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Title: Latin Grammar: Grammar Vocabularies and Exercises in Preparation for the Reading of the Missal and Breviary by Cora C. Scanlon, Charles L. Scanlon, Newton Thompson ISBN: 0-89555-002-4 Publisher: T A N Books & Publishers Pub. Date: 01 June, 1976 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Best intro for self-starters
Comment: If, like me, you want to teach yourself Latin so that you can read the Vulgate and the Breviary, then you have only two choices of introductory texts here at Amazon: Scanlon & Scanlon's "Latin Grammar" and John F. Collins "A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin". Both texts are intended for classroom use.
Collins slowly introduces you to Latin grammar while building up your Latin vocabulary. Scanlon & Scanlon tend to push you through the grammar more quickly, relying on cognates early on to help you cope with the vocabulary. Scanlon & Scanlon supply accent marks in all their texts and vocabularies to show you which syllable to accent; this is very helpful if you are teaching yourself. Collins provides macrons to mark long vowels in his texts and vocabularies; these suffice to let you figure out for yourself where the accent is, and they help you appreciate the meters used in classical poetry. For those who care about such things, physically Collins is clearly superior, with larger pages and larger type and plentiful margins. Scanlon & Scanlon comes with a splendid vocabulary in the appendix, small but complete, for reading the Breviary, the Missal, and the Gospels.
My approach to teaching myself Latin is "Teach me the grammar, give me a dictionary, and let me at the text". So I much prefer Scanlon & Scanlon to Collins. If you want to take the grammar more slowly though, you'll probably prefer Collins.
Honorable mention goes to Gavin Betts who wrote an excellent textbook, "Latin: A Complete Course (Teach Yourself)", that is intended for self-teaching. Unfortunately, its emphasis is almost entirely classical. Still, Classical and Ecclesiastical Latin are similar enough that it makes a good supplement to either Scanlon & Scanlon or Collins.
If you choose Collins, once you start reading the Vulgate, you'll probably want Leo F. Stelten's "Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin". Neither the Cassel's nor Chambers-Murray nor even the Oxford Latin Dictionary is adequate, although Lewis and Short's is, if you can afford it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Good Place to Start
Comment: This remarkable book is a good place to start for anyone trying to learn ecclesiastical Latin, especially those who are interested in understanding the Mass or the Divine Office. This is the first of a two book series written for seminarians and novices who may have had no previous knowledge of Latin and needed to learn it fairly quickly (the second book is called Second Latin).
This book won't make you an expert Latinist, but it is most useful for anyone who desires a reasonable understanding of the language, particularily if you are interested in understanding the Latin used in the liturgy. Readings from the Gospel of St. John are introduced in later lessons (the second book focuses more on the use of Latin in theology and cannon law). This first book does a decent job of covering Latin grammar completely; although, the explanations of grammatical constructs are a bit brief. It was written in 1944 and so presumes that the reader has had some exposure the the Latin Mass, but it won't be much of a hinderance if one hasn't had any exposure to the Latin Mass.
Overall, this is a wonderful introduction to the Latin used by the Church, and I heartily recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 5
Summary: Glossary alone is worth the price
Comment: This book is excellent preparation for reading ecclesiastical Latin. For reading the Vulgate, the extensive vocabulary at the back makes it a handier reference than a standard Latin dictionary. The emphasis here is on reading: all exercises are Latin into English - none are English into Latin. It lacks diacritical marks, although it does mark the accented syllable. Readers seeking a primer to prepare them to read church Latin appear to have few choices, but this is a good one.
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Title: Second Latin by Cora C. Scanlon ISBN: 0895550032 Publisher: T A N Books & Publishers Pub. Date: 01 September, 1976 List Price(USD): $16.50 |
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Title: Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin by Leo F. Stelten ISBN: 1565631315 Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers Pub. Date: 01 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin by John F. Collins ISBN: 0813206677 Publisher: Catholic University of America Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1985 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Let's Read Latin : Introduction to the Language of the Church by Ralph M. McInerny ISBN: 188335725X Publisher: Dumb Ox Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 1995 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: Consecrated Phrases: A Latin Theological Dictionary : Latin Expressions Commonly Found in Theological Writings (Reference Works) by James T. Bretzke ISBN: 0814658806 Publisher: Liturgical Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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