I decided I want to learn Latin over the summer, for the purpose of better understanding scientific names and many words in English and all of the romance languages. I was going to buy the Rosetta Stone Latin software, but some of the reviews say that it's the ancient roman kind of latin, and not the kind they speak in the vatican or something. So my question is, do scientific names and things incorporate the ancient roman latin that rosetta stone covers, or some other kind of latin? is there a big difference between the two? Thanks.
Languages - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
The scientific names for things are all based on Classical (ancient) Latin. However, the way we SAY those words is closer to the Vatican pronunciation. There's not a big difference between the two, but Classical Latin used the letter 'v' where today we use both 'u' and 'v', and it used 'i' where we use both 'j' and 'i'. You can tell those letters are related because they look so much alike. In Classical Latin, you'd have a word like 'iustitia', meaning "justice" and pronounced with a Y sound for the first 'i' and a sound like EE as in "bee" for the second two i's. I think in the Vatican they spell that word with a 'j' these days. And the word for "truth" was 'vervm' and was pronounced with a W sound at the start and an OO sound as in "boot" for the second 'v'. Today in the Vatican it's probably probably spelled 'verum' and pronounced like you'd expect, with an English V sound at the start. If you learn it with Rosetta Stone, it'll be easy enough to understand either version. You should be warned, however, that Rosetta Stone probably isn't worth the $$ it costs. Just for the Latin level 1 disk, it's 160 bucks. Here in California it'd cost less to take a class at community college, and you'd learn a lot more.
2 :
The fact of the matter enhancing ones linguistic skills is a vastly exhaustive endeavor. One lingual factor (such as speaking) cannot strengthened while ignoring the other aspects. All dimensions must be covered. One must be fully motivated. Language learning must be made fun to evade discouragement. Start with supplies from your library and take some classes if possible. Lessons are vital , but as are these: 1) Listening/watching: Keep listening to radio stations as well as watching TV shows in the target language. (Subtitles are crucial here) 2) Writing/reading/communication: Discover discussion forums on things that you find interesting and FUN (music/various artists, hobbies, etc.) and start communicating there with other people using only the target language. Start using instant messaging systems in case you find some new friends or start emailing them. Do NOT fear making mistakes or hesitating, because even native speakers do make mistakes and do hesitate at times! The more enjoyable the experience, the more proneness to success. 3) Purchase a bilingual dictionary with your native language and the target language. Upon encountering a new word, search it up in the dictionary. Placing words in their context is one of the greatest antics to increase one's vocabulary and grammar knowledge. The more skillful in reading and writing also, the better. Memorizing in itself isn't the best way to go with learning vocabulary, grammar or any other language brackets! For idioms, you should buy a dictionary which explains the words and shows you examples of how to use the words. The most crucial point is to make it as fun as possible for yourself. Try to locate interesting topics. Read online newspapers, listen radio stations online, if you find a discussion forum for e.g. your favorite hobby or your idols in music do participate there, etc. The essential word here is context, which indicates that it is simpler to learn new words and their usage as well as grammar when you use/see them in their real context . The more frequent you see and hear the new words in their context and the more you use them in your speech & writing, the easier it becomes to remember their meanings and correct spelling. Although don't fear making flaws since native speakers do make mistakes at points. I apologize, but there isn't an easy method. Mastery of a foreign language in short time span (such as 6 months) is neigh on impossible. Any language is challenging unless you grew up speaking it. Finally but not least: Never ever use online translators. They are inaccurate and useless. Do refrain from overrated, overpriced language gimmicks such as Rosetta Stone. Good luck!
