Seems interesting... anyone wanna talk about it, lol?

Also, and more importantly, anyone notice if it is usually a summer school course? Its offered this year, is that common?

Originally Posted by britb

Seems interesting... anyone wanna talk about it, lol?

Also, and more importantly, anyone notice if it is usually a summer school course? Its offered this year, is that common?

Latin is badass. I'll be taking it this coming year.

I -think- it was offered last year as well in the summer, but I'm not 100% sure

I want to take it but isn't it a full year course? I don't know if I have room for it and also, latin is kind of a forgotten language. No one uses it anymore so I wonder what the benefit of learning it would be.

Originally Posted by lizziepizzie

I want to take it but isn't it a full year course? I don't know if I have room for it and also, latin is kind of a forgotten language. No one uses it anymore so I wonder what the benefit of learning it would be.

You can exorcise demons... lol

Originally Posted by lizziepizzie

I want to take it but isn't it a full year course? I don't know if I have room for it and also, latin is kind of a forgotten language. No one uses it anymore so I wonder what the benefit of learning it would be.

It will improve your understanding of grammar in general and help you with other Romance languages. Also, it's just amazing.

It sounds extremely interesting, but I'd rather take it as a fun course outside of the Fall/Winter terms when it's actually possible to get a spot in any language course.

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

It sounds extremely interesting, but I'd rather take it as a fun course outside of the Fall/Winter terms when it's actually possible to get a spot in any language course.

I got into first year latin with no problem last year, and I registered for it really late besides! Getting a spot in latin probably won't be an issue.

I was considering taking it this summer until I noticed that the class goes four days a week. That on top of another class would be crazy so I opted out.

Has anyone taken it during the school year? How is the workload?

I plan to take it this school year, languages in general really interest me.

Originally Posted by adaptation

Has anyone taken it during the school year? How is the workload?

There is a lot of work. You cover a chapter every 3 classes and in each chapter you need to learn about 25 vocab words, translate about 30 sentences and at least one short story, and learn a bunch of grammar. If you do the work and know your stuff, it's an easy course to get a 12 in. However, it is very easy to get behind - it was definitely the class with the largest workload that I have taken so far.

it is interesting, cousin says latin is ridic hard

Originally Posted by Allana:)

I got into first year latin with no problem last year, and I registered for it really late besides! Getting a spot in latin probably won't be an issue.

So did I. It's easy, because very few people take it. In the fall term, there were only 80 or so people left in the course by the final exam. Our lectures are in what I think are tutorial rooms(?) (TSH B106). Dr. Eilers was teaching my core. He's a very engaging lecturer, and he sings songs in Latin. However, I just completely lost interest in Latin, because it's one of those courses I took on a whim (i.e. ...maybe I should take Latin? k sure :/).

I was getting a 12 until the exam which I more or less winged. I ended with a 10.

Do keep in ming that I'm talking about 1Z03, which is introductory Latin. I was set to take 1ZZ3, but after what happened, I switched into Math 1AA3.

Ooer. :/ I've wanted to take Latin but hearing about the workload is putting me off, since I'm not the best about staying on top of things. I think I tried to get into it in my first year but it was full. :/ Otherwise I'm sure I would've taken it; I might try this year, though. It sounds interesting, kinda like Linguistics, cept not.

(I also tried getting into every other language course possible, and failed miserably. -.-)

First-year Latin is not that hard in terms of most courses, if you have ever done a language course before (as the phrases and words used to describe its grammar will be familiar to you). If you haven't, it is still manageable - the textbook, Wheelock's Latin, is well laid out, and the terminology of philology (i.e., the study of ancient languages and texts, as defined in Classics) and grammar in general are thoroughly and clearly explained; sure, 'Ablative of Time Within Which', 'Passive Periphrastic' and 'Jussive Noun Clause' sound difficult and hard to learn, but once you get to know the grammar behind them, they aren't that hard to wrap your head around. In first year you will be doing straightforward grammar exercises and, on occasion, translating very simple passages that are actually 'textbook Latin' - that is, passages which were written by the author of the textbook to teach students (very easily and efficiently) Latin grammar, but, in reality, Latin authors such as Cicero or Virgil used many more idioms and seemingly-incomprehensible sentence structures (but you don't get to reading these authors until late 2nd year/early 3rd year Latin, so don't fret about Latin being a hard language if you are planning on taking the first-year courses exclusively)

In terms of other language classes, Latin is quite different (with Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and Biblical Hebrew being taught in the same, or at least in a similar, manner). As already mentioned, Latin is no longer a spoken language in the sense that there remains a population who primarily communicate in Latin (although fluent speakers do exist! You can actually take classes in Rome which are taught solely in Latin, and, if I remember correctly, are taught by the Latin speech/sermon writers for the Vatican), but learning a language that is no longer spoken does not mean that the language is of no use. For example, by learning Latin, you will become the etymologist extraordinaire - medical and scientific terminology will make clear sense to you, even if you don't understand the physical or physiological phenomenon to which they refer, and the structure and vocabulary of many languages who have, in some point in their linguistic evolution, been in contact with Latin will be made to seem quite simple (e.g.: 'sine' in Latin means 'without', and with this you can easily predict the meanings of the French 'sans', the Spanish 'sin', and the Italian 'senza'. This is just one among many, many examples). Latin was also used as the language of intellectuals in Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire from the early Medieval period all the way up to the Enlightenment (e.g., Isaac Newton's 'Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica', in which he laid out the foundations of the laws of motion and classical mechanics, was written in Latin and then translated into English), and so having a basic grounding in Latin grants you access to the original texts of an enormous body of written works, from the Deeds of the Divine Augustus to the works of Hobbes, Milton, and even Leibniz. There is also the aesthetic value, albeit one hard to convince some in accepting, of learning a language; for example, if you learn Latin, you will be able to read texts in the way which they were originally written (e.g., in Apuleius' Metamorphoses, he uses the phrase 'scortum scorteum' which we might translate today as 'cougar', but literally translates as 'leathery prostitute' - oh, the joys of doing translation yourself!)

EDIT: I should also note that Latin has a very practical use to anyone wishing to sharpen their skills at languages. The textbook and the way in which the first and second year classes are taught are straightforward and direct, in that they teach grammar, syntax, and vocabulary in a regimented way instead of the sometimes piecemeal or backwards method of teaching someone to speak a language by teaching them solely how to say "where's the bus stop?" or "how do I get to the bathroom?" without ever providing the information for how to construct a sentence on your own, and one which is outside of strictly travelling conversations. Latin, on the other hand, breaks down the language into its constituent parts and teaches the whole of the language, not one specific part. In short, as a friend of mine once said, learning Latin teaches you how to learn a language. (for me, both Latin and Ancient Greek have helped me revisit and better understand French and take on German for the first time)

To give you an example of what you would cover in upper-year Latin (if anyone is interested), I am currently taking a 4th-year class in which we are sight-translating a book by Cornelius Nepos about the lives of outstanding ancient generals, including the (in)famous Hannibal Barca with his mountain-crossing elephants. Next year, I will be taking a 3rd-year Latin class on Book 2 of Virigl's Aeneid, which is about the fall of Troy and Aeneas' subsequent escape and wandering throughout the Mediterranean. At least for me, the subject matter of Latin is a far cry from dry or boring.

As you can probably tell by now, I would recommend Latin to everyone - it is a great language to learn, has widespread usage, and is also taught by a talented and friendly group of professors.

Oh, and exorcising demons is also of multifarious value