https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/240324-traupman-1-irregular-verb-possum.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/412421134702494/
It is ludicrous to
assert that there is no purpose in speaking Latin because it fails to grasp how
a language – any language – is acquired. While the ultimate aim may be to read
the Roman authors, the route you follow to get there – and there are no
shortcuts – requires familiarity with and confidence in the language. There is
no unilateral approach to learning a language – no exclusively “right” way – because
we all have different learning style: some of us are more at home with a visual
method, others are content with hearing a language spoken – and others, like I
am, are known as kinaesthetic learners i.e. they are more comfortable with
active, “hands on” approaches i.e. I learn to use a computer by pressing the
buttons to see what happens; I cannot follow instruction manuals and I loathe “techno-babble”.
None of us belong to one “camp”: we can all learn by seeing, hearing and doing,
but it is generally accepted that we all have a preferred learning style. Therefore,
the manner in which a language is presented should address all those styles
e.g. reading, visual stimuli, listening – and active speaking of the language.
All such approaches are in the group.
When we speak a
language, we want, at the outset at least, to relate that language to our own
lives e.g. talking about ourselves and the things around us before widening the
net to “transactional” language: shopping, asking for directions etc. While the
chances of ever ordering a caramel latte in Starbucks in Latin are pretty slim,
that is not the purpose. Speaking the language brings it to life and allows
reinforcement of grammar and syntax i.e. you can move from the dry page of a
textbook to reinforcing it in your head. The objective is not simulated Roman
tourism.
In this group
there are posts about, for example, cookery, gardening, ships, school, crime. And
those were all written by Comenius in 1658 -
long after the Romans – because he wanted his pupils to be able to
communicate and connect the language to the world around them. Teachers of
French and German to non-native speakers would see nothing “revolutionary” in
that: they do it every day and cover the four skills of listening, speaking,
reading and writing. There is no reason why Latin cannot incoporate that
multi-skill approach.
The video is based
on one small section of Traupman’s “Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency”.
It is a lengthy work and contains a large amount of Neo-Latin i.e. vocabulary
that developed or underwent shifts in meaning in the post-Classical period, and
particularly during the Renaissance. That process has never stopped, and
Neo-Latin words are still created in order for learners and writers to convey concepts
that were unknown to the Romans but became necessary in the centuries that
followed.
A: Potesne mē
addūcere in oppidum? │ Can you take me into town?
B: Certē. Quid vīs
facere in oppidō? │ Of course, what do you want to do in town?
A: Multa. Prīmum
volō īre in tabernam sūtrīnam. │ A lot of things. First, I want to go
to [into] the shoe shop.
B: Quid ibi emere
vīs? │ What do you want to buy there?
A: Soleās emere
volō. Ubi possum librōs emere? │ I want to buy sandals. Where can I
buy books?
B: Multae tabernae
lībrāriae in Argīlētō sunt. │ There are many book shops in the
Argiletum*.
A: Ubi terrārum
est Argīlētum? │ Where in the world is the Argiletum?
B: Argīlētum
exadversum macellum est. │ The Argiletum is opposite the market.
*Argiletum: a
street in Ancient Rome, famous for its booksellers and referred by several
Roman authors.
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