Last updated: January 12, 2023

Shatzel Hall

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Classics Program at BGSU
Studies in Latin at BGSU
Department of World Languages and Cultures
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Bowling Green State University



Updates: Added readings and homework for the first chunk of the course (Pars Prima). (1/8/23)

a
          gryphon in profile, facing left 
  a gryphon on a relief carving in the Vatican Museum
(Photo Copyright 2008, JMP)


LAT 1020/1020H: ELEMENTARY LATIN 2

Mon.-Fri. 11:30-12:20
Eppler Center 220

Professor:
James M. Pfundstein, Ph.D.
Shatzel 222
Office Hours: Tues.12:30-1:20, and by appointment.
Office phone: 419-372-8278
e-mail: jmpfund@bgsu.edu
web-page: http://blogs.bgsu.edu/pfundblog/
facebook: james.enge
twitter: jamesenge


Text
:

(required)
LaFleur, Wheelock's Latin (7th ed.; Collins Reference, 2011)
https://www.amazon.com/Wheelocks-Latin-7th/dp/0061997226
The link above is  for Amazon, but you can get copies from Barnes & Noble, the library, or elsewhere. It's available in e-form, too, but I don't recommend the Kindle version; when last I checked, it was very poorly formatted. The Apple Books version is better. I haven't checked out any of the others.

I'm selecting vocabulary from the chapters for you guys to memorize for the quizzes. I'm putting that up in a web-page here.
http://jamesenge.com/VerbaSelecta.Wheelock.html

Here's a running list of things I'm asking you to memorize for the next quiz. I'll be updating it periodically through the semester.
http://jamesenge.com/Accidence.html


Homework for the first couple weeks (Pars Prīma):



1st/2nd Declension
Adjectives

3rd Declension
Nouns
3rd Declension
Adjectives
Participles
explanatory
material
Wheelock
Caput IV
Wheelock
Caput VII
Wheelock
Caput XVI

Introduction to Participles

Night of the Lepus

paradigms
&
examples
bonus, —a, —um
declined


rex, ovis, & animal
declined


Canis Rēgnat Ovēs!
exempla


acer, omnis, par
declined

regēns
(present active participle)
declined

homework

1st & 2nd declension adj.
sententiae


3rd declension noun
sententiae

3rd declension adjective
sententiae

participles
sententiae



(recommended)

Goldman/Szymanski, English Grammar for Students of Latin (Olivia & Hill Press, 1994)

On-Line Resources:
All of these are free; the product is of varying quality. Caveat araneo-fluitator! (Let the web-surfer beware!) Let me know about any broken links you find.
Here is a handout on basic uses of the different noun cases. Remember, each case has more uses than this, but these are the ones to start with. (Here's another cartoonier one.)

And here's yet another, using porta instead of puella.

Here's a handout on Latin tenses in the active/indicative.

A rundown of uses of the ablative without a preposition (cf. Wheelock's Caput XXII).

The website for Wheelock's Latin has a section devoted to pronunciation (with streaming or downloadable audio files) and other useful stuff:

http://www.wheelockslatin.com/chapters/introduction/introduction.html

There's a set of high-quality online drills for Wheelock's Latin (6th edition, but it's not so different from the 7th) at the University of Victoria website.
https://web.uvic.ca/hrd/latin/wheelock/contents.htm

Versions of Whitaker's WORDS, a superb freeware program that parses and briefly defines Latin words, can be downloaded from AbleMedia's site (for Mac OS X, for Windows of various flavors, DOS, LINUX and OS/2). It's probably archived at many other places online if you search for it.
http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/showcase/whitakerwords.html#download
An online version is available at Notre Dame.
http://archives.nd.edu/words.html
There's a great cross-platform program (freeware versions available for Mac, Windows, & Linux) called Diogenes, generously created by Peter Heslin. It's a great dictionary and parsing program for Latin and Greek (should you need it).
https://d.iogen.es/d/download.html

