На одном форуме Эван Милнер (Evan Millner aka metrodorus aka Molendinarius) изложил (по английски, разумеется) некоторые соображения, касающиеся возросшей актуальности изучения латинского языка в наши дни по сравнению с недавным прошлым. Нынешнюю ситуацию Милнер сравнивает с началом книгопечатания. Некогда печатный станок сделал книги доступными широкому кругу людей и способствовал расцвету латыни, так как многие смогли обратиться к классическим произведениям. В наше время существование электронных библиотек (взять хотя бы Книги Гугл) приводит к тому, что человек, имеющий подключение к интернету, имеет в своём распоряжении не избранные томики Цицерона, а огромное множество пылившихся ранее на полках латинский книг, содержащих двухтысячелетнее культурное наследие. Милнер делает вывод, что для овладения этим наследием сейчас как никогда важно уметь по крайней мете свободно читать по-латински, что требует организации глубокого изучения этого языка.
Эван Милнер - энтузиаст, много сделавший и делающий для популяризации латинского языка в интернете. В частности, он является создателем сайта Schola и подкаста Latinum.
У нас на форуме близкие идеи некогда высказывал Damaskin, см., например, Латынь и эллинский.
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Monday, 20 December 2010
Learning Latin with Comenius
Comenius arranged his course in a gradated series:
1. The Vestibulum, with an associated grammar for beginners
1a. The Orbis Sensualium Pictus - an amplified form of the Vestibulum.
2. The Janua Linguarum, with an associated grammar and lexicon.
3. The Janua Linguarum Aurea, with an associated grammar and colloquia.
4. The Atrium, with an associated grammar.
5. A Lexicon wholly in Latin.
How could the student use this material?
1. His or her first step, should be to listen to the Vestibulum in bilingual audio, until the work can be fully understood in the Latin only. This will mean listening to the book several times.
Once the student has done this, he or she needs to read the work - there are some digital scans available through the Europeana portal. Simply type "vestibulum" into the search box, the first three or four texts are examples in Latin and Hungarian. These texts can be downloaded as pdf files.
1a. The Orbis Sensualium Pictus is your next step. (If you cannot download the Vestibulum you could begin with the Orbis Pictus) You will notice that you have not been exposed to any formal grammar - this will follow, once you have started to expose yourself to the language, and build up an intuitive structure, and a good vocabulary.
The Orbis Sensualium Pictus is available in audio in a bilingual format on latinum, and also, for revision, in a monolingual format. There are many examples of this text in many languages parallel to the Latin available on google books, europeana, and archive.org
This text needs to be listened to and re-read many dozens of times - it is a long text, and will give you a rich vocabulary of 1000's of words - preparing you for reading a wide range of texts in Latin.
2. Comenius' introductory grammar is not yet available in bilingual form - this text can at present only be accessed through the CAMENA scan of Comenius Complete Educational Works (Opera Didactica Omnia)
here is the link to the introductory grammar: Scroll down to the bottom of the page to locate it, and then click through to read each page.
Once you have studied the Vestibulum and the Orbis Sensualium Pictus, and feel you know the vocabulary, you should consolidate what you know by reading the following texts, which cover the same ground, with differing degrees of variation and amplification of the material.
Reading these subsidiary texts is a useful self-check, to see if you have actually learned the material in the Orbis. If you are struggling, return to the Orbis Pictus, and re-read it a few more times.
Sunday, 19 December 2010
latinum
Breadmaster: For Latin, check out the YouTube channel of evan1965. He's a chap in London who's made it his mission to teach people Latin orally, as part of which he's posting a series of short videos which, when completed, will in theory form a complete Latin course. He has also done a series of audio podcasts based on a nineteenth-century Latin textbook, which I got a good way through - they vary from a bit impenetrable to very useful. The new video series seems like a lot of fun. I liked it when he introduced the "potus inebriatus vilis" - a big bottle of vodka.
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Sabe latín
Sabe latín
SCHOLA
Hoy el Náufrago se ha encontrado con una grata noticia, al menoS para él. En este mundial batiburrillo digital que es Internet, donde uno encuentra cosas despreciables, páginas interesantes, herramientas útiles, infinidad de utilidades, también se topa con sorpresas en las que no habría pensado. La que hoy ha encontrado en esta babel de idiomas, es una página escrita en latín, denominada SCHOLA. En ella se pueden encontrar páginas personales, foros de discusión, grupos de amigos, ‘películas’, sección de fotos, chats, todo ello escrito el la lengua de Virgilius, Caesar, o Marcus Tullius Cicero. Todo un hallazgo para alguien que estudió latín en el antiguo bachillerato y dos años más, en la Facultad, en los entonces llamados ‘Comunes’ (cursos), donde se estudiaba además de Lengua, Historias y otras materias, Griego y Latín. Muchos años han pasado desde entonces y este encuentro ha sido una sorpresa agradable . Que en este mundo donde imperan las ciencias físicas, químicas, económicas y políticas, las tecnologías, antiguas y nuevas, las ingenierías y demás estudios técnicos, donde las lenguas clásicas van despareciendo de los 'curricula', constatar que hay gentes que aún se sirven de nuestra lengua madre para comunicarse entre sí es, para el Náufrago, una gran noticia, aunque haya olvidado mucho de aquello que estudió.
Le satisfizo doblemente, que haya alguien que se dedique al cultivo de conocimientos, considerados ‘inútiles’ en nuestros planes de estudio, y también porque, con un poco de esfuerzo, pudo ver que no se había olvidado del todo de declinaciones, conjugaciones y sintaxis. De este modo, y con un poco de esfuerzo, pudo llegar a entender, con más o menos acierto, lo que Andrew Semipalatins , un Kazakhstaní, preguntaba a sus ‘disputatores et disputatrices’ del ‘forum’. Decía así si comentario:
Gran pregunta la de Andrew que ni en Kazakhstano, ni en inglés , ni en latín, ni en español tiene respuestas sin mentiras. Pero más allá de esta endemoniada pregunta, el Náufrago ha celebrado que en Kazakhstan haya gente que utiliza el latín para comunicar con sus amigos alemanes, griegos, norteamericanos, yugoslavos, italianos, argentinos o rusos.
-------------------
- Ref: SCHOLA. http://schola.ning.com/
In foro LATINO estis. Qvidqvid igitur aliter qvam latine compositum delebitur.
