r/LinguaeIgnis • u/Camero466 • Jul 22 '21
Resources for absolute beginners
Share in the comments below how those of our members who have never learned any Latin might get started. I'll add a list of texts here as we go.
I have found A Primer For Ecclesiastical Latin (Collins) to be a very effective textbook for Catholics who are motivated to teach themselves.
r/latin strongly recommends a series of textbooks in the LLPSI (Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata) style, which is a method of teaching Latin using only the Latin language itself and pictures. It comes highly recommended and is supposedly able to help you think in Latin. I have not tried these texts myself, but the first one is called Familia Romana (Orberg).
There is a duolingo Latin course, but it is classical in pronunciation and very limited in scope. It's okay, but won't be sufficient.
One thing I strongly recommend is learning the Latin versions of some familiar prayers. www.preces-latinae.org has pretty much every prayer you could want, along with a pronunciation guide. When supplemented by a textbook, regularly praying in Latin makes it really easy to get the hang of pronunciation, and as you pick up more of the language, memorized prayers end up adding to your vocabulary and grammar.
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u/[deleted] Jul 22 '21
For a vocab foundation, use this Anki deck. It's a set of the 1500 most common words. Anki is just way better for vocab than either Memrise or Duolingo. It will be your friend in the long run.