Learning Latin the Ancient Way
Latin Textbooks from the Ancient World

This book makes ancient Latin-learning materials usable by modern students for the first time.

Eleanor Dickey (Author)

9781107474574, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 February 2016

197 pages, 4 b/w illus.
24.6 x 17.4 x 1 cm, 0.4 kg

'… this is a very useful book, and the author deserves special thanks. Much interesting information on the sources and recent research is concisely presented in a field often obscure even to experts. Moreover, the attractiveness of the presentation and analysis of the texts will hopefully encourage students to undertake further research in the field.' Peter Kuhlmann, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

What did Greek speakers in the Roman empire do when they wanted to learn Latin? They used Latin-learning materials containing authentic, enjoyable vignettes about daily life in the ancient world - shopping, banking, going to the baths, having fights, being scolded, making excuses - very much like the dialogues in some of today's foreign-language textbooks. These stories provide priceless insight into daily life in the Roman empire, as well as into how Latin was learned at that period, and they were all written by Romans in Latin that was designed to be easy for beginners to understand. Learners also used special beginners' versions of great Latin authors including Virgil and Cicero, and dictionaries, grammars, texts in Greek transliteration, etc. All these materials are now available for the first time to today's students, in a book designed to complement modern textbooks and enrich the Latin-learning experience.

1. Introduction
2. Texts
3. Grammatical works
4. Glossaries
5. Prose composition
6. Alphabets
7. Transliterated texts
8. Texts with the original Greek
9. Texts without word division
10. Overview of the ancient Latin-learning materials
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Historical & comparative linguistics [CFF], Language: history & general works [CBX]