OT Latin

[arilt95]

I remember seeing a couple of people post that they took Latin, but i couldn't find the thread. I have a quick question to those who did! I am in Latin 2, thinking about taking Latin 3 but i was wondering if it helps in anything at all. I do want to go in the medical field but should i stop at latin 2 or take latin 3& 4.

Also does anyone have any tips on translating, it takes forever and ever. I'm good at conjugating and declining but translating makes me want to shoot myself:banghead:

Thanks to anyone who can help

 

[Aussiekat]

Like any language, if you don't use it you won't keep it, and with Latin it's even harder because it's not really "used" like other languages. It does form a really good basis for reading other (mostly European) languages and for general English grammar and writing skills (especially in college for writing academic essays). I can read pretty much any European newspaper and get what's going on even if I can't read/speak/communicate at all! For medicine, I wonder if learning Spanish might be more useful than Latin - in terms of communicating with a larger range of patients. Latin might help you with the medical terms, but in practical use it might not be as pertinent.

Translating... ummm... just look for words that are in apposition to each other - same endings mean they're related even if they're not next to each other in the sentence. Don't be too literal and translate each word separately in a linear fashion, treat each sentence as a puzzle - scan for patterns and then break them down. And trust your gut, translating isn't an exact skill, there's a bit of leeway involved in interpreting meaning.

 

[MissBee]

I took Latin all through HS and College. If it were still spoken, I would be considered fluent.

I definitely recommend keeping at it, especially if you're interested in Medicine. So many medical terms are derived from Latin and/or Greek...it will make life much easier!

As for translating, here's what I would do: write out the Latin, leaving 3 blank lines of notebook paper between the lines, the do this:
1. write the line in Latin
2. directly under each Latin word, write the English word (don't worry about conjugating etc)
3. Under that line, write out in proper English, with verbs conjugated etc.
4. leave this line blank.

 

[5-6-7-8]

Great tips so far! I took it in HS and college as well (thought I was going into the medical field.) I didn't end up there, but it has been helpful. I can get the gist of reading other "romance" languages (Spanish, Italian, French). I don't regret it, but wish I maybe took Spanish as well.

 

[arilt95]

Great tips so far! I took it in HS and college as well (thought I was going into the medical field.) I didn't end up there, but it has been helpful. I can get the gist of reading other "romance" languages (Spanish, Italian, French). I don't regret it, but wish I maybe took Spanish as well.

I took Latin all through HS and College. If it were still spoken, I would be considered fluent.

I definitely recommend keeping at it, especially if you're interested in Medicine. So many medical terms are derived from Latin and/or Greek...it will make life much easier!

As for translating, here's what I would do: write out the Latin, leaving 3 blank lines of notebook paper between the lines, the do this:
1. write the line in Latin
2. directly under each Latin word, write the English word (don't worry about conjugating etc)
3. Under that line, write out in proper English, with verbs conjugated etc.
4. leave this line blank.

Like any language, if you don't use it you won't keep it, and with Latin it's even harder because it's not really "used" like other languages. It does form a really good basis for reading other (mostly European) languages and for general English grammar and writing skills (especially in college for writing academic essays). I can read pretty much any European newspaper and get what's going on even if I can't read/speak/communicate at all! For medicine, I wonder if learning Spanish might be more useful than Latin - in terms of communicating with a larger range of patients. Latin might help you with the medical terms, but in practical use it might not be as pertinent.

Translating... ummm... just look for words that are in apposition to each other - same endings mean they're related even if they're not next to each other in the sentence. Don't be too literal and translate each word separately in a linear fashion, treat each sentence as a puzzle - scan for patterns and then break them down. And trust your gut, translating isn't an exact skill, there's a bit of leeway involved in interpreting meaning.

Thank you i'll be sure to use this!

 

[Nothanks]

i'd definitely take latin 3. i took three years, and a year of greek. while i don't really remember much to actually do with it, i can pretty easily figure out words based on latin/greek roots. and i know pitt exempted me from a foreign language because i took three consecutive years of one and held above a B in all three. i'd look into the schools you're interested in and see if they do anything with that or APs to exempt you from them in college.