discamus! an introduction to spoken Latin
Sara Chopra
Table of Contents Introduction: discamus! Letʼs Learn! About the Author A Note to the Student Chapter 1: salve! • fabula: in domo • grammatica: Forming a Latin Sentence • collocutio: in domo Chapter 2: in urbe • fabula: in urbe • grammatica: Latin Verbs • collocutio: in foro Sara Chopra
Chapter 3: in taberna • fabula: in taberna (1 and 2) • grammatica: Nominative and Accusative • loque!: in taberna Chapter 4: cena • fabula: in culina • grammatica: Imperatives • collocutio: in triclinio Acknowledgements Further Exploration Contact the Author 2018
discamus! Letʼs Learn! Welcome to discamus, the spoken Latin resource for beginning and experienced classicists alike. In this book, you will learn about the foundations of Latin by exploring the spoken aspects of the language. Unlike many Latin textbooks and classes, discamus aims to educate through a curriculum that includes language immersion. Immersion gives students many opportunities to experience the so-called “dead” language of Latin in real life, increasing studentsʼ confidence and comfort with the language. Note: The best way to improve language skills and confidence is through speaking, so discamus is best suited for groups of two or more. These groups could be a parent and child, or even an entire Latin class learning together. The best way to improve language skills and confidence is through speaking, so this textbook is best suited for groups of two or more. Sara Chopra
2018
About the Author: Why I Created discamus My name is Sara Chopra and I am a graduating senior at Princeton Day School in Princeton, New Jersey. Throughout my first seven years of Latin education, I have loved learning the language and exploring ancient culture. In 2017, when I began speaking Latin through the Paideia Institute for Humanistic Study, I was excited to discover a new side of the language that I had never encountered before. That summer, I taught elementary and middle school students introductory Latin, heavily incorporating speaking skills and conversational Latin into lessons.
A photo of me taken on the day of my first spoken-Latin conference. Sara Chopra
After I started teaching, I realized that although spoken Latin is not often a part of high school or college curricula, it is a powerful tool for learning and engaging with Latin. Although Latin and the Classics are regarded by many as exclusive or elite areas of study, they offer learning opportunities that every student deserves to have. Through spoken Latin, I hope to make the language I love more accessible to all students. 2018
A Note to the Student: Chapter Structure Not including vocabulary and spoken phrase lists, each chapter is divided into four parts: fabula (story), grammatica (grammar), and either collocutio (conversation), loque! (speak!), or both. In addition, each chapter includes a list of spoken Latin phrases and a vocabulary list, sorted by part of speech. During the collocutio part of a chapter, youʼll have a chance to interact with the characters through conversation. The gray questions are directed toward you, and the pink text marks a phrase for you to complete, based on the question. The loque! part of a chapter is a time for you to try out your speaking skills! Whether youʼre using discamus with your parents or your friends, itʼs an opportunity for you to speak Latin together. loque! provides exercises for groups of two or more participants. Depending on the student, you can choose to read the grammatica section at the beginning of the chapter (before the fabula), to become acquainted with the chapterʼs new grammar. Sara Chopra
2018
Chapter 1: salve! Conversational Phrases salve!* quid agis?
How are you?
ago optime!
I feel great!
ago male.
I feel poorly.
quid tibi nomen est?
What is your name?
mihi nomen est . . .
My name is . . .
ubi tu habitas? ego habito in . . .
Where do you live? I live in . . .
ita vero
Yes
minime
No
vale!*
Bye!
tu, te
you
ego, me
I, me
* “salve” and “vale” are said to one person. Sara Chopra
Hello!
