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27-29), and henceforth leaves them untranslated. In the first Lexicon Generale ("General Vocabulary"), Berard introduces the Latin names for the various parts of speech, translating them into English in parentheses (pp. Chapters also helpfully include examples of Latin conversations (complete with comprehension questions), as well as exercises for learners to practice what they have learned.
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Each chapter contains pertinent vocabulary lists, which include idioms, phrases, and even proverbs. As the learner's world is enlarged, so too is the vocabulary, as the book moves from private and academic spaces into the world at large. Berard's sequence of topics corresponds very well to the course of one's life, starting with basic greetings and words relating to school and the home, where we spend a great deal of time early in life. Vita Nostra is divided, rather intuitively, into thematic units: greetings and farewells ( Salutationes Valedictionesque), school vocabulary ( Res Scholares), vocabulary relating to the house ( Domicilia Nostra), domestic affairs ( Quae Domi Facimus), vocabulary for life outside of the house ( Quae Foris Facimus), vocabulary for professions and careers ( Quae Argentarius Facit), and other vocabulary for one's daily life ( De vita tua). In this same vein, Berard earlier decried the general distaste among Latinists for neologisms, calling it a "self-defensive" ( suī defensīvus, 11) trend dictating that "in no way is it possible to express very recent things" ( nūllō tamen modō rēs novissimās exprimere posse, 11). Berard then lists a number of thematic topics, including jobs, music, games, clothes, and other popular topics in modern foreign language studies. Berard argues that it has been established, by foreign-language teachers and years of research into linguistics, that "adults, as well as youths, learn foreign languages more quickly and more happily in a natural manner by applying these languages to express and treat especially the things which interest them" ( adultōs aequē atque adulēscentēs linguās peregrīnās celerius alacriusque discere nātūrālī modo hās linguās adhibentēs ad ea imprīmīs exprimenda tractandaque quae suā intersint, p. 11) to be admired and preserved unchanged. Berard's text is a perfect complement for anyone learning or teaching using LLPSI, as both texts aim for immersion, comprehensible input, and increased Latin output.Ĭonventional Latin pedagogy and scholarship have tended to view Latin as a static artifact-in Berard's words, as if Latin were a pinned "butterfly" ( tamquam papilionem, p. According to his overview, Tomus I will correspond to the grammar covered in chapters I-XXII of LLPSI, and the forthcoming Tomus II will correspond to the rest of the first volume of LLPSI (chapters XXIII-XXXV). Berard helpfully offers a concordance for using Vita Nostra in conjunction with Hans Ørberg's monolingual textbook Lingua Latina per se Illustrata I: Familia Romana (commonly known as LLPSI) (p. Vita Nostra is a valuable addition to a rich and varied corpus of conversational Latin resources. In his introduction, Berard not only explains his goals and mission with the book, but also acknowledges the many influences on its writing, such as the online Lexicon Morganianum, the renowned and somewhat rare visuelles Wörterbuch Latein-Deutsch, and other useful resources (p. If the reader seeks to be immersed in Latin, what better place to begin than the introduction to the book itself? After a comprehensive table of contents, Berard begins the book with a clear and detailed prooemium entirely written, fittingly, in Latin.
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Berard, as his handbook aims to equip both teachers and learners of Latin with the tools to navigate their lives through a Latin lens. Vita Nostra is an exceedingly apt title for the present volume by Stephen A. Hetrick, Loveland Classical Schools at BMCR home site Berard, Vita nostra: subsidia ad colloquia Latina.