1. Hacking Latin
Welcome

2. This course is for you if…
You want to improve
You are a
your vocabulary
beginner at Latin
for conversation

3. Why learn Latin?
 The words
 To better understand the words and grammar of English,
French, Italian, Spanish and many other languages, dead
or alive
 The culture
 To give you access to an immense body of art, philosophy
and literature NOT just from the Classical Ages, but –
since Latin remained the language of learning, politics
and religion – from more than a thousand years
afterwards

4. Why learn to speak Latin?
 Dead languages were spoken too!
 To help appreciate the workings of the language not just
as a literary medium, but as it was used by the majority of
people at the times of Cicero and Caesar (and beyond)
 As a learning aid
 Multi-sensory learning is the best way to remember
things: if you can listen to the sound of words and write or
speak Latin sentences yourself you will pick up the
language much faster
 To have secret conversations with other people who
know Latin!

5. Latin is still used widely today in…
 Medicine and biology,
 Agriculture and gardening,
 History and archaeology,
 Christian religion,
 Academic writing, and
 In common English phrases

6. Taster: Common Phrases
 alter ego
 alter = another, a second
 ego = I
 status quo (the norm)
 status = the state
 quo = in which
 Curriculum vitae
 curriculum = course
 vitae = of life
 et cetera (etc.)
 et = and
 cetera = the others, the rest

7. Taster: Harry Potter
 Voldemort = He who flies from death
 volat = he flies
 de = from
 morte = death
 Knockturn alley = alley of the night
 nocturnus = nocturnal, of the night
 Expelliarmus
 expelle = expel, drive out
 arma = arms, weapons
 Albus Dumbledore
 albus = white

8. This course
 This course will help you get to grips with the very
basic essentials of conversational Latin, but gaining
a strong understand of the language requires a lot of
time and some good resources
 If you are a self-taught beginner, and
want to go further, I recommend:
 Wheelock’s Latin

9. For now, you’re ready to go!
Get started!