“salvete” and “valete” are to more than one person. 2018
Chapter 1: salve! Vocabulary puer puella domus hortus mater pater familia Romanus/a/um laetus/a/um bonus/a/um malus/a/um ambulo, ambulare sedeo, sedere dico, dicere sum, es, est, sumus, estis, et Sara Chopra
boy girl home garden mother father family Roman happy good bad walk sit speak, say is, are (“to be”) and 2018
fabula: in domo Melissa est in domo. Melissa est puella et in domo habitat. Melissa est Romana. Melissa ad hortum ambulat. Marcus in horto est. Marcus est pater. mater in horto sedet. mater est Julia. “quid agis?” Julia dicit. Melissa dicit, “ago bene, mater.” “bonum est!” dicit Julia. “ita vero,” Marcus dicit. sedet. Marcus, Julia, et Melissa est familia. familia in domo sedet. familia in Roma habitat.
Sara Chopra
2018
grammatica: Forming a Latin Sentence In English, most sentences follow a certain order: “subject verb direct object,” such as, “The dog sees the ball.” However, in Latin, sentence structure often varies greatly between sentences, authors, and people. Youʼll see that many verbs are at the end of the sentence, and that subjects and direct objects can be next to one another, or even mixed around with adjectives. For this reason, Latin includes different noun cases and case endings, which point out which words are subjects, direct objects, and other noun forms. Cases make both spoken and written Latin understandable. Starting in Chapter 3, youʼll learn about two cases: nominative and accusative.
Sara Chopra
2018
collocutio: in domo in domo, “salve, quid tibi nomen est?” Melissa dicit. quid dicis? mihi nomen est . . . “ego habito in villa. ubi tu habitas?” ubi tu habitas? dicit, “ego sum laeta. es tu laetus?” ita vero aut minime? “ego sum puella Romana,” dicit. “puer es? puella es?” es tu puer aut puella? “ego sum . . .” Melissa ad hortum ambulat. “vale!” quid dicis?
Sara Chopra
2018
Chapter 2: in urbe Conversational Phrases mihi placet . . . . . . placet tibi? gratias tibi ago nihil est ego sum discipulus/a ludi . . . cur? quid est? quis est? quis es? ubi est? ubi es?
Do you like . . . ? (quid placet tibi = what do you like?)
Thank you Youʼre welcome I am a student at the school of. . .
Why? What is it? Who is it? Who are you? Where is it? Where are you?
ecce!
Look!
euge!
Hooray!
non + verb
does not
aut Sara Chopra
I like . . .
or 2018
Chapter 2: in urbe Vocabulary urbs vir femina taberna forum via feles canis video, videre venio, venire voco, vocare circumspecto, rideo, ridere volo, volere + verb ad quod Sara Chopra
city man woman store forum, marketplace road cat dog see come call look around smile want to, toward because 2018
“esse” : The Verb “To Be” Singular
Plural
1st Person
sum “I am”
sumus “we are”
2nd Person
es “you are”
estis “you all are”
3rd Person
est “he/she/it is”
sunt “they are”
This is the present active conjugation, or set of verb forms, for the verb “to be,” whose infinitive is “esse.” In this chapter, you will learn about regular present active verbs. However, “esse” is covered on this page because its forms are irregular. Sara Chopra
2018
fabula: in urbe Marcus et Melissa in via sunt. ad forum ambulant quod volunt videre Juliam. “ecce,” Melissa dicit. “feles in via est.” Melissa ridet. Marcus virum videt. Marcus vocat, “salve!” vir dicit, “salve, ubi sum?” Melissa dicit, “tu in urbe est. urbs est Roma.” “gratias tibi,” dicit vir.
