Edited By Caitlin Jackson Art By Megan Lowe
AMO, AMAS, AMAT, AMAMUS, AMATIS, AMANT...
Starting a new language can be overwhelming, particularly if you have no prior knowledge and you are in a class with people of different abilities. It can be a bit of a rollercoaster, in true Greek epic or tragedy style depending on your persuasion.
But don't worry, we have come up with some top tips to make studying ancient languages less daunting!
Remember, translation is not just a list of rules.
There are a few different approaches to translation: while translating word by word is a good approach to novice ancient linguists, alternatively you could divide up sentences into phrases and clauses. It is always a good idea to start with identifying the verb, subject and object so you can get the overall gist of the sentence. However, it does take time to become confident when doing translations, and it comes with practice.
Although the rules are vital to an aspiring successful linguist, it’s important to understand meaning as a whole. It makes you fall in love with the language even more, even though it isn’t a spoken language anymore (*cry*). The drama and lyricism is all too great for Ancient writers, and deserves to be appreciated, acting as inspiration to all my fellow drama queens out there.
Never use Google to cheat on your translations; chances are the textbooks contain an adapted version of the original translation and it will be very obvious if you have copied and pasted. It is better to attempt it yourself and then learn from any mistakes you make.
Quizlet will be your best friend!
Update your vocab lists after every seminar, you will thank yourself in the long run, there is a lot to learn! It is also a good idea to make note of declension and conjugation numbers when constructing your vocab lists as this will help you identify the different forms in translation and also act as a saviour in your English into Greek/Latin translations.
If Quizlet isn’t for you perhaps invest in some colourful cue cards, it's good to find a revision technique which works for you early in the semester, as cramming an entire vocab list the night before an exam could risk a disaster bigger than the fall of Troy or eruption of Vesuvius.
Fun fact: you can get marks in exams for correct vocab even if the grammar isn’t quite right, so it is a good idea to invest time in learning your vocab as it will pay off in the exam.
Be prepared to translate English into Latin/ Greek.
The textbook blesses us with some English into Latin/ Greek exercises, which seminar leaders love to set as homework, and in tests (how kind of them!), so you really need to get confident on the grammar as well as the vocab. Unfortunately, it's impossible to escape, particularly in the beginners’ course. So, when you start daydreaming in lectures, make sure it’s about verb endings and declensions!
Go to all your seminars!
Unlike your other modules, ancient languages aren’t in lecture form and you won't be able to catch up on lecture capture and have that heavenly Monday morning lie-in instead. The reality will most likely be questioning your life decisions on the way to your 9am seminar, looking like Cyclops with the half-awake vibe. Seminars are the best way to gain confidence in ancient languages, as well as having the opportunity to ask your seminar leader any questions you may have, and also getting a chance to meet the people on your course. Also, if something doesn’t make sense, be sure to make use of your seminar leader's office hours. The beginner's course is often quite fast-paced so it is good to ask your seminar leader questions - they won't mind!
Thinking of doing the Access Pathways to Classics programme?
Do you love ancient languages so much that you want to study both Greek and Latin in your second year?!
When someone asks: “So what have you been doing over the summer?” You can give the intellectual response: “I was doing a summer school in ancient languages!”
If you are not doing Classics as your degree, and you would like to, you can switch your course at the end of your first year. You will need to do a summer school during your first and second year and take one language module and one literature module in year one.
I did the Intermediate Latin summer school over the holidays and it was a great way to divide up the summer break and be around like-minded people. It was helpful to get back into a routine, especially after all the time we were stuck in lockdown.
The summer school itself is very intense, so make sure you are extremely confident on all the grammar and vocab covered in your first year as this will provide a solid foundation for all the knowledge about to be thrown at you. There will often be revision and homework tasks set after the sessions as well, so organisation is key. However, it is incredibly rewarding, and you will feel like a warrior once you have completed it, in true Achilles-style.
You don't have to decide right away whether this is the choice for you, but it's always nice to know your options!
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