No version for mobile devices yet, but there is an online interface, which is a little wonky but is great when it works.
https://d.iogen.es/web
This might be more useful later on, but the National Latin Exam has an online practice app that can generate quizzes of varying lengths for various levels of Latin.
https://nle.org/practice_online.html

Other Electronic Resources
:
In addition to the above free programs/sites, there are various not-free options (which you can seek out for yourself at the Mac App Store, Google Play or what have you). These aren't necessary or required. Read the assignments; do the homework; come to class. That's the secret to doing well in this course. You know that voice in your head? The one that's saying, "That is the old way. I can work smarter, not harder, and do just as well or better AS LONG AS I BUY THIS SHINY NEW THINGLET!" That voice? It's trying to destroy you.

However: all practice is good, and if you actually make use of these things, they might be useful for you.
There's an okay pair of programs for mobile platforms (one for iOS, one for Android) by a guy named Joel Gwynn. They're designed to go along with Wheelock's Latin, and there's a free demo for each where you can work through the first few chapters without plonking down any coin.

For Android, Grammaticus:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joelman.grammaticus

For iOS, Principium:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/principium-latin/id909886147
Liberation Philology has a simple interface (suitable for phones) for review and self-quizzing of Latin vocabulary and grammar. It's pretty cheap, very reliable, and there are versions for iOS and Android. If you like the format, they have equivalent apps for a lot of other languages: Ancient Greek, Old Norse, Italian, Russian, etc.
https://www.libphil.ca/latin.php
The popular (and free) language learning app Duolingo has added Latin to their languages. It might be of some kind of use. Anything that helps you practice Latin is inherently good for your Latin, but this app isn't designed to go with our course (or vice versa).

Format:

Electrifying grammatical lectures; exercises and readings in Wheelock's Latin as assigned. Balloons! Prizes!! EVERYONE A WINNER!!! (Your results may vary. "Balloons" is used here in a metaphorical sense. Prizes consist of nuggets of pure incorporeal knowledge. Void where prohibited.)


Course Expectations:

1. Expectations for Behavior: Abide by Wheaton's Law. For details, see the BGSU Codes of Conduct.

2.
Expectations for Learning: This is a 2-part, nine-month-long course divided into two semesters for administrative convenience. At the end of it, you'll be able to read the Latin language. That's the target, and you will hit it if you persist. Along the way we'll get practice in speaking, listening, even writing Latin. But the ultimate goal is to be able to read Latin.

Sidebar: Why read Latin? It will improve your grasp of English vocabulary and grammar. It will enable you to travel through time and speak to some of the greatest minds in history in their own language. It will enable you to read people's Latin tattoos and spot the mistakes.


Grading
:

Attendance/Participation
Daily attendance and participation are required.
30%
(15% attendance + 15% homework)
Quizzes
(vocabulary & memorization)
30%
Tests
(translation & parsing)
40%


FINE PRINT:

The lowest of the six tests and quizzes will drop except for the final exam, which must receive a passing grade for the student to pass the course. No one can pass the course without taking and passing the final exam.

Re attendance: I realize that we're still in a pandemic and there may be other legitimate reasons not to make it to class; there will be ways to earn back attendance points (e.g. pop quizzes on low-attendance days). But: the default should be attendance, not absent with an excuse.

The peculiarities of our semester schedule mean that this class has two final exam periods. The first (Monday, April 24, 11:30-1:30) will be a voluntary review session, at which we'll go over a practice test. The true and genuinely final exam will be on Thursday, April 27, 11:30-1:30.

There will be no class on the following days: Monday January 16 (MLK jr. Day), March 6-10 (Fall Break).

No one can pass the course without taking and passing the final exam.

The maximum level of extra credit that will be counted toward the final grade = 5% of the total course points.

Missed assignments may not be made up, except by prior arrangement with the instructor.

"You don't have to burn books if the world starts to fill up with nonreaders, nonlearners, nonknowers."—Ray Bradbury

The instructor reserves the right to recognize significant improvement (or decline) in student performance when awarding the final grade.

The syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor; changes will be announced in class and posted on-line.

No incompletes will be issued, except for pressing reasons and by prior arrangement with the instructor.


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