Melissa et Marcus ad forum veniunt et tabernam vident. Marcus circumspectat. videt pueros, viros, et canes in taberna. Melissa feminam videt et vocat, “salve, mater!” Julia circumspectat. ridet quod videt familiam. “salvete!” Sara Chopra
2018
grammatica: Latin Verbs In the previous chapter, you learned about Latin sentence structure. In addition to noun endings, which youʼll see in the next chapter, Latin also has infinitives and verb endings. Here are the verb endings for present active tense. Singular Plural -o -mus 1st Person “I __” “we __” 2nd Person
-s “you __”
-tis “you all __”
3rd Person
-t “he/she/it __”
-nt “they __”
These endings make it possible for you to tell who is doing a certain action in a sentence. For example: Melissa ambulat. vocat, “ecce!” “Melissa” and “ambulat” go together because the noun “Melissa” and verb “ambulat” are both singular and 3rd person. Sara Chopra
2018
collocutio: in foro in foro, Julia dicit, “urbs mihi placet. quid placet tibi?” quid dicis? Melissa vocat, “salve! taberna mihi placet. tibi placet taberna?” quid dicis? “quid tibi placet: feles aut canis?” quid dicis? puer venit. puer dicit, “ego sum discipulus.” es tu discipulus/a? ubi? “ego sum discipulus/a ludi . . .” Julia videt te et puerum. femina, “cur in foro estis?” dicit. puer dicit, “ego sum in foro quod volo videre tabernas.” quid dicis? “sum in foro quod volo . . .” Sara Chopra
2018
Chapter 3: in taberna Conversational Phrases quantus/a/um . . . est?
How much does . . . cost?
debes . . . pecunias.
You owe . . . coins/dollars.
habes . . . ?
Do you have . . . ?
nimium est.
It is too much.
parum est.
It is too little.
satis est.
It is enough.
volo emere . . .
Sara Chopra
I want to buy . . .
hodie
today
eheu!
Alas! Oh no! 2018
Chapter 3: in taberna Vocabulary mercator stola
dress
tunica
tunic
toga
toga
calceus
shoe
solea
sandal
avarus
greedy
pauper
poor
pecunia
coin, money
emo, emere
buy
gero, gerere
wear
debeo, debere
owe
trado, tradere
hand over
respondeo, respondere Sara Chopra
businessman
respond, reply 2018
Latin Numbers and Roman Numerals 1-12
Sara Chopra
unus
I
1
one
duo
II
2
two
tres
III
3
three
quattour
IV
4
four
quinque
V
5
five
sex
VI
6
six
septem
VII
7
seven
octo
VIII
8
eight
novem
IX
9
nine
decem
X
10
ten
undecim
XI
11
eleven
duodecim
XII
12
twelve 2018
fabula: in taberna 1 Melissa, Julia, et Marcus in foro sunt. Melissa dicit: “ad tabernam hodie venimus. venio quod volo emere stolam. mater venit quod vult emere soleas. pater venit quod vult videre mercatorem.” in taberna sunt et Marcus vocat mercatorem: “quanta est stola?” mercator respondet, “debes decem pecunias.” Julia dicit, “eheu, nimium est! debeo septem pecunias.” “minime, parum est,” dicit mercator. “debes novem pecunias.” Marcus respondet, “ita vero, satis est,” et pecunias tradit.
Sara Chopra
2018
fabula: in taberna 2 Marcus stolam emit et Melissa gerit. “euge!” dicit. “stola mihi placet.” puer in taberna est. “salve, mercator,” dicit. “habes tunicas? volo emere tunicam quod hodie in Roma sum!” “ita vero,” respondet. “ecce, habeo tunicas et togas.” mercator tunicam tradit. “debes octo pecunias.” “quid dicis? octo pecunias? cur? avarus es!” puer dicit. “minime!” dicit mercator. “tunicam non emo quod ego sum pauper. pauper sum quod emo nimium,” respondet puer. “vale, mercator.”
Sara Chopra
2018
grammatica: Nominative and Accusative Noun and adjective endings are very important to comprehending Latin. These endings express cases ‒ different grammatical pieces of a sentence. Below are the nominative (subject) and accusative (direct object) case endings for 1st declension (often feminine words ending in -a), 2nd declension (often masculine words ending in -us), and 2nd declension neuter (ends in -um).
Nom. Acc.
Sing. -a femina
Pl. -ae feminae
-am feminam
-as feminas
Nom. Acc.
Sing. -us hortus
Pl. -i horti
-um hortum
-os hortos
Nom. Acc.
