A Little Latin Reader

by Mary C English, Georgia L. Irby-Massie

Covering an extensive variety of grammatical constructions, A Little Latin Reader, Second Edition, is an ideal supplement for undergraduate courses in beginning and intermediate Latin. It presents vivid, unadapted passages, each two to ten lines in length, drawn from the poetry and prose of various Classical authors and from inscriptions. The selections are arranged according to the specific points of grammar and syntax that they demonstrate. By introducing unadapted Latin at the earliest stage of language instruction, A Little Latin Reader helps students transition more easily from beginning and intermediate Latin textbooks to authentic Latin prose and poetry. The second edition includes eighty-one new passages and two new appendices--A Basic Guide to Paleography and The Roman Calendar.

FEATURES

* Selections are annotated and arranged for maximum classroom flexibility

* Brief introductions to each reading provide students with narrative context

* Extensive vocabulary notes below each selection enable students to read entire passages without consulting a dictionary

* Twelve extended prose and poetry passages serve as a challenge for advanced students and a preview of further Latin study

* Appendices contain short biographies of the authors included in the text; guides to Latin meter and epigraphy; an index organized by theme; maps of locations associated with the readings; a basic guide to paleography; and The Roman Calendar

* Latin texts include macrons that aid students in correct pronunciation and in the recognition of difficult forms

Genres: History

215 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2011

Reviews

[Pam a Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the greatest injustice of my life that my Little Latin Reader was lent to someone who never gave it back. I love this book. It will not provide too much explanation for grammatical concepts (if any, if I recall), but is beautiful as a companion piece to learn by example.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect way to learn!

[Briana · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great book if you just want little snippets of Latin to translate. My class was using it to "review" elementary Latin, and it did not work well at all. Although each chapter is focused on a grammatical structure, the book has no explanation of these structures and sentences in early chapters tend to include difficult structures that are not technically introduced until later in the book. I relied heavily on my old textbooks to review grammar and translate these sentences.

Many sentence selections are graffiti, which means the grammar is wrong and letters and words are missing. It is quite vexing for someone with only a year of Latin to translate a passage that is literally 50% brackets of added letters and words, and with multiple notes explaining that words in the passages should really be different words. Even the professor became a bit tired with this nonsense.

Of course one who continues to study Latin will need to learn to work with the actual, grammatically incorrect and incomplete sentences that real Romans wrote, but it is difficult for someone just beginning intermediate Latin.

[Kamal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This 'snippets' approach to learning Latin is profoundly annoying. A beginner would find it too unsystematic in its approach to grammar and vocabulary, and a more advanced student would get bored by the constant jumping around between authors and historical periods. What a silly idea for a textbook! The only way that I could see it being useful is as a resource for Latin instructors who need to find examples of grammatical features in real Latin for tests and assignments. Otherwise, it not very useful at all for a serious student of Latin.