Hoy el Náufrago se ha encontrado con una grata noticia, al menoS para él. En este mundial batiburrillo digital que es Internet, donde uno encuentra cosas despreciables, páginas interesantes, herramientas útiles, infinidad de utilidades, también se topa con sorpresas en las que no habría pensado. La que hoy ha encontrado en esta babel de idiomas, es una página escrita en latín, denominada SCHOLA. En ella se pueden encontrar páginas personales, foros de discusión, grupos de amigos, ‘películas’, sección de fotos, chats, todo ello escrito el la lengua de Virgilius, Caesar, o Marcus Tullius Cicero. Todo un hallazgo para alguien que estudió latín en el antiguo bachillerato y dos años más, en la Facultad, en los entonces llamados ‘Comunes’ (cursos), donde se estudiaba además de Lengua, Historias y otras materias, Griego y Latín. Muchos años han pasado desde entonces y este encuentro ha sido una sorpresa agradable . Que en este mundo donde imperan las ciencias físicas, químicas, económicas y políticas, las tecnologías, antiguas y nuevas, las ingenierías y demás estudios técnicos, donde las lenguas clásicas van despareciendo de los 'curricula', constatar que hay gentes que aún se sirven de nuestra lengua madre para comunicarse entre sí es, para el Náufrago, una gran noticia, aunque haya olvidado mucho de aquello que estudió.Le satisfizo doblemente, que haya alguien que se dedique al cultivo de conocimientos, considerados ‘inútiles’ en nuestros planes de estudio, y también porque, con un poco de esfuerzo, pudo ver que no se había olvidado del todo de declinaciones, conjugaciones y sintaxis. De este modo, y con un poco de esfuerzo, pudo llegar a entender, con más o menos acierto, lo que Andrew Semipalatins , un Kazakhstaní, preguntaba a sus ‘disputatores et disputatrices’ del ‘forum’. Decía así si comentario:
“Salvete disputatores disputatricesque forumi Scholae!Más o menos, diccionario en mano , el Náufrago llegó a entender qué preguntaba a sus ‘dialécticos y dialécticas’ sobre las medidas que estaban tomando en sus respectivos países para aplicar a la crisis que también llega a ‘Kazakhstania,’ donde vive : se cierran fábricas, crece el desempleo, pasan meses sin poder cobrar los sueldos. Incluso a militares y agentes públicos. que los mandan a casita. ‘¿Qué ocurrirá el año que viene? se pregunta ¿Qué pensáis de todo esto? añade
Velim, ut quisque de rebus in regione sua nobis proponeat. In animo crisim habeo.In Kazakhstania, ubi habito (quae in Asia centrali est), male res se habent. Fabricae sistunt, hominibus munus adimitur, merces per multos menses non solvitur. Etiam milites et custodes publici domum dimittuntur! Quid in anno proximo erit? Quid de rebus his malis putatis?"
Gran pregunta la de Andrew que ni en Kazakhstano, ni en inglés , ni en latín, ni en español tiene respuestas sin mentiras. Pero más allá de esta endemoniada pregunta, el Náufrago ha celebrado que en Kazakhstan haya gente que utiliza el latín para comunicar con sus amigos alemanes, griegos, norteamericanos, yugoslavos, italianos, argentinos o rusos.
-------------------
- Ref: SCHOLA. http://schola.ning.com/
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Europe
Europe, and European civilisation? Where lies its heart? It lies in the Rome of Caesar, the Rome of Cicero. From the fall of the Roman Empire, until the edges of living memory, the throb of the culture of Rome was the heartbeat of European civilisation. Alongside it, beat the secondary hearts of the Church and the Synagogue – but it was Rome that provided the cultural lifeblood of secular Europe.
In the twentieth century, for the first time since the fall of Rome, the blood of Latin has drained from Europe’s arteries. The language of Rome, removed from requirements for university admission in the mid twentieth century, slid rapidly towards oblivion. Our common language, and the common set of ideas that had held Europe together with a unity of purpose for over 2500 years, ideas and language that defined our civilisation, became foreign to us. The measured words of Caesar, and the epic thrill of Vergil, were words and patterns that were once as familiar to every schoolboy in Albion, as ‘Poker Face’.
The fiery prose of Cicero, defending the virtues of the republic, the sharp smut of Catullus, the measured lines of Tacitus and Livy – all are now truly as dust. In 60 years, Europe let slip the painter, and the boat of history drifted silently. Few mourned, and even fewer understood their loss.
As Rome finally fell, the Church and the Synagogue weakened, and faltered. The Biblical text, with its alternative narrative to that of ancient Rome, in the span of a generation became as foreign to most Europeans as the Bhagavadgita.
As a result, we lost the ideological core that has given our civilisation such vitality – the dramatic tension that defined the relationship between the worldview of pagan Rome of the Caesars, and the Bible – Athens and Jerusalem - a tension so extreme, that one could feel it hum – this tension is no more. We still feed off its residues, but for how much longer can a residue sustain? We are slack, irresolute, and weak. A new generation has arisen that knows not Caesar.
Those who are growing up in Europe this century are impoverished. Once, a Briton could declaim, with little irony, ‘Civis Romanus sum.’ A child of this millennium not only cannot, but cannot comprehend the proclamation. The children of our time do not know the ground upon which the idea that is Europe stands. Some feel a sense of loss, a sense of lack, but they know not of what. This generation, defined by consumerism and a shallow palimpsest popular culture, a shadow of Rome, its bread, its circuses, is almost rudderless. Will this generation be able to withstand the force of those in our midst who have not abandoned their founding myths and ideologies? With what will it oppose, if not with mindless fascism? Therein lies the danger of emptiness, and a bloodless heart.
Our anaemic civilisation has lost its narrative, and we have nothing to oppose the ideological purity of those who have not. Is it not time once again to render unto Caesar, those things that are Caesar’s? Is it not time we returned to our roots? Is it not time once again for the virile prose of Rome, and for the pumping blood of Rome to flow?
MMX
In the twentieth century, for the first time since the fall of Rome, the blood of Latin has drained from Europe’s arteries. The language of Rome, removed from requirements for university admission in the mid twentieth century, slid rapidly towards oblivion. Our common language, and the common set of ideas that had held Europe together with a unity of purpose for over 2500 years, ideas and language that defined our civilisation, became foreign to us. The measured words of Caesar, and the epic thrill of Vergil, were words and patterns that were once as familiar to every schoolboy in Albion, as ‘Poker Face’.
The fiery prose of Cicero, defending the virtues of the republic, the sharp smut of Catullus, the measured lines of Tacitus and Livy – all are now truly as dust. In 60 years, Europe let slip the painter, and the boat of history drifted silently. Few mourned, and even fewer understood their loss.
As Rome finally fell, the Church and the Synagogue weakened, and faltered. The Biblical text, with its alternative narrative to that of ancient Rome, in the span of a generation became as foreign to most Europeans as the Bhagavadgita.
As a result, we lost the ideological core that has given our civilisation such vitality – the dramatic tension that defined the relationship between the worldview of pagan Rome of the Caesars, and the Bible – Athens and Jerusalem - a tension so extreme, that one could feel it hum – this tension is no more. We still feed off its residues, but for how much longer can a residue sustain? We are slack, irresolute, and weak. A new generation has arisen that knows not Caesar.
