Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, Pars I: Familia Romana (Latin Edition)

Familia Romana: a veritable life-saver for those who have struggled with “dead” languages. I struggled with Latin for six years … I used to refer to them as my ‘days as a Roman slave’ between grades 7 and 12. I then went on to struggle with Ancient Greek … an even more challenging language when I studied the Classics prior to ultimately switching to the Sciences. I gleaned enough of both to serve me now and again but not well enough to satisfy my unfulfilled need to read fluently (in their own words) those thoroughly insightful writings handed down from a most curious people devoted as they were to the close examination of life and the experience of living. My take on learning ancient languages (and languages in general) is that it provides a window into the workings of the collective Human mind as well as of the very structure of language; what precisely language is, how it evolved, how it works and why it is so utterly essential to humanity. Such learning, no matter how primitive, provides a wonderful way in which to enrich one’s own language; to be able to expand one’s ability to express even the most elusive of concepts. If there is any experience that truly simulates what is expressed by the word: ‘magic’, F.R. is it! I knew it as soon as I began to tackle this wonderfully well considered work of love and dedication. What an enormous switch from the old days! One quite literally glides along with the reading, somehow absorbing the meaning with only marginal effort. After only a single reading of section one, I quite surprisingly began to hear, unconsciously, echoes of the phrases in the background of my thoughts while preparing coffee. So weird for someone who was never able to elicit a single word of Latin on command, even after having drilled for hours! There is plenty of repetition and clues galore and very well chosen grammatical cues at the margins. Yes, there is an occasional word that just doesn’t quite make sense, even in context but they seem relatively rare. For once, I found that I was no longer making any effort at mental translation. The meaning becomes quite clear as you read. The illustrations are helpful as well, of course. The sections do start out like a ‘Dick, Jane & Sally’ reader but rather swiftly increases in complexity. My background in Latin has been only vaguely helpful in that I know the difference between Nominative and Accusative, Genitive, etc. but, in fact, knowing one’s grammar is non-essential in this regard as you are actually learning on the fly, much as you did when learning to speak your native tongue, before you were forced to absorb the rules of the road. There is also “A College Companion”. I did purchase this item but it would best serve those who have virtually no background in Latin. Never-the-less, I have found it somewhat handy for an occasional clarification of this or that detail and it also happens to contain a Latin-to-English Vocab, which I have only rarely used just to confirm what I had already assumed. It’s all a matter of one’s brain making the correct inferences; something that most everyone does unconsciously while picking up one’s native language or when immersed in the language while living in a foreign country as a way of internalizing linguistic responses. And then, there is the marvelous MP3 recorded in the Classic style Familia Romana: Latine Audio by Hans Orberg himself : https://www.amazon.com/Familia-Romana-Hans-H-Orberg/dp/B0084LQGFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537112405&sr=8-1&keywords=familia+romana+audio This makes enunciation absolutely clear as he reads word-for-word each section of the manual in fluent but concise Latin. There is an alternate version that is recorded by students in the Ecclesiastical style but it contains any number of problems. I refer to the ‘Ecclesiastic style’ as a non-colloquial, specified allusion to the Gospel while the ‘Classic’ version appears to be more closely associated with a more conversational style of Latin communication. But it comes down, in the end, to personal taste. I am looking forward to the second volume of the lessons and am already at work with the Polis version of the same for Ancient Greek but which I’m finding to be not quite as satisfying and a bit more work-intensive.

This may be the best way to learn Latin. It's certainly the way that is working best for me. I had 2 years of Latin in high school back in the 1980s, and a couple of years ago I got the Wheelock materials to try to continue my studies on my own. Wheelock got me a long way, but it was a struggle to stay engaged, and I put it aside for a while. Someone recommended this book and it's been non-stop since I picked it up. I'm a little over halfway through. I can't say how it would be if you've never had any Latin at all, but I'm finding it very easy (and fun) to progress. I recommend this if you are just starting Latin, also.The book has no English at all, except back cover which is not really part of the book, and copyright info in several languages. Other than that, it's all Latin. Sound terrifying? It's not. The author very cleverly starts with super-simple stories and illustrations not unlike the grade school Dick and Jane stories. Then he builds on to each story, introducing new words as you go, so the material gets gradually more complex. You aren't translating; you are actually reading an thinking in these simple Latin phrases and words that get more complex as you go, each new story building up from the one before. Way more fun than memorizing tables of declensions and conjugations. Although, I confess I don't know if it would be quite so easy had I not memorized and reviewed much of that info in the past.Regardless, the thing I really enjoy is the stories. Some other reviewers did not like the stories, but I'm enjoying them. I was surprised to find I'm actually engaging with them at an emotional level and looking forward to what happens next. You follow a Roman family living in the Imperial era, about the time of Marcus Aurelius as far as I can tell. Along the way, you learn about life in ancient Rome while reading about this family. Some of it is shocking to modern sensibilities- there are slaves, clearly defined sex roles, and sometimes what would be brutal behavior by today's standards. Yet I've been drawn into the story and find myself rooting for the runaway slave, feeling sorry for the pugnacious son whose teacher seems to be right out of a Pink Floyd song, and sympathizing with the mom and dad as they deal with things any parent or spouse will understand.It's a little hokey, yes, but that's just the level I can follow and appreciate!I also purchased the companion book, which is in English, and I recommend this especially if you have no Latin experience. Familia Romana is the Latin text i wish is had in high school, but it's also an effective way to learn or increase your Latin skills. The constant use of the vocabulary in conversational, narrative structure has proven effective for me, and I find my ability to recognize and understand bits of Latin in classical or renaissance text is growing as I go through the book. I certainly recommend it.