what you get.
Here’s another suggestion: get a copy of the Vulgate and choose a passage that you are familiar with from TNK and see what you can manage.
Have fun.
The only thing about history/culture that learning Latin will teach you is that governments have always been as venal, corrupt, and self-serving as they are now. Though their leaders have at times been much more eloquent.
Well, and that organized religion has always been as crazy as it is now.
The only reason to learn Latin at this point is to have fun. If you’re enjoying yourself, enjoying the play of language, the way people from thousands of years ago express the same things we express today in unfamiliar ways–then keep going; there’s more than enough literature to last you a lifetime. (The same is true of Greek, but Greek is much, much harder. I also find it much more rewarding. If you’re doing Greek, though, I’d suggest this, this, and this. Again a very fun approach. Like, the text in the first unit is about an insurance fraud, and people drown, and you learn like seven different words for “die.”)
If not, read some Cicero and Augustine in English and move on.
Ah. OK. Forget everything I said, then. Latin and Greek are worthless and Wheelock’s book sucks.
I had a year of Latin in high school and an accelerated year in college. I often hear how Latin helps with English- honestly, I never see an English word and think about whether it has a Latin root.
Semper ubi sub ubi!
When I’m bored on a train or subway, I’ll read the ads and eliminate the Latin roots and try to see if what’s left makes any sense.
The preable to the Constitution comes out:
We the – of the – – , in – to – a more – -, – – , – – -, – for the – – , – the – welfare, and – the blessings of – to ourselves and our -, do – and – this – for the – – of America.
After the Bush administration, that’s pretty much all that’s left of the Constitution.
Over the years I’ve found that Latin has its uses in professional life, at least my professional life. The odd Ciceronian phrase–say, Quem ad finem sese effrenata jactabit audacia?–delivered at the right moment in a department meeting tends to work wonders. And when you’re trying to fall asleep, you can always start reciting the Aeneid to yourself and see how far you get–those dactyllic hexameters are wonderfully soporific.
I regret that my seven years of “higher education” was more about vocational training than actual “education.” I also regret that I never had the opportunity to study Latin and Greek. (I also wish I had paid more attention in Hebrew school). But I don’t really have the patience to start learning any of those languages now that I’m old and decrepit. Too much effort for not enough visible prospect of reward. And it doesn’t seem much fun to do it alone.
That said, I’m very interested in the history of Greece and Rome. So my roommate and I have been watching lectures on these subjects from the Teaching Company. So far, we’ve done Jeremy McInerney’s “Ancient Greek Civilization,” Garrett Fagan’s “History of Ancient Rome,” John Hale’s “Classical Archaeology of Greece and Rome,” Robert Garland’s truly wonderful “Greece and Rome” (based on the premise that Greek and Roman cultures were actually a conjoined entity), and Elizabeth Vandiver’s “Classical Mythology.” These all offer different but complementary views of Classical civilization and culture, and each of them is worthwhile. You might also enjoy John McWhorter’s lectures on linguistics, even though he’s a conservative (but to his credit he’s a fan and performer of show tunes).
You might also want to look out for a documentary we saw on PBS last night, “The Real Olympics.” It re-enacts the ancient Greek games as realistically as puritanical American television standards permit (the Greeks competed naked; the ones in the documentary wore loincloths), describes the surprisingly violent nature of the events, and compares it all to the modern Olympics.
I studied Latin in high school for three years, and though at this point I don’t remember the intricacies, I pretty frequently still find the basics useful.
As for the declensions… I struggled for the first year, but something “clicked” during year 2 and it really made sense. I look at them now and can’t see any sense at all, but I remember it happening then, and being so relieved when it did.
I am also trying to learn Latin later in life. I am using Wheelock, Rosetta Stone and other methods but I am most enthusiastic about a free Latin class on the web based on an old text book entitled “The First Year of Latin”. The book’s goal is to enable a student to read Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gaulic Wars. The teacher of the free class on the web is named William Linney and his course is entitled Linney’s Latin Class. Look it up on Google. The book is on Amazon but a free copy can be down-loaded from Google Books. I downloaded from Google and am printing each lesson as needed. I listen to Linney’s lectures and do his homework assignments in the margins. He provides answers to homework at the end of each lesson. If you are as pleased as I am with his lectures send him an e-mail and encourage him to hurry up and finish his course. Currently he is on lesson 24 out of 73.