Margarita Diglot Newbie Netherlands Joined 5385 days ago 19 posts - 22 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2
| Message 1 of 10 06 January 2013 at 2:39pm | IP Logged |
Hi!
I was hoping someone here could give me some advice on which book or course to buy to
lear some basic Latin. At the moment I dont know any Latin, I have never had lessons in
school or read anything about it.
Recently I saw an advert for a lecture near me about Latin for the Arts. So it was one
lecture and they talked about common words/phrases and such you needed to know in order
to understand some of the latin on art and in older churches etc. Unfortunately I
couldnt make it to this lecture and was wondering if anyone knows about a book or self-
study course that offers the same type of information.
At the moment I am not interested in a full Latin course with lots of grammar but some
basic knowledge of common words and phrases (and dates) in artwork would be really
helpfull.
Does anyone have any tips on books that could help me with this? Thank you!
1 person has voted this message useful
|
tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4517 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish
| Message 2 of 10 06 January 2013 at 4:43pm | IP Logged |
Well, it depends on what you want. Many Dutch students at the gymnasium (as you know)
have studied Latin, including me. But I am assuming you don't want course books for Dutch
students. If you want to browse a selection of materials I recommend you go to
www.intertaal.nl and check out what they have on Latin. I
studied Latin years ago, so all I can tell you is that there is a good dictionary Latin-
Dutch if you are interested (by Pinkster, Amsterdam University Press).
Assimil only has a French base, iirc.
Edited by tarvos on 06 January 2013 at 4:43pm
1 person has voted this message useful
|
sipes23 Diglot Senior Member United States pluteopleno.com/wprs Joined 4680 days ago 134 posts - 235 votes Speaks: English*, Latin Studies: Spanish, Ancient Greek, Persian
| Message 3 of 10 07 January 2013 at 3:47am | IP Logged |
If your English is up to it, *Amo, Amas, Amat and More* by Eugene Erlich has a bunch of short Latin phrases that
may turn up in English (maybe other languages too, but I don't know). It probably won't get you by with inscriptions
in churches and the like, but it's what I know that isn't a full on Latin course.
I wonder if there is such a book? That said, a lot of the Latin I've seen in paintings is usually quoted (usually out of
the Bible) or easy to guess at.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5366 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona
| Message 4 of 10 07 January 2013 at 6:36am | IP Logged |
I'd highly recommend "Lingua Latina - Pars I: Familia Romana" and "Lingua Latina - Pars II: Roma Aeterna" for starters (ideally with the accompanying audio files). They're wonderful inductive readers - i.e. you learn Latin through Latin in progressive narrative steps, and learn a lot about the culture, literature, and history along the way.
I've also heard good things about the "Cambridge Latin" series. :)
Edited by Teango on 07 January 2013 at 6:38am
2 persons have voted this message useful
|
renaissancemedi Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Greece Joined 4168 days ago 941 posts - 1309 votes Speaks: Greek*, Ancient Greek*, EnglishC2 Studies: French, Russian, Turkish, Modern Hebrew
| Message 5 of 10 07 January 2013 at 8:57am | IP Logged |
I've got Teach yourself beginner's Latin, and it is a lot of fun. Plus it teaches the language as if you were going to speak it. Which means that you get a good idea of its stucture, some basic vocabulary and a loosened tongue! It has a nice storyline as well, not to mention historical facts on latin, and some classical passages.
I recommend it.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
renaissancemedi Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Greece Joined 4168 days ago 941 posts - 1309 votes Speaks: Greek*, Ancient Greek*, EnglishC2 Studies: French, Russian, Turkish, Modern Hebrew
| Message 6 of 10 07 January 2013 at 9:26am | IP Logged |
Margarita wrote:
At the moment I am not interested in a full Latin course with lots of grammar but some
basic knowledge of common words and phrases (and dates) in artwork would be really
helpfull.
|
|
|
This could be a matter of finding a book on art inscriptions from certain eras then, rather than learning latin as a language. Have you tried that?
1 person has voted this message useful
|
AlexTG Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 4448 days ago 178 posts - 354 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Latin, German, Spanish, Japanese
| Message 7 of 10 07 January 2013 at 10:43am | IP Logged |
I can personally vouch for the Cambridge Latin series. It's pretty painless and quick for self learners. It
provides a series of stories using increasingly complex language. It uses English to present new words and
concepts unlike the latin-only Lingua Latina (your choice whether that's good or bad).
It doesn't focus much on teaching grammar. Often the context of the story will make the intended meaning
clear even if you choose to stay away from declension tables.
Problems might be 1. Alot of space is spent on history
lessons written in English, 2. It focuses exclusivly on the roman world, not
medieval which you seem most interested in.
Edited by AlexTG on 07 January 2013 at 10:51am
1 person has voted this message useful
|
Γρηγόρη Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 4265 days ago 55 posts - 154 votes Speaks: English*, Greek, Latin, Ancient Greek Studies: German, French, Russian
| Message 8 of 10 08 January 2013 at 5:41pm | IP Logged |
I teach Latin at the University level, and I would highly recommend Lingua Latina, as mentioned above. There
are some supplementary books that accompany the book that will help you in the absence of a teacher. I am
familiar with many text books and none is so well designed and thorough as Lingua Latina.
3 persons have voted this message useful
|