Learning a language can (honestly) be fun! The Orbis Pictus by Comenius is regarded as the first textbook for children. The book taught Latin on the basis of topical vocabulary i.e. vocabulary that was organised according to specific subjects e.g. animals, furniture, occupations etc. The image is from that book and focuses on animal noises as children imagined them, and Comenius used these to teach the alphabet. We can pick out some of these to revise the 3rd person singular of the first conjugation and also learn to make some 17th century animal noises!
agnus balat "bé bé bé" the lamb bleats
infans eiulat "é é é" the infant cries
ventus fiat "fi fi" the wind blows
os halat "háh háh" the mouth breathes out
lupus ululat "lu ulu" the wolf howls
ursus murumurat "mum mum" the bear grumbles
felis clamat "nau nau" the cat cries
auriga clamat "ó ó" the carter cries
cuculus cuculat "kuk ku" the cuckoo 'sings', makes a 'cuckoo' sound
serpens sibilat "si" the serpent hisses
graculus clamat "tac tac" the jay crieth
bubo ululat "ú ú" the owl hoots
rana coaxat coax the frog croaks
Ancient Roman frogs made the same sound as Ancient Greek ones! In the work by the Greek playwright Aristophanes, the frogs speak: brekekekex koax koax
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