Those who are growing up in Europe this century are impoverished. Once, a Briton could declaim, with little irony, ‘Civis Romanus sum.’ A child of this millennium not only cannot, but cannot comprehend the proclamation. The children of our time do not know the ground upon which the idea that is Europe stands. Some feel a sense of loss, a sense of lack, but they know not of what. This generation, defined by consumerism and a shallow palimpsest popular culture, a shadow of Rome, its bread, its circuses, is almost rudderless. Will this generation be able to withstand the force of those in our midst who have not abandoned their founding myths and ideologies? With what will it oppose, if not with mindless fascism? Therein lies the danger of emptiness, and a bloodless heart.
Our anaemic civilisation has lost its narrative, and we have nothing to oppose the ideological purity of those who have not. Is it not time once again to render unto Caesar, those things that are Caesar’s? Is it not time we returned to our roots? Is it not time once again for the virile prose of Rome, and for the pumping blood of Rome to flow?
MMX
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
Teaching Latin in Latin
In the Renaissance, Latin was usually taught through the medium of Latin. Various textbooks were published, giving teachers examples of the types of dialogues they could use to examine in grammar, from the very first stages.
Vocabulary was built by showing objects, by acting out, or by displaying pictures.
This method of teaching died out when Latin stopped being used as a spoken language of the educated, around the mid 1700's. The main reason this happened, was the rise of the Nation State, and the resulting focus on patriotism, and the national languages.
By the mid 1800's, Latin was almost universally taught as a translation course, or as a philological course, and not as a language course per se.
By the mid 1800's, Latin was almost universally taught as a translation course, or as a philological course, and not as a language course per se.
However, as Comenius noted in the mid 1700's, no matter the goal - for example, when teaching Biblical Hebrew, where no communicative facility is required, the most expeditious method of gaining knowledge, is still through listening, and reading, with listening coming first - the point is where do you stop developing your skill - if you are just learning the language to read in it, your skill level in speaking need not develop.
In Comenius' day, skill at speaking the vernacular, and Latin, were both desirable.
In the late 1900's various teachers tried to resurrect the previous method - Adler, in 1856, wrote a huge textbook based around spoken Latin. Others composed similar courses.
However, the lack of teachers who could speak the language, or teach it in the language itself, meant these efforts were largely ignored. Scientific knowledge about how languages are learned progressed. Latin remained a philological subject. The hours available for teaching it were much reduced,and the expectations that students would actually be able to read fluently, vanished. A generation of teachers arose who had limited language skills in the language they were teaching - versed in grammar, they were more akin to linguistics students, who analyse a language, than their colleagues in the French and Spanish departments.
There is a growing number of teachers who want to teach Latin in Latin, who acknowledge that this makes their classes more attractive to their students, that enrollments are higher, when the classes are more enjoyable, and are not just about grammar, and translation.
As an experiment, a model language class was developed, and the lessons posted on YouTube, using Adler's Latin Ollendorff text as the fundamental text, with the grammatical exegesis in Latin drawn from a selection of renaissance textbooks.
This course - which will consist of several hundred short lessons, makes extensive use of gesture, physical objects, and slide shows with voice over for objects that cannot be easily obtained. Latin is taught through dialogue. Grammatical concepts are introduced incrementally, and slowly the student builds up the ability to discuss Latin grammar in Latin, while gradually expanding their ability to talk about a wider range of subjects.
Internationational Audio Visual Latin Course - Latin taught through Latin
The Cursum Latinum is currently in development. At the time or writing, over 200 lessons are available , with new material being uploaded to the dedicated YouTube channel on almost a daily basis - the complete course, which will cover all the fundamentals of Latin, and a great amount of more advanced material, will comprise well over 1000 lessons.
This is a course designed for the serious student of Latin, who wishes to be able to read texts which do not have translations (i.e. the vast bulk of material ever written in Latin in the past 2000, most of which remains untranslated). Due to its unique structure, the Cursum Latinum can be used by both adults and children. Even advanced students of Latin can benefit enormously from this course.
The Cursum Latinum is designed to train students to read and think in Latin. It is not a translation course. The goal is to reach a high level of reading fluency.
The methodology is very traditional, and uses a methodology that has documented origins in Roman times.
At present, the Cursum Latinum is only available (for free) on YouTube. It is the only course of its type in existence. There are a small number of teachers around the world, who teach Latin in Latin, but at present, the Cursum Latinum is the only example of such a course openly accessible, outside the confines of the University of Kentucky's Latin department, the Vivarium Novum, and a handful of classrooms around the world.
Unlike a book-based course, the Cursum Latinum offers you a teacher. As the course follows Adler's text, "A Practical Grammar of the Latin Language for Speaking and Writing Latin", it is possible to use Adler (available on Google Books) to move along with the course, although the exact match to pages in Adler is not explicit, as the course uses other material, notably the educational materials for teaching Latin in Latin developed byJohn Amos Comenius in the mid seventeenth century, and materials developed by der Millner himself.
As the course is entirely in Latin, it can be used by students internationally. It also has the distinct advantage in that it will not date, as Latin is immutable, but the vernacular languages shift over time.
The foundational methodology of the Cursum Latinum is that developed by Jean Manesca in the late 1700's for teaching language orally, using conversation. This method was subsequently adopted by Henri Ollendorff, who wrote a textbook for teaching Latin using this method in the early 1840's. George Adler, a noted German-American linguist, re-wrote this text, and published it in 1856, the year before his death.
The text then sank into oblivion, to be rediscovered by der Millner in 2007.
Initially, the text was serialised as an audio course along with the English explanations, on the Latinumpodcast.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Introduction to Caesar
Introduction to Caesar's
De Bello Gallico (DVD)
1000+ minutes of audio mp3 files
You can find this DVD in the Latinum store on Kunaki.
This material is suitable for intermediate students of Latin.
1. This DVD contains the audio for Lowe, Butler and Walker's introductory text for Caesar, Cannon's introductory text for Caesar, vocabulary audio files, and a separate literal English translation in audio.
2. The audio covers Book One of Caesar's Gallic War, from Chapter 1 to Chapter 28.
3. Lowe's text on the DVD is numbered from 000 to 106
4. Cannon's text is named Cannon's Caesar, and is numbered from 001 to 029
5. The vocabulary audio is taken from Cannon's text, and contains all the vocabulary in audio for book one of De Bello Gallico. Each word or phrase is read in Latin - English - Latin.
6. The English literal version is contained in the files numbered 1001 to 1029, and contains a literal rendition of the text.
You can find this DVD in the Latinum store on Kunaki.
How to use this material:
The student can examine the contents of the texts, and work out their own approach to using these audio resources.
