Sign up below to get immediate access to FREE video training and supercharge your Latin fluency!
Why bilingual books don’t work
|
The idea sounds great. Have the Latin on one side, and the English on the other. Pretty good, right? It sure could be – but I’ve yet to find a single example where it is. Why? Because bilingual books always assume you’re going to be reading the English only. For example, the Loeb Classical translations – often considered the gold standard for bilingual books – are atrocious for using the English to help you read the Latin. They freely have multiple sentences in the English where the Latin had just one. And they have one sentence where the Latin has several. This is a huge problem because if you’re trying to read the Latin and use the English to help you – you can’t. Looking at the English is like trying to solve a puzzle. You have to find where on the page the part you’re looking for is – and sometimes it’s not even on the same page. In short, the English translation is just too bloody literary. i.e. it assumes you’re there to read the English – not the Latin. I’ve seen many other more recent bilingual translations, and they all suffer from pretty much the same problems. Some are better than others, don’t get me wrong – but they’re always written with the idea that – really – you’re there to read the English. Oh, and another problem with most bilingual texts (though – to be fair – not the Loeb ones) -s that they usually only give you selections from the author, not the full work. Which gives you the weird result that it’s possible to read thousands of lines of Latin – and have never read a complete Latin work. All of this is why bilingual texts are a waste of time. Sorry to break it to you. There are rare exceptions, don’t get me wrong. But for Latin, they’re almost impossible to find. If you’re serious about wanting to speak, write, and read Classical Latin (or any other Latin, for that matter), then you need to spend time exposing yourself to the language in a way that’s actually understandable to you. Anything else – nay, EVERYTHING else – is a waste of your time. So what’s the solution? Spend time reading the language – in its original order – with a translation that matches every word, phrase, and sentence. Not a literary translation – but a helpful one. Spend 10-60 minutes a day reading like that, and you’ll move forward in leaps and bounds. And if you’re looking for a good place to start, jump in with one of my favourite Roman authors, Seneca’s On The Shortness Of Life: https://decodinglatin.gumroad.com/l/SkpCb Talk soon, Alexander |
Welcome to Decoding Latin!
Sign up below to get immediate access to FREE video training and supercharge your Latin fluency!
Most textbooks talk about ‘graded reading’. But as anyone who’s worked through a textbook and tried to read a real Roman author can tell you – graded reading is a lie. The idea sounds great… start with really easy Latin, then make it gradually harder until you can handle even the most complex author with ease. Beautiful. Or at least – it would be, if it worked. But it doesn’t. 1. Because to construct a true graduated reading programme from zero to fluent would take WAY more time than any of...
If you want to become fluent in Latin – then I recommend handcopying, one phrase or sentence at a time – alongside its translation. Especially if you don’t have as much time to devote to Latin learning as you’d like. This is honestly the most efficient method I know when you’re on your own. I’ve been using copywork for years. For writing – hand copying great writing. For philosophy – writing out the ideas and arguments. I’ve used it for language learning, history, science, and so on. It’s...
All this week I’ve been talking about how and why you should use hand copying (called copywork) to become fluent in Latin reading. Why is this such an effective method for you no matter where you’re at right now? One reason is that doing this guarantees you’re spending your time reading and understanding real Latin, not the Latin of textbooks. It also means you’re READING – understanding – not just translating. Another reason is that copywork practically forces what you’re learning into your...