Some helpful Latin sites

(photo by Vautrin_Baires)

Here is free web-based course to learn medieval Latin - which is almost identical to classical Latin, but there are a few slight grammatical differences as well as some different vocabulary. This site is run by the British National Archives.

Here is a helpful site from St. Louis University. Lots of university level handouts, charts, and exercises. SLU is a Jesuit university. Need I say more? Similarly, here is a link to Fr. Reggie Foster's Latin class (Fr. Reggie is the Vatican's chief Latinist) through one of his students, Fr. Gary Coulter. Also, here is the Vatican's collection of writings in Latin.

Here is a fantastic blogsite with outstanding links. The Latin-English parsing dictionary called Words is a work of genius, and is a must-have (and it's free, and can be downloaded and run locally). And here is a Windows interface for the Words program.

Here is a ton of Latin texts and textbooks, from beginner to advanced, all free, all in the public domain, all for download in pdf. This one is a gem! Also a gem is this online library of ancient and not-so-ancient Latin texts. And if you'd like to read the actual Latin scrolls, check this out! Poetry lovers, don't miss this line-by-line parallel collection of poems by Catullus.

Classicist Dr. Laura Gibbs has some really helpful ideas, such as learning Latin through proverbs (including audio), through fables, as well as through the Vulgate (the Latin Bible).

Here is a site of free MP3s of the Bible in Latin and Greek. Note: the Latin pronunciation is based on the rules of modern Spanish and the New Testament (Koine) Greek is pronounced according to modern Greek. For those who want an excellent Vulgate-English online tool (that even parses!), it is online, and can be downloaded and run locally as well.

Ephemeris is a Latin web-based newspaper, that also has some audio on some of the stories. The Finnish Broadcasting Company has a podcast of its shortwave news program in Latin. Here is a blog of weekly news in Latin. Here is another podcast, of Latin readings. Here is a collection of photographs of Latin inscriptions from flickr. And if you're really ambitious, check out this Latin webring.

I would be remiss if I didn't point you to what is, in my opinion, the very best Latin course ever, in which you learn Latin by jumping in with both feet and reading Latin. This is the course I'm using with my middle school students, and they are doing great! This course, by Danish scholar Hans Oerberg, has even replaced the standard Wheelock course at Concordia University - Chicago.

Please feel free to comment with other sites and helpful hints! I know this barely scratches the surface, and with the internet, we never run out of useful tools for teachers and students alike.

Bona fortuna, discipuli!