Lowe's text contains much grammatical information, and the audio really needs to be used in conjunction with the text. This is a comprehensive textbook, which also lays down an overview of Latin grammar as it proceeds through the material line by line. This textbook contains a full Latin syntax, which is not read out in
audio, but which might be useful for the student to consult.
Cannon's text contains a re-written summary in simplified Latin of each chapter, followed by the
actual chapter. This text also contains a brief grammatical appendix, which is not included in the audio.
The English literal translation is to be found in the files numbered 1001 to 1029. It might be useful for a beginning student to listen to the English, before looking at the Latin, so that he or she is more or less familiar with the text before attempting to learn it.
The vocabulary files are intended to consolidate what you know, and can be listened to before starting the material, or occasionally, to refresh the memory.
You can find this DVD in the Latinum store on Kunaki.
De Bello Gallico (DVD)
1000+ minutes of audio mp3 files
You can find this DVD in the Latinum store on Kunaki.
This material is suitable for intermediate students of Latin.
1. This DVD contains the audio for Lowe, Butler and Walker's introductory text for Caesar, Cannon's introductory text for Caesar, vocabulary audio files, and a separate literal English translation in audio.
2. The audio covers Book One of Caesar's Gallic War, from Chapter 1 to Chapter 28.
3. Lowe's text on the DVD is numbered from 000 to 106
4. Cannon's text is named Cannon's Caesar, and is numbered from 001 to 029
5. The vocabulary audio is taken from Cannon's text, and contains all the vocabulary in audio for book one of De Bello Gallico. Each word or phrase is read in Latin - English - Latin.
6. The English literal version is contained in the files numbered 1001 to 1029, and contains a literal rendition of the text.
You can find this DVD in the Latinum store on Kunaki.
How to use this material:
The student can examine the contents of the texts, and work out their own approach to using these audio resources.
Lowe's text contains much grammatical information, and the audio really needs to be used in conjunction with the text. This is a comprehensive textbook, which also lays down an overview of Latin grammar as it proceeds through the material line by line. This textbook contains a full Latin syntax, which is not read out in
audio, but which might be useful for the student to consult.
Cannon's text contains a re-written summary in simplified Latin of each chapter, followed by the
actual chapter. This text also contains a brief grammatical appendix, which is not included in the audio.
The English literal translation is to be found in the files numbered 1001 to 1029. It might be useful for a beginning student to listen to the English, before looking at the Latin, so that he or she is more or less familiar with the text before attempting to learn it.
The vocabulary files are intended to consolidate what you know, and can be listened to before starting the material, or occasionally, to refresh the memory.
You can find this DVD in the Latinum store on Kunaki.
Friday, 26 March 2010
Latin Language Audio Recordings and Courses
I've been continuing my work producing Latin recordings - which are available here .
The latest DVD is a recording of D'Ooge's edition of URBIS ROMAE VIRI INLUSTRES.
Each DVD contains the files in mp3 format, so they can easily be imported to an mp3 player or ipod, or played directly on the computer.
I am currently recording Eutropius' 'Breviarium', which will be my first 'authentic' Latin audiobook, to be followed by Nepos, Curtius, and the text that is known as 'Cato', and then moving on to other Roman authors.
Adler, by first production, merits a re-record - however, the complete audio course, despite its flaws does an good job of introducing the student to Latin. There is no other course like it currently on the market. As Adler took me 2 years to produce, the re-recording will not come in the forseeable future.
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Latinum
LATINUM: Molendinarius (Evan Millner) ha construido Latinum como un curso de audio, basados directamente en los métodos de prueba utilizados en el renacimiento del idioma.
http://latinum.mypodcast.com
http://latinum.mypodcast.com
Monday, 8 March 2010
Latin Language Chatroom
CONVIVIUM LATINUM
Foedus Latinum uses Houseparty for its active audio visual chatroom. Basic sign-in needs no Latin. You are warmly invited to join Convivium Latinum. You will need to ad some Latin speaking freinds to get started, if you don't yet have any; you can find a list of Convivium Latinum users here.
"Convivium" (id est, Houseparty) facultatem octo confabulari viva voce simul dat. Possis videre quis homo domi esse (id est, quis in linea sit) , et eum eamve salvere jubere. Rogare: "Bona vena me audies?" ; (veniam in conclavi inire petendum'st). Licentia concessa, te jungere et in conclavi includere licet, confabulari causa.
LOCUTORIUM LATINUM
There is also a Locutorium Latinum texting chatroom (hosted on Skype) to write to others in Latin, which currently has 250 membersSi per SKYPEN (Skype) confabulari vis, habemus LOCUTORIUM LATINUM apud Skype, et possis illic confabulari per litteras, picturas etc ad alios emittere.
LOCUTORIUM LATINUM APUD SKYPE
https://join.skype.com/i8T6Wgfi2cej
Junge Te!
SKYPE
Ecce vinculum ad gregem:
https://join.skype.com/i8T6Wgfi2cej
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Quantum leap for phonon lasers
Quantum leap for phonon lasers
When technology is fully developed, maybe it will be able to peer into the carbonised scrolls from Herculaneum?
Monday, 8 February 2010
With Adler's book one learns Latin by composing it and speaking it
With Adler's book one learns Latin by composing it and speaking it, making one's knowledge of the language more like the knowledge of modern spoken languages. It is also the basis of Evan Millner's Latinum Podcast. He has recorded the whole book as podcasts suitable for download to an mp3 player. Latin can be learned while driving or exercising. rnrnI've been using the book myself, and find my knowledge of Latin to be deepened considerably, especially in my understanding of the cases. Before, they were understood analytically from studying the grammar. Now, I understand them without having to think about it, just from the practice of listening to spoken Latin. rnrnAdler is also reputedly the model for Melville's Bartleby. rnrn
An Esperantist Studies Latin
An Esperantist Studies Latin
(Esperanto version follows.)
Subject to the limits of human frailty, I endeavor to extend my knowledge to encompass all that is worthy. Learning Esperanto was in important way-point on this journey, and now has led me into a new realm, the study of Latin.
I began to study Esperanto in about 2001. The first year, I studied about 30 minutes or more everyday, and by the end of that year I was quite conversational. By the end of the third year I could speak quite smoothly. Any errors in communication that I made could be easily resolved by asking questions. I was at this time functionally fluent, although at that time, as today, I often made grammatical mistakes, did not have the broadest vocabulary possible, and could only read Esperanto at one-fourth the rate I read my native English. Since that time, I have not studied or progressed much, although happily my skills have not decayed either---I can demonstrably begin speaking Esperanto flowingly at a moment's notice. There is a difference between knowing somthing in the head, an ephemeral and surface sort of knowing, and knowing something in the heart, a deep and permanent sort of knowing. My knowledge of Esperanto, incomplete and imperfect as it may be, is "in the heart".
