#learn latin

So exciting! I'll try to keep this short:

I recommend starting with this very short informal intro, especially if you don't have a strong grasp on technical terms about grammar (most textbooks take that for granted). Latin grammar follows a rigid organisational system and the earlier you understand how it works, the easier it will be to learn the rest of the language. The 18-page PDF in the link uses English examples and practice questions to go through basic Latin grammar concepts and tables. It doesn't go through less basic things like participles or conditional clauses, but it does explain everything you need to know in order to learn those more easily. It also includes a hyperlinked list of good online resources for self-taught Latin and Greek students.

If you want to work through a textbook, Wheelock's Latin is probably the most widely used and comes with a lot of accompanying resources and guides (even though the official website looks older than Rome). Ecce Romani may be a bit more approachable and there are plenty of unofficial online lessons and guides made to go along with it. Those are my top two personally; I know some people like Latin Via Ovid because the practice texts are adapted from an actual ancient text about different myths, but imho I don't think it's as good a starting point if you're teaching yourself from scratch. Keep in mind that they'll all follow different formats for conjugation/declension tables, which can make it a bit confusing to switch between them; the short intro in that first link is a good way to understand how these charts work well enough to use them no matter the format.

There are tons of free resources online, even including full recordings of lessons, live study groups to join, communities with forum posting, and written-out explanations. For any individual concept that's troubling you, there are almost definitely multiple youtube videos of someone in front of a whiteboard saying it differently from the textbooks. Again, there's a good list included in that first document.

For practice in reading and understanding without deliberately translating, it's fun to try reading Latin translations of books you already know well in English, like Harrius Potter, Hobbitus Ille, Winnie Ille Pu, Alicia In Terra Mirabili, and many, many more, most of which are free on Archive and/or can be bought as physical copies.

However, this will be much more rewarding once you've built up some vocabulary and grammar, and might be frustrating or discouraging if you try the long ones too early, especially since they sometimes use words irregularly to convey modern meanings.

There are also a handful of recently-written stories in Latin targeted at students who like this kind of practice more. The German Netflix series Barbarians has all the Roman characters speaking in real Latin, and listening to it with subtitles can help build your ear for what sounds right.

Those are my recs for where to start! If you're stuck on something and can't find a good explanation, you can also send me an ask about it and I'm always happy to lay out how I think about it (even if my response times are irregular).

Here are the various avenues you can go to learn Latin online.

Latin Derivatives. Find over 1750 Latin derivatives, along with definitions and usage in sentences.

Conjuguemos. Teachers and students can use this site to learn Latin (among other languages) through games and activities, which are automatically graded. They request a small payment, but will waive the fee if you cannot afford it.

Linney's Latin Class.com. William E. Linney literally wrote the book on teaching Latin and shares lessons for self-learners and homeschoolers here that include pages from his text, lectures, and homework.

Latin Language Builds Powerful English Vocabulary. Get an overview of Latin and tips for learning it easily along with links to helpful resources.

Latin: The Language of Rome Fun Worksheet #1. For $1 you can download this Latin worksheet to use personally or in the classroom. This teacher also has other versions of Latin worksheets available for the same price.

Learn Latin Quickly. This website is run by an individual as a hobby, but provides tons of information on Latin and learning Latin.

KET Distance Learning – Latin 1. Go through the lessons here in your own time, then move up to Latin 2 and Latin 3 after completing this class.

Beginners' Latin. This online tutorial doesn't require you know any Latin and steps you through the basics with twelve lessons, reference material, activities, and more.

Latin Grammar. A great resource for learning Latin, this site provides information on the five noun declensions and the four verb conjugations as well as several irregularities.

Latinitium. An online website to start learning Latin with a free e‑mail course from Latin teacher and speaker Daniel Pettersson, M.A.

cogito ergo sum. : I think therefore I am

explanation:

cogito we can separate the term cognito into two sections: cogit-o. 'cogit' refers to 'think', and 'o' refers to 'I' (this is called person endings for a verb, 'o' refers to first person singular 'I')

ergo simply refers to 'therefore' or 'consequently' (there isn't much grammar in this haha