Latin for Pleasure
Latin for Pleasure Group and Latin for Beginners Group
We have picked up with our text book Lingua Latina which is getting to be quite challenging.
And we are also continuing with the Cambridge Latin Course and, in fact, have almost finished
Book I and are looking forward to making a start on Book II.
For those of you who fondly remember chanting “amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant” and “mensa, mensa, mensam, mensae, mensae, mensa” we do provide some revision but Lingua Latina is a far gentler and more encouraging introduction for those beginning to study or revise the language in later life!
We are aiming to learn to read Latin and understand it, so that in time we can read and understand the poetry of Catullus or the prose of Cicero. We are not intending to sit exams or to translate from English into Latin or to hold conversations about current events in Latin. We are gradually learning the vocabulary and grammar we need by immersion and repetition so that the experience is fun as well as challenging.
As well as learning the language, many of us are also interested in learning about Roman life and customs, in Britannia as well as the rest of the Roman Empire; Roman history; Roman literature; and how English vocabulary and that of the other Romance languages, such as French and Italian, have derived from Latin. At each class we aim to “frivol” for fifteen to twenty minutes with a quiz set by one of our members or, as we did just before Christmas 2012, singing carols in Latin as well as “Reno erat Rudophus” and “Tinniat Tintinnabulum” (Jingle Bells!). We also have other Latin books to work from, such as Ecce Romani and Minimus, and we have found a book of crossword puzzles in Latin.
On June 3rd 2013, the Latin for Pleasure Group, and friends, visited the National Trust Roman Villa and exhibition at Chedworth. Future visit suggestions Welcomed.
Contact details for the leaders: Katharine Parker (01684-592429) or Chris Peet (01684 294350) email Chris top right-page.