Latin 101 is the first of the 100-series of beginning Latin courses. Western takes an active approach to language teaching, so our Latin courses focus on using the language rather than memorizing charts or lists in order to forget them immediately after a weekly quiz. We shall spend much of class conversing with each other in Latin, which makes class attendance very important: this isn't a class with lecture notes to get from a friend or powerpoint slides upon which to meditate, but one that builds skills through practice and experience.

Language Skill Objectives

Vocabulary

Students will be able to discuss:

• the ages of a human being,
• the cardinal numbers from one to fifty,
• common objects in the classroom,
• desires and obstacles prohibiting desires,
• familial relations,
• grammar,
• meteorology,
• nations and their inhabitants,
• occupations,
• studies and scholastic terms, and
• temporal terms including days of the week and parts of a day.

Morphology and Syntax

Students will use:

• nouns both
  • substantive, including the
    • a/e, o, and consonant/i/u declensions and in the
    • vocative, nominative, accusative, genitive, and ablative cases; and
  • adjective: demonstrative and possessive;
• pronouns: personal, relative; and
• verbs (thematic and athematic, active and deponent)
  • in the present tense, indicative and imperative moods, as well as
  • verbal nouns and adjectives (infinitive and gerundive) and
  • impersonal constructions (such as opus est).

Pronunciation

Latin was pronounced many ways during the thousands of years it was in use, from ancient Rome to scientific and medical dissertations of the nineteenth century, and in many different lands. In this class, we shall adopt the restored classical Latin pronunciation. For more on the restored pronunciation, see

Allen, W. S. 1965. Vox Latina: A Guide to the Pronunciation of Classical Latin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Active Language Use

Ancient Latin is a language, like French or Spanish. The fact that Latin is an older language does not make it a code or logic puzzle instead of a language: it is still a language, and you should approach learning it as you would any other language. You wouldn't try to learn Spanish by reading some grammar instructions, memorizing a list of vocabulary, and taking a quiz—you learn Spanish by using the language to get increasingly more complex points across to another human being, and by reading authors with an eye to imitating them. The same applies to Latin: the more you use the language to express your thoughts, both in speech and writing, the better you will get at it.

Class Meetings

LAT 101 meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the fall quarter, from September 27 to December 8. The class does not meet on Friday, November 10 (Veterans Day) nor on Wednesday, November 22 and Friday, November 24 (Thanksgiving Holiday). There are two sections, each with its own meeting time:

• 40089: 11:30 AM–12:50 PM
• 40505: 1:00 PM–2:20 PM

Both sections meet in Miller Hall 231.

Instructor

Miller Krause ( miller.krause@wwu.edu )

Office: Miller Hall 122D (downstairs from our classroom)

Office Hours:

• Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: 10:00–11:00 AM
• Tuesdays and Thursdays: 2:00–2:30 PM

Grading Scale

Course Requirements

Presence and Participation (20%)

Classes will give you time to interact with other students in Latin, and this will be the primary way that you learn Latin. You need the practice in interpersonal communication, including listening and speaking, that class provides, so you need to come to class. I understand that sometimes problems do arise, so Canvas will automatically excuse two absences.

If you plan to miss class to undertake military service, observe religious holidays, or travel for sports or other University-sponsored activities, let me know in writing during the first two weeks of class, so that I can excuse your absences and work with you to change due dates for your assignments.

Daily Assignments (Pēnsa cottīdiāna, 25%)

There will be fourteen short, daily pēnsa or assignments to turn in, some written and some spoken, to give you individual practice.

Turn in written assignments on paper in class. You wrote assignments by hand the first quarter; you might want to try typing them now, but feel free to continue writing by hand. These assignments will give you a chance to practice reading and short-form writing on your own. It is much faster and easier for me to review, comment on, and grade Greek assignments on paper than on Canvas.

Record and submit spoken assignments (marked "vīvā vōce") using Canvas. There will be fewer of these, but they give me a good opportunity to check on individual students' pronunciation. If you have two or more assignments due on the same day, one is probably (but not always) a spoken assignment. Illustrated instructions and a video are available at https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-submit-a-media-file-as-an-assignment-submission/ta-p/279.

Canvas will excuse one pēnsum cottīdiānum.

Weekly Compositions (Commentāriī hebdomālēs, 25%)

Most weekends, you will have a writing prompt for compositions, relating to the subject matter we covered that week. Write your commentāriī in the pugillārēs, dedicated notebooks that you will be given to use just for these assignments and to continue using in future quarters. You should be able to judge your own progression in using the language by looking back at what you have done.

You are not obligated to tell the truth in your commentāriī—I don't really care what you like to do after class or what you did during the summer, and you don't have to tell me your secrets. In fact, lying may be better, because it lets you adapt your response to your own proficiency and comfort zone.

You'll keep your pugillārēs for use in future classes: as you continue through future Latin classes, you (and your instructors) will be able to look back to see how much progress you've made.

Tests (Probātiōnēs, 20%)

Each unit will have at least one probātiō (quiz/test/assessment): there is one larger (mājor) and one smaller (minor) probtātiō in each of the second and third chapters, but only one larger (mājor) probātiō in the first chapter, because it is short. It is possible to finish these by oneself, but they are meant to be collaborative tasks: you may talk to each other during the tests and about the tests, so long as you speak only in Latin. The probātiōnēs mājōrēs will likely take the whole class period; the minōrēs should not; I've taken care that no homework is assigned the night before a probātiō mājor, so that you have time to study. I suggest studying together with other students.

Final Examination (Probātiō Ultima, 10%)

There will be a final examination, to be taken in class on paper. The final exam will be collaborative like the regular tests: you may talk to each other during the exam and about the exam, so long as you speak only in Latin. The final examination will be administered according to the Registrar's schedule for final examinations:

• 40505: Tuesday, December 12, 3:30 PM–5:30 PM
• 40089: Friday, December 15, 10:30 AM–12:30 PM

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity means more than not copying answers, a negative definition that only tells you what integrity is not. Think of what academic integrity actually means in the positive sense: put into your classes in the work that your studies demand, so that you grow in your knowledge and skills. Explore the University's Academic Honesty and Academic Integrity websites for more on the University's philosophy and regulations.

Course Schedule

This schedule is subject to change. Changes, if any, will be announced in class. Students will be held responsible for all changes.