10 Common Mistakes Made by Students of Latin: Part I

Latin is a difficult language to learn for speakers of English because the language’s grammar and structure are so different from our own. Many students who begin learning the language quit because they did not know what they were getting into.

One of the best ways to tackle any new subject is to do some research and find out what you will be doing and learning. With Latin, a little knowledge ahead of time can mean the difference between success and frustration. Read on to learn how to avoid three of the top 10 mistakes made by Latin students.

You would be surprised to find out how little native speakers of a language know about their own language. Many people assume that the ability to speak a language automatically makes them an expert in grammar, lexicon, and history.

While learning Latin, you will spend a lot of time discussing grammar, lexicon, constructions, and vocabulary. Without a solid foundation in your own language, you will find it difficult learning the differences between nouns and predicate nouns, perfect and past perfect tense verbs, and declensions and conjugations.

Before you embark on Latin study, take the time to brush up on English grammar. There are a variety of resources out there too numerous to mention here. Buy a book at your local bookstore, borrow one from your library, or use your child’s English textbook.

If you want to jump head first into Latin, consider reading “English Grammar for Students of Latin” by Norma Goldman and Ladislas Szymanski, a classic among Latin students. This book walks you through a comparison of English and Latin but takes the stance from a Latin student’s point of view. By reading this book you will also gain a jump on what is to come in your Latin studies and be far ahead of other students. If you are a self-learner of Latin, this book is an absolute must as a reference and bible of grammar.

Latin is a language of exceptions; the patterns that exist to form, for example, the conjugation of a verb cannot be relied on to conjugate verbs belonging to other conjugations. English speakers are used to this because English is also a language of exceptions.

Latin sentences, however, are constructed far differently than English sentences. English is largely an uninflected language in comparison to Latin. There is not a one-to-one relationship between a Latin sentence and its translation into English. Some teachers of the language take a “puzzle” approach to Latin and teach their students to think of Latin as a puzzle; you uncover a translation by considering one piece at a time.

Latin takes a lot of time to learn. Even the simplest of tasks such as conjugating a verb takes memorization and practice. Unfortunately, most Latin learning programs do not offer the amount of practice necessary to master a concept before moving on to another.

Self-learners of the language are particularly vulnerable to frustration because they do not have an expert on which to rely when questions pop up or difficulties arise in understanding a concept. There are a number of books out there to help, but sometimes you need an expert by your side to help you over those rough spots.

The closest resource the self-leaner has to having a teacher by his/her side is the Wheelock Latin program. Wheelock offer three main books that not only cover the language in an easy-to-learn manner, they afford the Latin student enough practice such that students fully learn a concept before moving on to the next topic.

For those interested in Wheelock’s Latin program, be sure to get the following books:

1) Wheelock’s Latin (6th edition) by Frederic M. Wheelock. revised by Richard A. LaFleur

2) Workbook for Wheelock’s Latin (3rd edition) by Paul T. Comeau and Richard A. LaFleur

3) Wheelock’s Latin Reader by Richard A. LaFleur

As an added bonus, consider:

1) A Comprehensive Guide to Wheelock’s Latin by Dale A. Grote

This one walks you through the tough stuff when Wheelock does not give quite enough instruction on a topic.

As mentioned above, some teachers of Latin introduce Latin translation as a puzzle to be uncovered by the student. Unfortunately, this approach only gets students through a test or through some other rote examination. It does not present Latin as a real language.

Latin enjoyed a very long history that is no longer present in living memory. Much of what we know about Latin comes from its use after it was no longer spoken and from remnants of old texts left to us from the ancient writers, poets, and historians. In fact, there is still much debate about how to pronounce Classical Latin. Was the “v” really pronounced like “w” 2,000 years ago? We think so but may never really know for sure.

It is almost impossible to immerse oneself in Latin as students of modern language can do. The result is the perception that Latin is an anachronistic relic that persists only because of the language’s influence on later languages.

Before you embark on a Latin language course, take the time to learn what Latin was to the people who spoke it. It was and is a real language, not something done to complete academic requirements and then forgotten once those requirements are met.

Latin may not carry with it the practical applications found in learning French, German, or Spanish, but many students of the language report appreciation for their own language while learning it. In fact, the very impracticality of learning Latin allows you to learn the language for the sake of learning, without some agenda waiting at the end of instruction.

Students of Latin make several common mistakes that are barriers not only to learning the language but also to appreciation of Latin as a real language. Failure to understand one’s own language is perhaps the most common barrier to success with Latin. Followed closely is a mis-perception of the time it will take to learn a language that deviates so much from English. Finally, failure to think of Latin as a real language can make Latin look like a puzzle rather than a language. Keeping these barriers in mind before you tackle Latin can help ensure that you will see your program through to the end.