definitely Quinara's fault
Jan. 19th, 2011 09:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deird1The problem with LJ entries done entirely in Latin is that I'll definitely pause to read them just for the novelty factor.
And I'm curious - so if I discover that someone's written a fanfic based on a textbook, I'll start researching the textbook to find out how on earth that was possible.
And then I'll end up buying expensive Latin textbooks to go with my other expensive Latin textbooks, which is really a waste of money. (Actually, buying any Latin textbooks could technically be considered a waste of money - dead language, and all that - but I'm going to do it anyway.)
As it happens, this particular Latin textbook is absolutely perfect for me.
I have, for the record, five Latintextbooks book-type things that I'm using to learn the language. They are:
- Amo, Amas, Amat, and All That
- an intermediate Latin textbook (not the beginners one)
- Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis
- a book of fairytales translated into Latin
- the Cambridge Latin Course, Book 1 (aka the best Latin textbook ever)
Leaving aside the CLC, which I bought two weeks ago, this is a very odd way to learn Latin, but pretty much perfect for me.
If you gave me a Latin For Beginners book, it would... start the same way as every single Latin For Beginners book I've come across. That being:
"Here is what dative means. Here is what nominative means. Here is what vocative means. Here are fifty ways to decline a verb, depending on subject, object, tense, number, time of day, and favourite colour. sanus, sabus, sani, santi, santimissimus, subi, santi, sanubilo, san, santili..."
It's complex, repetitive, confusing, and boring. Very, very boring.
Whereas, my books...
Amo, Amas, Amat, and All That
Silly book of having fun with Latin. Helps me to remember why I find this language interesting in the first place. Not actually all that helpful in learning the language, but very helpful in getting me to read books that will.
intermediate Latin textbook
Has full sentences rather than single words. I can look at the sentence, look at the translation underneath, and try to match up words based on wild mass guessing. It also doesn't try to shove declensions down my throat - because it assumes I learnt those in the beginners book. Complex, but interesting. Also, it's enough of a challenge that my competitive nature keeps me reading it.
Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis
Latin Harry Potter! Whee!
Haven't really read it very much, but it's fun having it.
a book of fairytales translated into Latin
The thing I love about this one is that it translates Big Bad Wolf as "magnus malus lupus" and has "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!" end with "men-men-menti!" It sounds like a fairytale. Just... in Latin. It's also useful, because I already know the basic storyline, so it's easier to follow along rather than get stuck in the middle of every sentence.
And then...
the Cambridge Latin Course, Book 1
Best. Textbook. Ever.
It's a story. Instead of chucking declensions everywhere, it tells you all about this family, and their daily life, and them going shopping, and the cook having a secret romance with someone else's servant, and guests coming to dinner and swapping ghost stories, and the son being a klutz and breaking a statue, and the statue guy getting really annoyed about his statue being broken, and bargaining over the price of togas, and...
It's so much fun. And so simple.
I'm already up to plural perfect past accusatives - and I didn't even notice it happening. *loves*
I think I'm going to have to rush back to the foreign language bookshop and waste even more money on the rest of the series.
And I'm curious - so if I discover that someone's written a fanfic based on a textbook, I'll start researching the textbook to find out how on earth that was possible.
And then I'll end up buying expensive Latin textbooks to go with my other expensive Latin textbooks, which is really a waste of money. (Actually, buying any Latin textbooks could technically be considered a waste of money - dead language, and all that - but I'm going to do it anyway.)
As it happens, this particular Latin textbook is absolutely perfect for me.
I have, for the record, five Latin
- Amo, Amas, Amat, and All That
- an intermediate Latin textbook (not the beginners one)
- Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis
- a book of fairytales translated into Latin
- the Cambridge Latin Course, Book 1 (aka the best Latin textbook ever)
Leaving aside the CLC, which I bought two weeks ago, this is a very odd way to learn Latin, but pretty much perfect for me.
If you gave me a Latin For Beginners book, it would... start the same way as every single Latin For Beginners book I've come across. That being:
"Here is what dative means. Here is what nominative means. Here is what vocative means. Here are fifty ways to decline a verb, depending on subject, object, tense, number, time of day, and favourite colour. sanus, sabus, sani, santi, santimissimus, subi, santi, sanubilo, san, santili..."
It's complex, repetitive, confusing, and boring. Very, very boring.
Whereas, my books...