One of the things that I have always valued about Esperanto is its propaedeutic effect---the idea that learning one language, and Esperanto in particular, assists with learning other languages.
This year, I have started learning Latin: to test this hypothesis, as a mental exercise, to be able to fully understand how Latin evolved into Spanish, and to access directly some of the best minds of the last two millenia.
I have now studied Latin enough to confirm, in the heart, some common head-knowledge.
Latin is rich, irregular, complicated, and ten times more difficult than Esperanto. An investment in studying Latin may be equally or more rewarding than an investment in Esperanto to a particular student, but I can assert with perfect and personal confidence that Esperanto is a better choice as an international aŭilliary language.
However, I prefer to emphasize the synergy of studying both, rather than their relative merits. The vocabulary and grammar of Esperanto overlap with Latin to such an extent that I submit that it is useful to think of Esperanto as a simplification of Latin. I know that this is not true phylogenetically. Esperanto is not an outgrowth of Latin, except in so far as its creator was influenced by languages that have all been deeply influecned by Latin, and by his boyhood study. This is common knowledge, but until I begain to study Latin, I did not fully realize how much they have in common.
It feels as if the vocabulary is 80% the same, and, significantly, this includes even the shortest, most common words in Esperanto, such as the affixes and prepositions. They also share these grammatical features:
Grammatical marking of part-of-speech allows both languages to celebrate a freedom of word order that Esperanto poets and Roman orators put to good use.
Once an English speaker has internalized the accusative in Esperanto or Latin, he or she knows it in the other. This is a slight hurdle in Esperanto, and I suspect for many students of Latin this similarly takes some time. Having crossed this obstacle in Esperanto, it seems completely natural to me in Latin.
The ablative in Latin is very similar to the advanced use of adverbial participles in Esperanto.
The use of compounding prepositions before adverbs and nouns is similar in both languages, though far more regular in Esperanto.
Latin utilizes at least some of the word-building (agglutination) that is common to Esperanto, including the use of enclitics.
My study plan for Latin is similar to my previous study plan for Esperanto: to study about 30 minutes, but at least 15, every day. I am working through the popular Wheelock's Latin textbook. I conscientiously do all the exercises there and in the Workbook for Wheelock's Latin as I complete each chapter.
Critically, I also listen to Latinum, a huge collection of audio files in Latin. While exercising and in the few minutes between interruptions that come to my desk at work, I problably listen to Latinum about 45 minutes every day on average, though often passively, without giving it my full attention. Evan der Millner has given a wonderful gift to the world in creating Latinum. Given the large number of Esperanto radio broadcasts, there is much more audio material in Esperanto than in Latin, but I don't think anyone has taken the time to create and organize so useful an audio repository for learners as has magister der Millner.
Our work placing Esperanto works at Project Gutenberg may hopefully enjoy the success that has Latinum, a success which can be considered a justification of those of you who have worked to put audio books in Esperanto on the internet, such as the six availabe at LibriVox.
I have currently completed Chapter 7 (out of 40!) in Wheelock, after about six weeks of study. By way of comparison, I completed my first Esperanto textbook (Conroy) in 30 days.
Frankly, I love studying Latin. (Of course, I love studying everything---I seem to be happily addicted to learning, or, if you are uncharitable, the illusory trappings of learning.) So far this small study of Latin has taught me history, deepened my understanding of English, given me some appreciation of Latin poetry, and allowed me to look at a Latin text or motto and figure out its subject, if not its subtlety. I value these benefits highly.
I can pronounce, but not converse in, Latin today. After studying Esperanto for six weeks I could hold meaningful if faltering conversations, laugh at jokes in Esperanto, and terrify myself by rereading Don Harlow's translation into Esperanto of Lovecraft's little horrow gem, Pickman's Model.
Life is short and forces us to choose the order in which we we study our subjects, even if an optimist need never admit he or she is completely abandoing one. If you can pardon my anthropomorphism, languages, therefore, compete for the affection and attention of their students. Perhaps, for children of a certain age in a school curriculum, this competition is unavoidable, because they must, as a practical matter, decide with language to study first. But I prefer to think of the two languages as collaborators, rather than competitors. I hope this to be true of any two related subjects, but I am certain it is true of Latin and Esperanto. Learning Esperanto has given me confidence in my ability, and instigated in me a previously unfelt desire, to learn Latin. At the end of this year we will have one single isolated and subjective datum about the extent to which learning Esperanto first has made learning Latin easier.
* * *
(Angla versio de supre.)
Ĝis la limojn de la homa menso, mi penas enmensigi la tutaĵon de inda homa scio. Lernado de Esperanto estis grava vojmeza punkto apud mia pado, kaj nun kondukas min al nova fako, tiu de la Latian lingvo.
Mi ekstudis E-on proksimume en 2001. La unua jaro, mi studis dum 30 minutoj aŭ pli ĉiutage, kaj post tiu jaro mi kapablas konversi glate. Iujn mankojn, kiujn mi havas, mi povas plenigi per demandoj. Mi tiam estis funkciante flue, malgraŭ ke tiam, kiel nun, mi ofte fuŝis gramatikajn aferojn, ne havis tre vastan vortŝtokon, kaj povas legi per nur kvadrono de la rapideco per kiu mi legas mian denaskan lingvon, la anglan. Ekde tiam, mi ne studis aŭ progresis multe, tamen feliĉe mi ne malkapabliĝis---mi povas elmontri ekparoli la internacian lingvon glate je iu ajn momento. Estas diferenco inter scio de la kapo, kiu estas maldurema kaj surfacema, kaj ĝisoste scio de la koro, kiu estas profunda kaj ĉiamdaŭra. Mia scio de Esperanto, malperfekta kaj mal-vastega, estas ĝiskora.
Inter al benoj de Esperanto estas la propaedeŭtika efiko---la ideo ke studado de unu lingvo, kaj Esperanto precipe, helpas lernadon de aliaj lingvoj.
Ĉijare, mi ekstudis la latinan lingvon: por provi tiun hipotezion, por ekzerci la menson, por profunde kompreni la evoluon de latina al la hispanon, kaj por esti tuŝota rekte per iom da la plej bonaj mensaj de la lastaj du miljaroj.
Mi nun studis la latinan sufiĉe por konfirmi, ĝiskore, tion, kion oni ofte diras per kapo-scio.
La latita lingvo estas riĉa, malregulema, malsimpla, kaj dekoble pli malfacila ol Esperanto. Investo en studado de la latinan eble estas egvale aŭ pli valora ol investo en Esperanto por dependente de la studento, tamen mi asertas per persona kaj perfekto memfido ke Esperanto estas plibona elekto por internacia interkomunikado.
