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How to Study Ecclesiastical Latin:

The key to learning any new language is to:

• build a large vocabulary
• learn the grammar, and
• understand the syntax.

Ecclesiastical Latin is certainly no different.

1. Building a Large Vocabulary

TIP: You must do your best to learn all the vocabulary presented in each unit BEFORE you move to the next unit. This is essential for fluency in reading.

Each unit in our course will provide a list of essential vocabulary that you will need for dealing with the exercises and for mastering Ecclesiastical Latin. Let’s take a look at an example from Unit 1:

aqua, aquae, f. water

The above example is a typical entry. You can see that there are two forms of the same word. The first one is the subject form (the Nominative), and the second is the possessive form (the Genitive). The “f” tells us that the word has a Feminine Gender. Finally, we have the basic meaning in English—water, so “aqua” means “water.” “Aquae” means “water’s” or “of the water,” and it is a feminine noun. When you are learning a new word, it will be very important for you to learn these basic forms because it will help you to use and understand the word correctly in your further studies.

How to remember:

Different people have different ways of learning vocabulary, so you will have to experiment to find the best way for yourself. For me, I use a visualization technique along with vocalizing the word to be learned. For example, if I were learning the word “aqua,” I would say “aqua” and visualize water. I might imagine myself being very thirsty and visualize a tall glass of ice water. As I picture myself drinking it down, I would imagine hearing the word “aqua.” Also, anytime I actually encounter water in my daily life, I would say “aqua” (mentally, if I happen to be with company—orally, if I’m alone—I’d rather not have people thinking I’m slipping off the edge).

For some people (but this has never worked for me), they learn vocabulary by writing the words out or by using flashcards. Whatever works for you is just fine. There is no right or wrong way to go about it. It all depends on you. If one way fails, try another one.

2. Learn the Grammar

In each unit of your course, you will learn a certain amount of Latin grammar. The best way to learn it, in my opinion, is by using it. You will have plenty of opportunities in our course to use what you are learning. When you use Latin words in the correct way, you will begin to see the beautiful logic in the language.

TIP: Always read a Latin sentence from LEFT to RIGHT.

I know you’re thinking to yourself: Is there any other way to read a sentence?!? The correct answer to your question is NO (unless you’re reading Arabic, Hebrew, Ancient Egyptian…), but for centuries, students have been encourage to deal with Latin sentences in a non-linear way. As you will discover, word-order in Latin is very flexible. In other words, the first word in a sentence may not be the subject. The word in the middle may not be the verb, etc. Because of this wonderful aspect of Latin, teachers have—very stupidly, I would say—taught their students to hunt for the verb and to seek out the subject and locate the object. This turns Latin, one of the most beautiful languages in the word, into a puzzle, and that is, as my mother would say, “a sin and a shame.”

What you will have to do is learn to read the sentence just as the Romans themselves did—from left to right, letting the words float into your mind just as the writer intended. You will discover incredible beauty if you master this skill.

3. Understand the Syntax

The word “syntax” is defined as “the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.” For a language like English, we have a rather rigid word-order. Latin, on the other hand, is extremely flexible. Let me illustrate without going into too much detail:

In English:

1. The boy loves the girl. (Clear and well-formed)
2. The girl loves the boy. (Also clear and well-formed, but it has the opposite meaning from the first)
3. The boy the girl loves. (Unclear and poorly formed)
4. The girl the boy loves. (Unclear and poorly formed)
5. Loves the boy the girl. (Unclear and poorly formed)
6. Loves the girl the boy. (Unclear and poorly formed)

In Latin:

1. Puer amat puellam. (Clear and well-formed!)
2. Puellam amat puer. (Clear and well-formed!)
3. Puer puellam amat. (Clear and well-formed!)
4. Puellam puer amat. (Clear and well-formed!)
5. Amat puer puellam. (Clear and well-formed!)
6. Amat puellam puer. (Clear and well-formed!)

However, all six sentence mean exactly the same thing! “The boy loves the girl.” The question is: why would we choose one arrangement over another? This is explained by studying Latin syntax!

Final Words of Advice (for now, anyway):

To master a language you have to dedicate time and effort. I would suggest 1 hour each day, divided into two 30-minute sessions—make this your routine 5 days a week. Choose two days in which you will do NOTHING concerning Latin. Letting your mind rest and absorb what you have studied is essential. That said, consistency in study is also essential. If you have a busy day, and you just can’t study your two 30-minute sessions, then just study one 30-minute session. If you can’t manage that, then make it 15 minutes. If that can’t be managed, then let it go. DO NOT TRY TO MAKE IT UP THE NEXT DAY! If you try to “catch up” by studying for 2 hours the next day, you will fail! Even if you do manage to do the 2 hours, you’ll still fail because you won’t be able to take in all that information. You’ll just forget it. The best thing to do is just let that day go. The next day, get back to your two 30-minute sessions, five days a week. That's only 5 hours a week. If you’re feeling ambitious, make it two 45-minute sessions, but I don’t recommend trying more than that. Language learning is about accumulation and perseverance. It’s a marathon not a 100-yard dash!