Sing. -um forum
Pl. -a fora
-um forum
-a fora
These endings are also used for adjectives that match the same gender and case as the nouns they modify. Sara Chopra
2018
loque! in taberna In your group of two or more, use the list of spoken phrases from this chapter and previous chapters, as well as the vocabulary lists, to create the setting of the taberna and play the roles of the people inside. One person in a group will be the mercator and the rest will be the feminae, viri, puellae, and pueri visiting the taberna. (Groups of two to four people are the most effective for this activity. If your group is rather large, you may want to split into smaller groups.) Using the vocabulary and phrases you know, the mercator and shop visitors will interact by saying what they want to do (using “volo"), explaining why they are doing certain actions (using “quod”), purchasing items, and negotiating the price (using the list of numbers). Everyone should have a chance to both ask and answer questions. Sara Chopra
2018
loque! in taberna After everyone aside from the mercator has spoken at least three times, have a new person become the mercator and repeat. Throughout the exercise, make sure youʼre using the nominative and accusative case endings and the proper verb endings. Below is an example of three people during this activity: Alex: salve, ego sum mercator. Brad: ego sum puer. ego volo emere tunicam. quanta est? Alex: debes decem pecunias. Brad: nimium est. debeo quinque pecunias. Alex: satis est, gratias tibi ago. Charlotte: ego sum vir. volo emere togam quod non habeo. Alex: ita vero, ego habeo. debes duodecim pecunias. Charlotte: satis est. emo togam. Alex: gratias tibi ago. Sara Chopra
2018
Chapter 4: cena Conversational Phrases sodes
please
esurio.
I am hungry.
esuris?
Are you hungry?
sitio.
I am thirsty.
sitis?
Are you thirsty?
volo cenare . . .
I want to eat . . .
caldissimus/a/um est.
Sara Chopra
It is very hot.
salutaria!
Cheers!
una
together
tibi
to you
mihi
to me
qualis
how 2018
Chapter 4: cena Vocabulary culina coquus cena cibum vinum aqua poculum amicus/a triclinium optimus/a/um pessimus/a/um coquo, coquere gusto, gustare ceno, cenare bibo, bibere ad + accusative Sara Chopra
kitchen cook dinner food wine water cup friend dining room very good, the best very bad, the worst cook taste eat dinner drink to, toward 2018
fabula: in culina in culina Varus coquit. “coquo cenam,” dicit. “familia vult cenare cibum optimum. amica, Cassia, ad domum venit quod vult videre Melissa.” Varus cenam gustat. “eheu!” vocat. “pessima est! mihi non placet.” Julia in culinam ambulat. “salve, quid agis?” Varus respondet, “ago pessime! gusta cenam, Julia.” Julia gustat et “eheu” dicit. Varus dicit, “trade mihi vinum quod volo coquit cena bona.” Julia tradit vinum. Varus coquit cenam et vinum una. Julia gustat. “ecce! est optima! tibi placet?” Varus gustat cenam. “euge! ad triclinium venio!” Sara Chopra
2018
grammatica: Imperatives Forming present-tense imperatives, or commands, in Latin is straightfoward. To see what the imperative of a word will look like, you will use the first-person singular active present form and the infinitive of a verb. Youʼve been seeing these forms all throughout this textbook; for example, “coquo, coquere” and “venio, venire.” To determine how to form a present singular imperative, see this chart: 1st Person Ending
Sara Chopra
Infinitive Ending Imp. Ending
Example
-o ambulo
-are ambulare
-a
ambula! walk!
-eo sedeo
-ere sedere
-e
sede! sit!
-io venio -o ago
-ire venire -ere agere
-io capio
-ere capere
-i -e -e
veni! come! age! do it! cape! take!
2018
grammatica: Imperatives Forming the present plural imperative is even easier, once you know the present singular imperative. The chart below shows how to find the plural infinitive. 1st Ending
Infinitive Ending
-o ambulo
-are ambulare
-eo sedeo
-ere sedere
-io venio -o ago
-ire venire -ere agere
-io capio
-ere capere
Imp. Ending
Example ambula → ambulate! all of you, walk!
singular ending + te
singular ending - e + ite
sede → sedete! all of you, sit! veni → venite! all of you, come! age → agite! all of you, do it! cape → capite! all of you, take!