Malgraŭ tio, mi preferas emfazi la sinergion inter la du lingvo, ol iliajn konkursantajn meritojn. La vortŝtoko kaj gramatiko de la du intersektas sufiĉe ke oni povas pripensi E-on kiel simpla versio de la latinan. Mi scias ke ĉi tio ne veras filogeneze. Esperanto ne estas ido de la latinan, krom ke la lingvo de Romo influis la kreinton de E-on per la latinidaj lingvoj, kaj per lia rekta studado de ĝin kiam junulo. Ĉi tiu estas vaste konata, sed antaŭ mi ekstudas la latinan, mi ne plene komprenis kiom, tiom ili similas.
Ŝajnas ke la vortŝtoko estas 80% sama, kaj, tre grave, tiu inkludas la plej mallongajn kaj plej uzatajn vortojn de Esperanto, ekzemple la afiksoj kaj prepoziciojn. Ili ankaŭ samas gramatike:
Signado de tipo de vorto permesas ambaŭ ĝui liberon de vort-ordo ke poetaj de Esperanto kaj oratoroj romaj bone uzis.
Post parolanto de la angla bone komprenas la akuzativon en unu, ne devas lerni ĝin en la alio. Ŝajnis tute natura al mi en la latinan.
La ablativo en latino similas al la averba uzado de participioj en e-o.
Vortkonstruado per prepozicioj antaŭ adverboj kaj substantivoj similas en la du (krome, estas multe pli laŭ-regula en Esperanto.)
La latina uzas almenaŭ parton de la vortkonstruado kiu kutimas en Esperanto, inkluzive de la uzado de enklitikoj.
Mia plano por studado de la latina similas al mia antaŭa studado por Esperanto: mi intencas studi dum 30 minutoj, kaj almenaŭ dum 15, ĉiutage. Mi studas per la populara lernolibro Wheelock's Latin. Mi diligente faras ĉiujn de la ekzercoj en tiu kaj en la pratik-libro Workbook for Wheelock's Latin antaŭ mi finfinis ĉiujn ĉapitrojn.
Grave, mi ankaŭ aŭskultas al Latinum, grandega aro de audeblaj dosieroj en la latina. Dum mi kuradas kaj dum malmultaj minutoj inter interrompo ĉe mia dunga skribtablo, mi verŝajne aŭskultas al Latinum 45 minutoj ĉiutage, tamen ofte malaktive. Eva der Millner donacis mirinda donacon al la mondo pro krei Latinum-on. Pro grandega numero de radiaj elsendoj en Esperanto, estas pli da aŭskultebla materialo en Esperanto ol en la latina, tamen mi pensas ke neniu elspezis la tempon por krei kaj organizi kian utilan rimedaron por lernantoj, tian faris "magister" Evan Der Millner.
Nia laboro por enmeti Esperantajn tekstojn ĉe Projekto Gutenbergo espereble same sukcesos kiel Latinum, sukceso kia, tia valorigas laborantojn por havebligi aud-librojn en Esperanto interrete, ekzemple la ses ĉe LibriVox.
Mi nun studis ĝis ĉapitro 7 (el 40!) en Wheelock, post ses semajnoj de studo. Kompare de Esperanto, ĝi progresas malrapide: mi finis mian unuan tutan lernolibron de Esperanto (Conroj) en 30 tagoj.
Elkore, mi amas studi la latinan. (Ja vere, mi amas studi ĉion---verŝajne lernado maniuligas min, aŭ, se vi estas malĝentila, la iluzio kaj garnitaro de lernado fie allogas min.) Ĝis nun mia studeto de la latina lingvo instruis al mi historion, plibonigis mian komprenon de la angla, donis al mi estimon de poezio latina, kaj permesis min legi latinan tekston aŭ moton kaj elpensi la temon, se ne la tutan signifon. Mi ŝatas tiujn benojn.
Mi povas elparoli, sed ne konversi, per la latinan hodiaŭ. Ses semajne post ekstudi E-on mi povas konversi, tre fuŝeme, kun signifo, ridi pro ŝercoj en E-o, kaj timigi min per relegado de elangliĝo far Don Harlow de juveleto de hororo far Lovecraft, Pickman's Model.
Vivo estas mallonga kaj pelas nin elekti ordon per kiu ne studas niajn interesojn, eĉ se optimistulo neniam devas konfesi ke li aŭ ŝi ĉiame forlasis unu el ili. Bonvole pardonu mi pro antroformigo de lingvoj, tamen lingvoj, tial, konkursas por la atento kaj ŝato de siaj studentoj. Eble, por infanoj en lerneja kursaro, tia konkurso estas nepra, ĉar ili devas elekti kiun, tiun por studi. Tamen mi preferas pensi ke la du lingvoj estas kunlaborantoj, anstataŭ konkursantoj. Mi esperas ke ĉi tiu estas vera por iu ajn du similaj kampoj aŭ fakoj de studado, tamen mi certas ke estas vera por la latinan kaj la internacian lingvojn. Lernado de Esperanto donis al mi memfido pri mia kapablo, kaj instigis en mi antaŭe nekonata deziron, por lerni la latinan. Je la fino de la jaro ni havos unuopan, izolatan, kaj subjektivan dateneron pri kiom la antaŭa studado de Esperanto helpas la lernadon de la latina lingvo.
by Robert L. Read
Robert L. Read's blog Login or register to post comments
Comments
La Latina
Mi gratulas vin pro lernado de la latina. Ĝia komplekseco estas ja bonega ekzercado por la menso. Miaopinie, ĝi estas studinda ĉar ĝi estas parto grava de nia kultura heredaĵo.
Koincide, mi ĵus hieraŭ parolis al iu pri la latina kaj Esperanto. Mi jam ekstudis la latinan kiam hazarde mi trovis en librovendejo gramatikon de Esperanto. Ĝi aspektis al mi kvazaŭ modernigita latina. La fakto, ke mi rapide lernis Esperanton kaj baldaŭ uzis ĝin koresponde, donis al mi la plezuron sukcese lerni lingvon kaj animadis min studi aliajn lingvojn.
Estas kelkaj libroj en Esperanto pri la romia mondo. Inter ili, multe plaĉis al mi romanon "La Ŝtona Urbo" kaj mi nun eklegas libron "Morto de Artisto". Anna Löwenstein, miaopinie, vivige prezentas al ni la romian epokon.
Samideane,
Karlo
(Esperanto version follows.)
Subject to the limits of human frailty, I endeavor to extend my knowledge to encompass all that is worthy. Learning Esperanto was in important way-point on this journey, and now has led me into a new realm, the study of Latin.
