Meta Description: Want to master the Latin language? Join Dr. David Noe and Dr. Jeff Winkle on the Ad Navseam Podcast as they discuss strategies for moving from passive grammar rules to active, spoken Latin. Discover the best resources, the importance of “quotidian” vocabulary, and why you should never trust an online translator with the lyrics to “Rocket Man.”
Introduction: From Neophyte to Erudite
Welcome back to the “vomitorium,” listeners! In Episode 63 of the Ad Navseam Podcast, hosts Dr. David Noe and Dr. Jeff Winkle celebrate a birthday (Dr. Winkle’s!) by tackling a subject dear to the hearts of all classical gourmands: how to master the Latin language.
Many students of Latin get stuck in the “grammar-translation” phase. They can parse a sentence by Cicero if given enough time and a dictionary, but they cannot ask for a spoon at the dinner table. In this episode, the hosts explore how to bridge the gap between passive knowledge and active, “guru-level” status.
Whether you are a student, a teacher, or a lifelong learner, this guide will help you move from solving Latin as a puzzle to using it as a tool for communication.
The Historical Standard: Latin as “Daily Bread”
To understand where we are going, we must look at where we have been. The episode begins with a quote from Françoise Waquet’s book, Latin, or the Empire of a Sign.
Waquet describes a world in the 17th and 18th centuries where Latin was the “daily bread” of schoolboys across Europe and the New World.
- Global Reach: Latin wasn’t just for the English or Italians. By 1750, there were 26 colleges in the Russian Empire offering a Latin curriculum.
- Strict Immersion: In some schools, speaking the “vulgar tongue” (your native language) was strictly forbidden. If you slipped up, you were forced to wear a hat shaped like a donkey (asinus) for the rest of the day.
While we don’t recommend the “donkey cap” method today, the intensity of this education produced students who could churn out thousands of lines of Latin verse. As Dr. Winkle humorously notes, compared to a student who could recite 600 lines of Virgil’s Georgics without error, modern attempts often pale in comparison.
The “Arugula Man”: A Warning About Online Dictionaries
One of the biggest pitfalls in learning the Latin language is treating it like a math problem where every English word has a single, direct Latin equivalent.
Dr. Winkle shares a hilarious anecdote from his teaching days to illustrate this danger. He once offered extra credit to students who would translate and perform a pop song in Latin. One student chose Elton John’s “Rocket Man”.
Using an online dictionary (likely William Whitaker’s Words), the student looked up “rocket” and found the word rucheta (or eruca). He proudly sang his translation to the class. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that rucheta refers to the leafy green vegetable, not a space ship.
Instead of singing about being an astronaut, he was singing about being an “Arugula Man”.
The Lesson: Context is king. You cannot simply swap words; you must understand the semantic range of the vocabulary you are using.
Building a “Quotidian” Vocabulary
To avoid becoming an “Arugula Man,” you need to build a quotidian (daily) vocabulary. Dr. Noe explains that when he wanted to teach his own children Latin from infancy, he realized he couldn’t just read Cicero to them; he needed to know the words for “fork,” “spoon,” and “highchair.”
Recommended Resource: The “Duck Book”
The hosts highly recommend ** The First Thousand Words in Latin** by Heather Amory, illustrated by Stephen Cartwright (Usborne Publishing).
- The “Duck” Factor: It is affectionately known as “The Duck Book” because there is a little yellow duck hidden on every page.
- Daily Life: It covers categories like Domus (The House), teaching words like linteum (towel), stragulum (mat), and armarium (closet/cupboard).
- Expert Vetting: The Latin consultant for the book was none other than Dr. Patrick Owens, a renowned expert in spoken Latin, ensuring the vocabulary is accurate.
Memorization: Context Over Rote Forms
How do you make these words stick? Dr. Noe argues that rote memorization of grammatical charts (e.g., chanting dedoram, dederas, dederat) is not as useful as memorizing forms in context.
The “Where are your shoes?” Method
Instead of chanting a verb chart, learn a sentence.
- Question: Ubi sunt calcei tui? (Where are your shoes?)
- Answer: Nescio, sed parentes mei eos mihi dederant. (I don’t know, but my parents had given them to me.)
By anchoring the pluperfect verb dederant (“they had given”) in a meaningful sentence about shoes, the grammar becomes a tool for communication rather than an abstract rule.
English-to-Latin Translation
Another tip for the aspiring Latin guru is to practice translating from English to Latin.
- The Challenge: When you read Latin, you can often guess the meaning. But when you have to produce Latin, you are forced to make choices.
- Example: The English word “knock” or “hit.” In Latin, pulso can mean to punch someone (Marcus Iuliam pulsat) or to knock on a door (Medus ostium pulsat). Producing the language forces you to understand these nuances.
Resources for the Latin Learner
The hosts mention several resources for those looking to take their studies further:
- Lexicon Morganianum: An online dictionary maintained by Patrick Owens that specializes in Neo-Latin and modern terms (e.g., armentarius for “cowboy”).
- Latinitium: A website by Daniel Peterson that offers excellent resources for spoken Latin and audio inputs.
- Vivarium Novum: An academy in Rome founded by Luigi Miraglia where students live and speak entirely in Latin.
- Hackett Publishing: A reliable source for affordable and accessible translations of classical texts (use code AN2021 for a discount!).
- The Moss Method: Dr. Noe’s own program for learning Ancient Greek, taking students from “neophyte to erudite” with video lessons and adapted readings.
A Gustatory Parting Shot
As always, the episode concludes with a “Gustatory Parting Shot,” a quote related to food. This week’s wisdom comes from the scientist George Washington Carver in his work How to Grow the Peanut.
His advice is simple but essential:
“Note: Always remove the brown hull from the peanuts, even though the recipe does not say so.”
Just as you must shell a peanut to get to the good stuff, you must peel away the layers of grammar charts and rote memorization to get to the delicious kernel of the Latin language itself.
Start your journey today: Pick up “The Duck Book,” avoid the “Arugula Man” mistake, and start speaking!
Valete!
