Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Here you can discuss all things Latin. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Latin, and more.
Post Reply
User avatar
Kaleiokanakaanuenue
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2014 2:59 am

Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by Kaleiokanakaanuenue »

Hi, everyone.

I'm absolutely terrible at understanding spoken/oral Latin. I found sites like Librivox.com with decent recordings of Vergil, Ovid, and others read in Classical or Ecclesiastical pronunciation; however, these are too advanced for me. Even hearing the Biblia Sacra is too hard. :(

Does anyone know of any beginner/children's audiobooks (preferably read only in Latin--I'm going for that total Latin immersion fluency) or something that people like me could listen to and gradually increase auditory Latin comprehension? Do you have any personal suggestions on how to get better? Thank you so much!

User avatar
bedwere
Global Moderator
Posts: 5102
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:23 pm
Location: Didacopoli in California
Contact:

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by bedwere »

Kaleiokanakaanuenue wrote:Hi, everyone.

I'm absolutely terrible at understanding spoken/oral Latin. I found sites like Librivox.com with decent recordings of Vergil, Ovid, and others read in Classical or Ecclesiastical pronunciation; however, these are too advanced for me. Even hearing the Biblia Sacra is too hard. :(

Does anyone know of any beginner/children's audiobooks (preferably read only in Latin--I'm going for that total Latin immersion fluency) or something that people like me could listen to and gradually increase auditory Latin comprehension? Do you have any personal suggestions on how to get better? Thank you so much!
If you want the Classical pronunciation, you can visit Molendinarius's Latinum site.

I learned Latin as a dead language when I was in high school in Italy. Later in life I learned it as a living language using this excellent course, which uses the Ecclesiastical pronunciation:

Cursus Linguae Latinae Vivae (description in English)


It comes with almost 20 hours of Latin recordings, from the ground up. The author, Fr. Suitbert Seidl, O.C.D., was an Austrian polyglot and founder of the Familia Sancti Hieronymi.

Shenoute
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 12:23 pm

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by Shenoute »

There are recordings of Ora Maritima on archive.org.

The first lessons of LLPSI: Familia Romana read in ecclesiastical pronounciation can be downloaded here.

naturalphilosopher
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 52
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:17 pm

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by naturalphilosopher »

bedwere wrote: Later in life I learned it as a living language using this excellent course, which uses the Ecclesiastical pronunciation:

Cursus Linguae Latinae Vivae (description in English)


It comes with almost 20 hours of Latin recordings, from the ground up. The author, Fr. Suitbert Seidl, O.C.D., was an Austrian polyglot and founder of the Familia Sancti Hieronymi.
Could you give more detail of what the course is like? I've scoured the web for reviews and come up empty handed. Aside from lots of recordings, what is the book that accompanies it like? Can the recordings be used separately or must one have the book opened? How are the lessons structured? I ask because $100 is a lot to pay when the description at Familia Sancti Hieronymi is so sparse.

User avatar
bedwere
Global Moderator
Posts: 5102
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:23 pm
Location: Didacopoli in California
Contact:

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by bedwere »

I would say that the recordings are really the most important part of the course and should definitely be used separately over and over again. I used to listen to them in my car while I commuted. The book is 207 letter sized pages. It starts with the first rudiments of the language in a natural way, more or less like you would teach any language. It never burdens you with obscure points of grammar, but it has enough to allow one to speak Latin correctly: declensions, conjugations, the ablative absolute, the consecutio temporum, etc. Since this is a book for Catholics, it uses the Athanasian Creed as an example of Church Latin. It uses the storyline of the Aeneid as an example of classical Latin. And then there are several examples of a conversational Latin.

lindylars
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 3:56 pm
Location: Florida (when I'm there)

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by lindylars »

bedwere - "Thank you!" for posting the link to Cursus Linguae Latinae Vivae, I did not know this course existed.

Any idea on what improvements/expansions were done to the second edition as listed (assuming you had used the previous edition)? Previous classroom experience aside - "how far" in your best estimation would one get skill-wise using this course alone? "Reasonably" reading the Vulgate with lexical aids? Becoming more "engaged" in the Tridentine Mass without having to "tune out" the Latin while trying to follow along on the English-side of the Missal, watching for the visual cues?

Would this course be a good basis to build upon prior to engaging in (or in conjunction with) the readings in something like Rev. Nunn's "An Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin"?

I realize that some of these questions are oriented towards reading-skills (vs. the oral side like the OP's inquiry so apologies in advance to the OP and to the forum).

User avatar
bedwere
Global Moderator
Posts: 5102
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:23 pm
Location: Didacopoli in California
Contact:

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by bedwere »

Hi Lindylars,

You're welcome! Regarding your questions,

1) I used the second edition. The only difference is that when I bought it in 2006 it came with tapes. Now they have CDs (which you can easily rip into mp3s).
2) As I said, I didn't start from zero: I had formal training in Latin in high school. I think you would be able to read the Vulgate and follow the TLM by completing this course alone. Of course, you need to be very diligent (ausculta iterum iterumque! :D ). Supplementing the course with Latin conversation (e.g., via Skype), reading, and composition is also highly recommended.
3) Personally, I would do the other way around: first study "An Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin" and then plunge yourself into the "Course of Latin as a Living Language." Once you master CLLV, I'd rather buy a grammar in Latin, such as Elementa linguae et grammaticae latinae

This summer the Familia will have its annual Cenaculum in Menlo Park, CA, from July, 27 to August, 1. My lot will be to give some easy lessons to the freshmen. :D

I'll try to do a video review of the course, when I have some time, and will post the link here.