I began to study Esperanto in about 2001. The first year, I studied about 30 minutes or more everyday, and by the end of that year I was quite conversational. By the end of the third year I could speak quite smoothly. Any errors in communication that I made could be easily resolved by asking questions. I was at this time functionally fluent, although at that time, as today, I often made grammatical mistakes, did not have the broadest vocabulary possible, and could only read Esperanto at one-fourth the rate I read my native English. Since that time, I have not studied or progressed much, although happily my skills have not decayed either---I can demonstrably begin speaking Esperanto flowingly at a moment's notice. There is a difference between knowing somthing in the head, an ephemeral and surface sort of knowing, and knowing something in the heart, a deep and permanent sort of knowing. My knowledge of Esperanto, incomplete and imperfect as it may be, is "in the heart".
One of the things that I have always valued about Esperanto is its propaedeutic effect---the idea that learning one language, and Esperanto in particular, assists with learning other languages.
This year, I have started learning Latin: to test this hypothesis, as a mental exercise, to be able to fully understand how Latin evolved into Spanish, and to access directly some of the best minds of the last two millenia.
I have now studied Latin enough to confirm, in the heart, some common head-knowledge.
Latin is rich, irregular, complicated, and ten times more difficult than Esperanto. An investment in studying Latin may be equally or more rewarding than an investment in Esperanto to a particular student, but I can assert with perfect and personal confidence that Esperanto is a better choice as an international aŭilliary language.
However, I prefer to emphasize the synergy of studying both, rather than their relative merits. The vocabulary and grammar of Esperanto overlap with Latin to such an extent that I submit that it is useful to think of Esperanto as a simplification of Latin. I know that this is not true phylogenetically. Esperanto is not an outgrowth of Latin, except in so far as its creator was influenced by languages that have all been deeply influecned by Latin, and by his boyhood study. This is common knowledge, but until I begain to study Latin, I did not fully realize how much they have in common.
It feels as if the vocabulary is 80% the same, and, significantly, this includes even the shortest, most common words in Esperanto, such as the affixes and prepositions. They also share these grammatical features:
Grammatical marking of part-of-speech allows both languages to celebrate a freedom of word order that Esperanto poets and Roman orators put to good use.
Once an English speaker has internalized the accusative in Esperanto or Latin, he or she knows it in the other. This is a slight hurdle in Esperanto, and I suspect for many students of Latin this similarly takes some time. Having crossed this obstacle in Esperanto, it seems completely natural to me in Latin.
The ablative in Latin is very similar to the advanced use of adverbial participles in Esperanto.
The use of compounding prepositions before adverbs and nouns is similar in both languages, though far more regular in Esperanto.
Latin utilizes at least some of the word-building (agglutination) that is common to Esperanto, including the use of enclitics.
My study plan for Latin is similar to my previous study plan for Esperanto: to study about 30 minutes, but at least 15, every day. I am working through the popular Wheelock's Latin textbook. I conscientiously do all the exercises there and in the Workbook for Wheelock's Latin as I complete each chapter.
Critically, I also listen to Latinum, a huge collection of audio files in Latin. While exercising and in the few minutes between interruptions that come to my desk at work, I problably listen to Latinum about 45 minutes every day on average, though often passively, without giving it my full attention. Evan der Millner has given a wonderful gift to the world in creating Latinum. Given the large number of Esperanto radio broadcasts, there is much more audio material in Esperanto than in Latin, but I don't think anyone has taken the time to create and organize so useful an audio repository for learners as has magister der Millner.
Our work placing Esperanto works at Project Gutenberg may hopefully enjoy the success that has Latinum, a success which can be considered a justification of those of you who have worked to put audio books in Esperanto on the internet, such as the six availabe at LibriVox.
I have currently completed Chapter 7 (out of 40!) in Wheelock, after about six weeks of study. By way of comparison, I completed my first Esperanto textbook (Conroy) in 30 days.
Frankly, I love studying Latin. (Of course, I love studying everything---I seem to be happily addicted to learning, or, if you are uncharitable, the illusory trappings of learning.) So far this small study of Latin has taught me history, deepened my understanding of English, given me some appreciation of Latin poetry, and allowed me to look at a Latin text or motto and figure out its subject, if not its subtlety. I value these benefits highly.
I can pronounce, but not converse in, Latin today. After studying Esperanto for six weeks I could hold meaningful if faltering conversations, laugh at jokes in Esperanto, and terrify myself by rereading Don Harlow's translation into Esperanto of Lovecraft's little horrow gem, Pickman's Model.
Life is short and forces us to choose the order in which we we study our subjects, even if an optimist need never admit he or she is completely abandoing one. If you can pardon my anthropomorphism, languages, therefore, compete for the affection and attention of their students. Perhaps, for children of a certain age in a school curriculum, this competition is unavoidable, because they must, as a practical matter, decide with language to study first. But I prefer to think of the two languages as collaborators, rather than competitors. I hope this to be true of any two related subjects, but I am certain it is true of Latin and Esperanto. Learning Esperanto has given me confidence in my ability, and instigated in me a previously unfelt desire, to learn Latin. At the end of this year we will have one single isolated and subjective datum about the extent to which learning Esperanto first has made learning Latin easier.
* * *
(Angla versio de supre.)
Ĝis la limojn de la homa menso, mi penas enmensigi la tutaĵon de inda homa scio. Lernado de Esperanto estis grava vojmeza punkto apud mia pado, kaj nun kondukas min al nova fako, tiu de la Latian lingvo.
Mi ekstudis E-on proksimume en 2001. La unua jaro, mi studis dum 30 minutoj aŭ pli ĉiutage, kaj post tiu jaro mi kapablas konversi glate. Iujn mankojn, kiujn mi havas, mi povas plenigi per demandoj. Mi tiam estis funkciante flue, malgraŭ ke tiam, kiel nun, mi ofte fuŝis gramatikajn aferojn, ne havis tre vastan vortŝtokon, kaj povas legi per nur kvadrono de la rapideco per kiu mi legas mian denaskan lingvon, la anglan. Ekde tiam, mi ne studis aŭ progresis multe, tamen feliĉe mi ne malkapabliĝis---mi povas elmontri ekparoli la internacian lingvon glate je iu ajn momento. Estas diferenco inter scio de la kapo, kiu estas maldurema kaj surfacema, kaj ĝisoste scio de la koro, kiu estas profunda kaj ĉiamdaŭra. Mia scio de Esperanto, malperfekta kaj mal-vastega, estas ĝiskora.
Inter al benoj de Esperanto estas la propaedeŭtika efiko---la ideo ke studado de unu lingvo, kaj Esperanto precipe, helpas lernadon de aliaj lingvoj.
Ĉijare, mi ekstudis la latinan lingvon: por provi tiun hipotezion, por ekzerci la menson, por profunde kompreni la evoluon de latina al la hispanon, kaj por esti tuŝota rekte per iom da la plej bonaj mensaj de la lastaj du miljaroj.
Mi nun studis la latinan sufiĉe por konfirmi, ĝiskore, tion, kion oni ofte diras per kapo-scio.
