May 20 2008
Latin Learning Resources
Lately I’ve been watching a historical fiction TV series called The Tudors, which is about the reign of Henry VIII. One thing I noticed in that show, is that a lot of Latin conversation takes place, such as during the Roman Catholic ceremonies and whatnot. Latin is kind of a fascinating language to me; it sounds beautiful and sophisticated. This got me thinking: where are some good places to learn Latin on the Internet?
Even though Latin has no practical use anymore, it can be helpful to know some, especially if you’re in a scientific or medical field. I’m finding out, as a nursing student, that a lot of medical terms are based on Latin. So, having some knowledge of Latin would certainly help when I hear a medical term while on the job, or when I need to conjugate a word at a moment’s notice.
If you’re not in the medical field, it can still be beneficial to study Latin a bit to gain a better understanding of the Romance languages such as Spanish and French, which are based on Latin. As I study my medical stuff, I’m often surprised to see that a lot of the Latin words are very similar to their equivalent Spanish ones. So, I developed a way to remember my medical terms by knowing the Spanish equivalents. Also, believe it or not, the English language is also partly based on Latin too, so by learning some Latin you can gain a better understanding of English.
However, I wouldn’t spend too much time studying Latin. It’s pretty much a dead language, and you’d be better off spending the majority of your time learning a practical language like Spanish. Latin’s just good for a little exploring and, if you’re like me, learning a zillion medical terms.
Latin Learning Resources:
Latinum Latin Language Podcast
Downloadable Latin Textbooks and Guides
Beginners’ Latin - UK National Archives
There are also those who maintain that studying Latin is a good way to better understand western culture since all of Europe was greatly influenced by the Romans. Therefore all current countries that were once European colonies (like the Australia, Brazil and Mexico) are also greatly influenced by the Latin language and Roman literature. Shakespeare didn’t study English in school, he studied Latin. It’s kind of like Middle Easterners learning classical Arabic, Indians learning Sanskrit or Chinese learning Gu Wen (Ancient Chinese).
You’ve got some good points there, Ryan. Thanks for your input!
You can find out more about Latin by listening to
the Latinum podcast, which is totally free.
The Latinum Podcast is free, with a free textbook
pdf, lessons, and readings, using the Restored
Classical Pronunciation of Latin. Latinum is
highly regarded, and has thousands of regular
users.
http://latinum.mypodcast.com
Schola - The only social networking site in
existence where only Latin is used, and where the
entire site is in Latin, it is a sort of Latin
version of Facebook.
http://schola.ning.com/
SCHOLA ALSO HAS A FREE RESOURCE OF OVER 3 500
IMAGE CARDS, with the Latin word for an object
written over the top of a photo of the object.
This is an excellent way to learn new vocabulary.
You will be able to really strengthen your Latin
vocabulary using this free resource. The images
can be found in the photographiae section of
Schola.
These sites should be enough to help you get on
with learning to read, write and if you want to,
even learn how to speak Latin.