Learning Latin

So I've decided that I'd like to learn Latin. Well I've actually been intrigued by the language for years but recently decided that I'd really like to learn it. Apparently Latin isn't exactly popular where I live as I checked all the local community colleges and none of them offer courses in the subject. I've done searches here and elsewhere and am undecided about Rosetta Stone as it appears to work for some but not others so even though I'm leaning that direction, I'm not sold on it yet. I would like to take classes and will need to do more research as to finding them, but right now the easy answer of college courses doesn't look to be working in my favor. I definitely want to have both text and audio to learn with audio being a requirement. So for those that have gone about learning the language, what do you recommend? P.S. I know I should be learning Spanish based on where I live, but the language never really excited me. My mom's even fluent in Spanish but never taught it to us growing up. But, I would like to learn the language but feel that I would quit soon after out of boredom. With Latin, I have a genuine interest and feel that I would be persistent with it as once I gain an interest in something I stick with it. This explains why I'm here for one. I'm also hoping that by learning Latin and having fun doing so, it would trigger a future excitement in learning Spanish and other languages.

I've been taking Latin since high school. I've only learned it in a classroom setting, so I don't have any recommendations re: other methods. However, I will say that it's a tedious language. But that's mostly my opinion.

What is the point? If you don't use it on a regular basis, you'll lose it very quickly. Are you planning on reading Ovid or Vergil in Latin? If you've got a serious interest in history or ancient literature, go for it. However, I'm of the belief that if you're going to put effort into learning a language, put it in to learning one that can actually help you in life. I can't imagine why anyone that wasn't a scholar would need/want to learn Latin. The novelty will wear off quickly.

Why do you want an audio component?

Are you interested in learning Church Latin for understanding liturgy, etc., or are you interested in classical Latin? If so, an auditory component is much less important.

The first question you'll want to think about is whether you learn better inductively or deductively. That is, are you better at learning grammatical constructs and building up from those to sentences; or, do you find it easier to work top-down, diving right into short readings the illustrate grammar and morphology?

This should help you decide on a course of study that fits your needs.

Well, I'm re-reading the Aeneid in Latin at this very moment. I started with Latin in the 9th grade, so I can't coach you specifically on that, but I did teach myself Greek. In fact, I recently finished re-reading the Homeric epics in the original. If I could teach myself Greek, you could probably teach yourself Latin. I don't think you need to bother with audio tapes and such. You're not likely ever to have to use it conversationally.

Yeah, it's not as practical as Spanish, I suppose, but it is noble language that stands at the very core of Western Civilization. It was the language of ancient Rome, with its rich corpus of literature. It was the language of the Western Church and was the common language of culture, philosophy and literature throughout the entire Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. If you want to learn it, by all means go for it!

Originally Posted by Connemara

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I've been taking Latin since high school. I've only learned it in a classroom setting, so I don't have any recommendations re: other methods. However, I will say that it's a tedious language. But that's mostly my opinion.

+1
I learned Latin in school as well... tedious and pretty useless language.

There is a difference in learning Latin as just in time VS just in case, the latter of which will not get you as urgent or passionate about learning it, which may cause you to quit due to not having a direct need for it, which isn't to say you won't stick it with, the odds are just not as good

I took three semesters of Latin in college and absolutely loved it. It improved my understanding of every language I know, including my native English as well as classical Japanese, of all things. Latin sayings in literature that I'd been clueless about most of my life suddenly made more sense.

A girlfriend tried to talk me out of it at the time, saying it was useless, but in fact it was one of the most broadly useful things I studied. If you have the interest and motivation, learn it. There's nothing tedious about it if you really love languages.

Originally Posted by Chouse

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I learned Latin in school as well... tedious and pretty useless language.

I do not think so. As Nantucket Red said, Latin really helps understanding the structure and a lot of words in other languages - especially French, Spanish and Italian.

A friend of mine commented that people with a Classics background who often appear unemployable are very employable. He claims that Latin particularly so trains the mind that the person is very prepared and capable for other "normal' type employment. Maths of course also can help and he maintains the best mind is the combination of the training from both disciplines.

My view is similar to that above that if one is going to learn another language (I speak 5 largely self taught from age 17 onwards) better to use the time fruitfully by learning a modern language with high impact - like Spanish. Spanish is the easiest and most useful of all the Latin languages because it is the key in the lock of all the modern Latin langauges IMHO...unless of course you want to approach them from the original Latin!

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4 years of latin through high school and very little to show for it.

Quid sub toga portas?

K

I took Latin for years in high school. It was a great tool for improving my understanding of English and of other languages. In particular, my sentence structure, grammar, and ability to write were vastly improved as a result of my Latin courses.

That said, it's not a spoken language - we weren't even taught Latin as a spoken language - and beyond peripheral benefits such as those I've mentioned, it won't have too much direct purpose. Reading the Aeneid in Latin sounds cool, but it's mostly tedious, and I'm not so sure you get more out of it in the native language than you would otherwise. Catullus is pretty interesting, however.

Still, you'll be a long way off from meaningful reading of the Aeneid in Latin, and it's going to be very, very difficult to find a class.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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Still, you'll be a long way off from meaningful reading of the Aeneid in Latin, and it's going to be very, very difficult to find a class.

+1

What JLib neglected to mention is that he has a phd in classics from oxford, so his latin is probably a lot better than most. And he's an old guy, so he has time to do things like re-read The Aeneid and Homeric epics (which are greek) in his considerable free time. If you are really going to use it and therefore not waste all your time studying to eventually forget it, then I think it's great, but as VKK said, most people that take latin or any language for a few years forget them as soon as they are out of school.

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