La latita lingvo estas riĉa, malregulema, malsimpla, kaj dekoble pli malfacila ol Esperanto. Investo en studado de la latinan eble estas egvale aŭ pli valora ol investo en Esperanto por dependente de la studento, tamen mi asertas per persona kaj perfekto memfido ke Esperanto estas plibona elekto por internacia interkomunikado.
Malgraŭ tio, mi preferas emfazi la sinergion inter la du lingvo, ol iliajn konkursantajn meritojn. La vortŝtoko kaj gramatiko de la du intersektas sufiĉe ke oni povas pripensi E-on kiel simpla versio de la latinan. Mi scias ke ĉi tio ne veras filogeneze. Esperanto ne estas ido de la latinan, krom ke la lingvo de Romo influis la kreinton de E-on per la latinidaj lingvoj, kaj per lia rekta studado de ĝin kiam junulo. Ĉi tiu estas vaste konata, sed antaŭ mi ekstudas la latinan, mi ne plene komprenis kiom, tiom ili similas.
Ŝajnas ke la vortŝtoko estas 80% sama, kaj, tre grave, tiu inkludas la plej mallongajn kaj plej uzatajn vortojn de Esperanto, ekzemple la afiksoj kaj prepoziciojn. Ili ankaŭ samas gramatike:
Signado de tipo de vorto permesas ambaŭ ĝui liberon de vort-ordo ke poetaj de Esperanto kaj oratoroj romaj bone uzis.
Post parolanto de la angla bone komprenas la akuzativon en unu, ne devas lerni ĝin en la alio. Ŝajnis tute natura al mi en la latinan.
La ablativo en latino similas al la averba uzado de participioj en e-o.
Vortkonstruado per prepozicioj antaŭ adverboj kaj substantivoj similas en la du (krome, estas multe pli laŭ-regula en Esperanto.)
La latina uzas almenaŭ parton de la vortkonstruado kiu kutimas en Esperanto, inkluzive de la uzado de enklitikoj.
Mia plano por studado de la latina similas al mia antaŭa studado por Esperanto: mi intencas studi dum 30 minutoj, kaj almenaŭ dum 15, ĉiutage. Mi studas per la populara lernolibro Wheelock's Latin. Mi diligente faras ĉiujn de la ekzercoj en tiu kaj en la pratik-libro Workbook for Wheelock's Latin antaŭ mi finfinis ĉiujn ĉapitrojn.
Grave, mi ankaŭ aŭskultas al Latinum, grandega aro de audeblaj dosieroj en la latina. Dum mi kuradas kaj dum malmultaj minutoj inter interrompo ĉe mia dunga skribtablo, mi verŝajne aŭskultas al Latinum 45 minutoj ĉiutage, tamen ofte malaktive. Eva der Millner donacis mirinda donacon al la mondo pro krei Latinum-on. Pro grandega numero de radiaj elsendoj en Esperanto, estas pli da aŭskultebla materialo en Esperanto ol en la latina, tamen mi pensas ke neniu elspezis la tempon por krei kaj organizi kian utilan rimedaron por lernantoj, tian faris "magister" Evan Der Millner.
Nia laboro por enmeti Esperantajn tekstojn ĉe Projekto Gutenbergo espereble same sukcesos kiel Latinum, sukceso kia, tia valorigas laborantojn por havebligi aud-librojn en Esperanto interrete, ekzemple la ses ĉe LibriVox.
Mi nun studis ĝis ĉapitro 7 (el 40!) en Wheelock, post ses semajnoj de studo. Kompare de Esperanto, ĝi progresas malrapide: mi finis mian unuan tutan lernolibron de Esperanto (Conroj) en 30 tagoj.
Elkore, mi amas studi la latinan. (Ja vere, mi amas studi ĉion---verŝajne lernado maniuligas min, aŭ, se vi estas malĝentila, la iluzio kaj garnitaro de lernado fie allogas min.) Ĝis nun mia studeto de la latina lingvo instruis al mi historion, plibonigis mian komprenon de la angla, donis al mi estimon de poezio latina, kaj permesis min legi latinan tekston aŭ moton kaj elpensi la temon, se ne la tutan signifon. Mi ŝatas tiujn benojn.
Mi povas elparoli, sed ne konversi, per la latinan hodiaŭ. Ses semajne post ekstudi E-on mi povas konversi, tre fuŝeme, kun signifo, ridi pro ŝercoj en E-o, kaj timigi min per relegado de elangliĝo far Don Harlow de juveleto de hororo far Lovecraft, Pickman's Model.
Vivo estas mallonga kaj pelas nin elekti ordon per kiu ne studas niajn interesojn, eĉ se optimistulo neniam devas konfesi ke li aŭ ŝi ĉiame forlasis unu el ili. Bonvole pardonu mi pro antroformigo de lingvoj, tamen lingvoj, tial, konkursas por la atento kaj ŝato de siaj studentoj. Eble, por infanoj en lerneja kursaro, tia konkurso estas nepra, ĉar ili devas elekti kiun, tiun por studi. Tamen mi preferas pensi ke la du lingvoj estas kunlaborantoj, anstataŭ konkursantoj. Mi esperas ke ĉi tiu estas vera por iu ajn du similaj kampoj aŭ fakoj de studado, tamen mi certas ke estas vera por la latinan kaj la internacian lingvojn. Lernado de Esperanto donis al mi memfido pri mia kapablo, kaj instigis en mi antaŭe nekonata deziron, por lerni la latinan. Je la fino de la jaro ni havos unuopan, izolatan, kaj subjektivan dateneron pri kiom la antaŭa studado de Esperanto helpas la lernadon de la latina lingvo.
by Robert L. Read
Robert L. Read's blog Login or register to post comments
Comments
La Latina
Mi gratulas vin pro lernado de la latina. Ĝia komplekseco estas ja bonega ekzercado por la menso. Miaopinie, ĝi estas studinda ĉar ĝi estas parto grava de nia kultura heredaĵo.
Koincide, mi ĵus hieraŭ parolis al iu pri la latina kaj Esperanto. Mi jam ekstudis la latinan kiam hazarde mi trovis en librovendejo gramatikon de Esperanto. Ĝi aspektis al mi kvazaŭ modernigita latina. La fakto, ke mi rapide lernis Esperanton kaj baldaŭ uzis ĝin koresponde, donis al mi la plezuron sukcese lerni lingvon kaj animadis min studi aliajn lingvojn.
Estas kelkaj libroj en Esperanto pri la romia mondo. Inter ili, multe plaĉis al mi romanon "La Ŝtona Urbo" kaj mi nun eklegas libron "Morto de Artisto". Anna Löwenstein, miaopinie, vivige prezentas al ni la romian epokon.
Samideane,
Karlo
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