From philosophy, theology, history, and politics to taxonomy and medicine, Latin is doubtless one of the most important academic languages in history. Unfortunately, its status as a ‘dead language’ tends to repel many, and myths of its arcane and difficult nature often discourage learners. Another problem is that this mystique is perpetuated in many Latin language classrooms: the ‘dead language’ is truly treated as such, with little to no emphasis placed on speaking or pronunciation and all stress (in both senses of the word) lying on the rote memorization of grammar tables.
However, learning Latin need not be cumbersome, nor strike fear into our hearts. Rather, noli timere (be not afraid). The Classics Department offers excellent instruction and tutoring. Moreover, since course prerequisites can and often do interfere with language study during the semester, there are also great alternatives for self-study. Online and print resources abound for this timeless language and are tailored to a variety of learning styles.
If you are simply looking for reference tools to help with grammar and translation, there are many to choose from. Vocabula.lat is a great dictionary based on Whitaker’s Words and other reference dictionaries. It also offers translation and lemmatization that draws on ChatGPT. There is also Latin Dictionaries, which, as the name affirms, houses a host of Latin dictionaries to download onto one’s computer. However it certainly seems to favor PC users, and able ones at that. (At the time of writing, the author has not been able to entirely figure out the software setup on his own PC.)
For more detailed, step-by-step instruction in the spoken language tradition, there is a read-aloud playlist of Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata, a textbook by renowned scholar Hans Ørberg in the living language method. This pedagogical school is premised on teaching ancient languages just like any other (be it Spanish, French, German, or Japanese): the language is actively spoken and used in the classroom to promote internalization and ease of production. For more on this see a compelling senior thesis on the benefits of this method. For French speakers, another excellent textbook that follows this method is Assimil’s Latin Course. For those who seek a combination of the ‘natural method’ and the time-honored Grammar Translation approach, the Cambridge Latin Course offers an excellent in-between.
There are also great opportunities on campus to shore up one’s knowledge of Latin. The language sequence is taught by excellent professors and faculty, who are very patient with students and understanding of their difficulties. The Classics Department offers one-on-one tutoring to students enrolled in Latin courses (these are highly recommended from personal experience), and there is a Latin Language Table at Whitman on Thursday nights at 6:45pm.
Different people respond differently to various pedagogical methods. Some respond better to the traditional Grammar-Translation method, while others (many) find the meaning-based approach (also known as Communicative Language Teaching) more intuitive. Furthermore, not everybody wants to deliver the next Catilinarian Oration. Some are content to have a working reading knowledge of Latin and ‘get by’. The important thing is to become familiar with your own style of learning and pursue the method that best responds to your needs, learning style, and schedule. The means at Princeton and online abound, it is only a matter of putting them to use.
—Ignacio Arias, Humanities Correspondent