Amo, Amas, Amat, and All That
Silly book of having fun with Latin. Helps me to remember why I find this language interesting in the first place. Not actually all that helpful in learning the language, but very helpful in getting me to read books that will.
intermediate Latin textbook
Has full sentences rather than single words. I can look at the sentence, look at the translation underneath, and try to match up words based on wild mass guessing. It also doesn't try to shove declensions down my throat - because it assumes I learnt those in the beginners book. Complex, but interesting. Also, it's enough of a challenge that my competitive nature keeps me reading it.
Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis
Latin Harry Potter! Whee!
Haven't really read it very much, but it's fun having it.
a book of fairytales translated into Latin
The thing I love about this one is that it translates Big Bad Wolf as "magnus malus lupus" and has "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!" end with "men-men-menti!" It sounds like a fairytale. Just... in Latin. It's also useful, because I already know the basic storyline, so it's easier to follow along rather than get stuck in the middle of every sentence.
And then...
the Cambridge Latin Course, Book 1
Best. Textbook. Ever.
It's a story. Instead of chucking declensions everywhere, it tells you all about this family, and their daily life, and them going shopping, and the cook having a secret romance with someone else's servant, and guests coming to dinner and swapping ghost stories, and the son being a klutz and breaking a statue, and the statue guy getting really annoyed about his statue being broken, and bargaining over the price of togas, and...
It's so much fun. And so simple.
I'm already up to plural perfect past accusatives - and I didn't even notice it happening. *loves*
I think I'm going to have to rush back to the foreign language bookshop and waste even more money on the rest of the series.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 10:38 pm (UTC)Gabrielle
no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 10:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 11:13 pm (UTC)Best. Textbook. Ever.
So much this! Latin was my favourite subject at school and it was almost entirely down to Quintus, Caecilius, Metella, Grumio, Clemens et al. (Plus an AMAZING teacher)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 11:15 pm (UTC)It's such a good book! I don't know how I hadn't heard of it earlier.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 12:03 am (UTC)It's such a good book! I don't know how I hadn't heard of it earlier.
I guess it is more of a school thing and you only know about it if you used it?
no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 12:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 11:28 pm (UTC)I feel like there should be a massive (and cheap) second-hand market for the course, but maybe not down under? I assume you've checked out eBay and all the usual suspects...?
Also, on Harry Potter - definitely hang onto it. I read it when I was doing AS Latin (I think), so when I'd encountered pretty much all standard grammar and had a reasonable vocabulary, but nothing fancy, and I think it was actually really good for me. I was never entirely sure if I was reading it or just using it as a prompt to remember the English in my head (that book - I know it), but it's brilliant at reinforcing useful constructions like accusative+infinitive and it feels like such an achievement to get through the whole book, even if most of the vocabulary is made up/adapted.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 11:34 pm (UTC)Not that I know of. From what I've seen, learning Latin is way more common in Britain than it is in Australia. I think I could have done it at uni, if I'd done a completely different course...
I always want to know all the grammar stuff so I can dive into things and know what they mean, specifically, rather than intuiting (where I spend most of my time second-guessing myself).
You are my complete opposite! I find it so much easier to start with the intuiting.
Yay Latin!
no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 11:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 02:16 am (UTC)I loved the Cambridge Latin Course Book 1, but then at the end of that book Vesuvius erupted (sorry, was that a spoiler? :D) and the next books were about people I didn't know and didn't care about running around in Roman Britain. So I was much happier when we graduated onto Livy and Vergil. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes and people getting eaten by sea serpents = much more fun.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 02:32 am (UTC)Ack! Spoilers! *shuns*
Someday I'm going to (finally) get back to Europe, and visit Caecilius' house in Pompeii...
no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 04:00 am (UTC)(The Doctor shows up to save them all, of course.)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 04:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 02:28 am (UTC)I'm glad it's working for you! Like Quin, I want to know all my info at once, but I think learning Latin intuitively first gave me the building blocks to attack other languages systematically. My Latin teacher was my hero and I'm pretty much in Classics now because of her. She refused to speak to us in English after the first week. We learned by fire. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 02:31 am (UTC)Awesome.
When I was on exchange in Germany, I encountered an awful lot of teachers who would suddenly switch their classes to English (not in English class, mind you - this is in maths, or geography...) and expect everyone to keep up. Way to make a ten year old learn English really fast: refuse to let him go to the toilet until he learns how to phrase his request in English. :)