User avatar
bedwere
Global Moderator
Posts: 5102
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:23 pm
Location: Didacopoli in California
Contact:

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by bedwere »

Here is my awkward review of Cursus Linguae Latinae Vivae. :oops:

http://youtu.be/QY7hFOgdsLE

naturalphilosopher
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 52
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:17 pm

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by naturalphilosopher »

Multas gratias! Bedware.

lindylars
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 3:56 pm
Location: Florida (when I'm there)

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by lindylars »

I second the "Thanks!" bedwere - two thumbs up :D And yes, I completely expect that repetition would be key to ensuring maximum results if one's goal is to eventually "think" in Latin.

Pax Christi!

lindylars
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 3:56 pm
Location: Florida (when I'm there)

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by lindylars »

Hello bedwere - which version of the Vulgata (Clementina or Nova) does the Familia use for its recordings that are available (Gospels, etc.)? Thank you again for your time and kind input (and for the review that you posted - I have the course on order).
Last edited by lindylars on Mon Apr 20, 2015 5:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
bedwere
Global Moderator
Posts: 5102
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:23 pm
Location: Didacopoli in California
Contact:

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by bedwere »

lindylars wrote:Hello bedwere - which version of the Vulgata (Clementina or Nova) does the Familia use for its recordings that are available? Thank you again for your time and kind input (and for the review that you posted - I have the course on order).
The Familia uses the Vulgata Clementina for all its recording.
Last edited by bedwere on Wed Apr 22, 2015 9:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

whsiv
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 91
Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:33 pm

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by whsiv »

On a related note, bedwere, do you know if it's possible to buy just the recordings for the Cursus Linguae Latinae Vivae?

User avatar
bedwere
Global Moderator
Posts: 5102
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:23 pm
Location: Didacopoli in California
Contact:

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by bedwere »

whsiv wrote:On a related note, bedwere, do you know if it's possible to buy just the recordings for the Cursus Linguae Latinae Vivae?
I don't think it's possible. Sorry!

whsiv
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 91
Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:33 pm

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by whsiv »

I don't think it's possible. Sorry!
Vae discentibus!

User avatar
bedwere
Global Moderator
Posts: 5102
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:23 pm
Location: Didacopoli in California
Contact:

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by bedwere »

Carolus Raeticus has a list of books suitable for beginners on his site:

http://hiberna-cr.wikidot.com/reading-material

There is already a free recording of Cornelia available

Some of you may consider creating more free recordings for Librivox

lindylars
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 3:56 pm
Location: Florida (when I'm there)

Re: Latin Beginner/Children Audiobooks?

Post by lindylars »

whsiv - just as a follow-up to your question (and to bedwere's reply) now that I have the course in hand, the recordings are so tightly coupled with the accompanying text (pagina 109: "et est brevius quam..." etc.) that it would not make sense for the CDs to become separately available from the text (at least for individual consumers).

The text itself (207 pages, Introduction followed by 7 lessons comprised of 4 sections per lesson) sort of reminds me of some of the "in-house" materials used by the Foreign Service Institute self-study courses back in the mid/late 1990s (e.g., no table of contents, index, ISBN for the text itself - of course these materials were never intended for traditional academic settings). By the time you get through the 18-page Introduction you are informed that you should already have a 100-word vocabulary; by the beginning of lesson 3 272 words, lesson 5 more than 500 words (I think) - I couldn't tell what the final tally would be based on the quick scan that I did earlier. The text appears to be very comprehensive but, given the "style" of organization/layout, it isn't readily comparable content-wise to more traditional material such as D'Ooge et al. Of course the audio recordings are highlighted as the key component to the course while going through the corresponding sections of the text (along with the oft-repeated "repetitio est mater studiorum").

The text was accompanied by 26 CDs (Discus 1A et 1B, etc.) with most CDs appearing to have 45-47 minutes of audio recordings. As part of my quick scan I listened to most of 1A (the first CD) and 13B (the last CD) to get an overall feel for the audio portion's breadth:

1A covered the Latin-only audio portions/readings of the Introduction and the initial sections of Lesson 1 (pagina 1: "Veterum Sapientia"...pagina 2: "Non tam praeclarum est scire Latine, quam turpe nescire"...pagina 3: "Lingua Romae, Urbis antiquae", "Lingua Ecclesiae viva", etc.).

13B covered the bottom-half of page 203 through 207 (as in the last 4-1/2 pages out of the 207 page text). Besides rendering the Latin-only audio for the readings there was a full-on lecture/discussion of the remaining topics ("Quomodo Epistulae Incipiendae et Finiendae Sunt", etc.) - of course the discussion/explanation is Latin-only.

Hope this helps out - bedwere please correct/expand as you deem necessary (or check out bewere's review as posted above).

Post Reply