This explains why “hello” and “goodbye” have different forms based on the number of people to whom you are speaking. “salvere” and “valere,” which produce “salve” and “vale” and their plural forms, take on imperative forms for these greetings. Sara Chopra
2018
collocutio: in triclinio Cassia: “cena mihi placet.” (tibi) “tibi placet?” quid dicis? Melissa: “esuritis aut sititis?” quid dicis? Cassia: “sitio. sodes trade poculum quod volo bibere aquam.” Melissa: “bibete et cenate! salutaria!” quid dicis? Varus in triclinium venit. “salvete omnes, qualis est cena?” quid dicis? Melissa: cibum caldissimum est, sed cena optima est! Cassia: ita vero. gratias tibi ago! Varus: nihil est. valete! quid dicis? Sara Chopra
2018
loque! Imperatives In your group of two or more, use imperatives to request actions or make commands in your learning space, whether it be your home or a classroom. (Groups of two to four people are most effective for this activity.) For this activity, since it involves present-day objects, here is a list of Latin words for contemporary and household objects. In this activity, you can use these words in addition to the words you already know.
pellicula librum ludus spectacula spectacula televisionis sucus crustulum eo, ire (imperatives: i! ite!) lego, legere specto, spectare ludo, ludere Sara Chopra
movie book game, sport show TV show juice cookie go read watch play
2018
loque! Imperatives You can also include other phrases, including volo and quod phrases, in your sentences. Remember, when using imperatives, if you are addressing one person, use the singular ending, and if you addressing two or more people, use the plural ending! Here is an example of the activity: Alex: Brad, sodes trade mihi cibum. Brad: ego trado tibi. Charlotte et Alex, sodes spectate pelliculam “The Lion King.” Charlotte: Brad, sodes lege “Harry Potter!” Alex: Charlotte et Brad, ite ad triclinio! volo bibere aquam.
Sara Chopra
2018
Acknowledgements Thank you to my high school Latin teachers whose guidance and mentorship have shaped my love of this language: Ms. Mangino, who introduced me to Latin and advised this textbook, and Mr. Gudgel, who encouraged me to explore the world of spoken Latin. Thank you to my parents, Jitender and Jeannie Chopra, for giving me the opportunities to fall in love with Latin at PDS and beyond; to Gabby for being by my side through innumerable projects, Latin classes, and workshop lessons; to the Paideia Institute for Humanistic Study for taking me to new heights with spoken Latin and providing me with teaching opportunities; to my professors at Princeton University, to Max for providing tech help, and to all of my Latin classmates since middle school. Thank you to my first students, the members of my 2017 Latin summer workshop, whose enthusiasm for Latin inspired me to create this book: Erik, Marcus, JeongWon, Andrew, Christopher, Connor, Lena, Emilie, Christopher, and all of their parents. Thank you to Princeton Day School for the unforgettable learning experiences that you have given to me. Sara Chopra
2018
Further Exploration Cambridge Latin Course Textbook Series I first learned Latin by taking a class that used these books. The Latin Library This webpage is a fantastic resource with lesson sheets for all things relating to Latin grammar. The Paideia Institute The Paideia Institute for Humanistic Study hosts events and programs focused on spoken Latin, as well as online classes. I first began speaking Latin by attending their Living Latin in New York City conference. I also taught a class and included lessons from their Aequora program.
Sara Chopra
2018
Contact the Author
I would love to receive your feedback and answer any questions you may have about discamus! You can email me at sarajchopra@gmail.com.
I created discamus during the spring and summer of 2018 as my Senior Project for Princeton Day School in Princeton, NJ. After graduating from high school, I plan to continue exploring Latin and the ancient world at the University of Pennsylvania.
Sara Chopra
2018