Familia Romana (Lingua Latina)

Two thirds in over the last few months and it's an absolute smash. I studied Latin at school, but this book is a must-have if you want to be able to read Latin literature or you're just interested in. You will be able to read simple texts even before finishing this first book without any prior knowledge of the language. It's almost certain I will follow up with the second book. The uniqueness of this book is its method of teaching a language through the natural method.

I can't recommend this book highly enough and I only wish that I had found it sooner. It was very kindly recommended to me by a friend, to whom I will be eternally grateful! I'm studying Classics as a mature learner and I needed something user friendly to try and get a head start for my next course beginning in October. This book is a revelation to me. Forget the pages and pages of nouns and verb declensions other books have - while there are some charts in this book this is unlike anything I have ever seen before and, right from the start, it has you reading, and more importantly, understanding Latin. I'm baffled as to why these books (there are two in the series that I'm aware of) aren't more widely known. I am only about 40 pages or so in and I'm loving every second of it so far. There are some illustrations in the book but these aren't of the comic strip variety and just enrich the book further. The book is based around a Roman family and the language gradually builds up in complexity but it's very easy to understand and there are some notes in the margins which help but, as each chapter appears to build on the previous one, it's very easy to work out what is happening. There is a grammar and vocab section at the back of the book also which is incredibly helpful too. I have ordered the student's companion/guide to this book also to try and get as much from it as I possibly can but I'm thrilled with how enjoyable and how easy it makes the experience of learning Latin. I really can't rate this book highly enough. If you are serious about learning Latin and understanding the finer points of it this book is invaluable.

I don't write reviews for everything I buy on Amazon but this one merits good publicity because it is excellent. I have learned a number of languages and used a lot of language course books in my time but this is the best, the most stimulating and the most enjoyable to use that I have come across in any language. What I like about it is that while many Latin primers tend to end up with you learning about Latin, which is not the same as learning Latin, Familia Romana (Lingua Latina), in contrast, has you immersed in using the language from the outset. This is partly because it is entirely in Latin with no recourse to translation - instead guiding the reader with illustrations and Latin to Latin hints and explanations - and also because it is not packed full of tables of declensions and inflexions but introduces these by gradual use of the language itself in genuinely amusing tales from daily Roman life. As you are guided through the inflexions by this means patterns emerge that you don't spot by staring at endless grammatical tables and explanations. When you think about it, that is how we learn languages naturally. No toddler sits down and looks at a verb table; they listen and use the language and get the patterns by demonstration and use rather than explicit explanation. That is the approach this book takes too, and, for me, it works wonders. Another feature that I initially had my doubts about, but now appreciate, is that there is no separate section with the correct answers to the questions. You do the exercises and can find the correct answers in the text. This keeps you checking back through the text and in that way learning a lot more than you would by just looking up the answers in the back. It's more stimulating and keeps the book lighter too - such ergonomics in book design matter to me. The result is that you end up learning Latin, not just about it. And that is, essentially, what I love about this book. It engages the student to the full and I am so enthused by this approach that I want to spread the word. Just one thing I would point out for the sake of balance however: my own use of the book is complemented by being fluent in one or two Latin based languages already and also by having all those other lesser latin primers I tried out before finding this one, plus a Latin dictionary, to hand as study aids. So I am not using the book entirely on its own. On the other hand, Familia Romana is the base for my Latin studies while the other primers are no more than occasional aids in using it. In conclusion, I can't praise this book enough and I hope many readers of this review will be encouraged to try it out, just as I was by other positive Amazon reviews.

Single best book for Latin learning out there! This is an essential pick if you want to learn the language.

Efficient method of learning the basics of Latin. Enjoying it.

It is both interesting and informative, with a lighthearted story line: at least so far (Chapter 4). I would wish for an answer key though: separately or included in the book. Along with other resources, it is reinforcing vocabulary and grammar.

You will learn Latin in the most matural way. The book has not a single word in English. All Latin. Even the grammar is explained in Latin but it is so contextual and well written that I am able to pick up the vocab and grammar and even figures of speech easily. I never even had to use a dictionary. The context clues suffice. This should be how every language book is written!! The story of the Familia Romana is also entertaining. Hic liber bene est!!

This may be the best way to learn Latin. It's certainly the way that is working best for me. I had 2 years of Latin in high school back in the 1980s, and a couple of years ago I got the Wheelock materials to try to continue my studies on my own. Wheelock got me a long way, but it was a struggle to stay engaged, and I put it aside for a while. Someone recommended this book and it's been non-stop since I picked it up. I'm a little over halfway through. I can't say how it would be if you've never had any Latin at all, but I'm finding it very easy (and fun) to progress. I recommend this if you are just starting Latin, also. The book has no English at all, except back cover which is not really part of the book, and copyright info in several languages. Other than that, it's all Latin. Sound terrifying? It's not. The author very cleverly starts with super-simple stories and illustrations not unlike the grade school Dick and Jane stories. Then he builds on to each story, introducing new words as you go, so the material gets gradually more complex. You aren't translating; you are actually reading an thinking in these simple Latin phrases and words that get more complex as you go, each new story building up from the one before. Way more fun than memorizing tables of declensions and conjugations. Although, I confess I don't know if it would be quite so easy had I not memorized and reviewed much of that info in the past. Regardless, the thing I really enjoy is the stories. Some other reviewers did not like the stories, but I'm enjoying them. I was surprised to find I'm actually engaging with them at an emotional level and looking forward to what happens next. You follow a Roman family living in the Imperial era, about the time of Marcus Aurelius as far as I can tell. Along the way, you learn about life in ancient Rome while reading about this family. Some of it is shocking to modern sensibilities- there are slaves, clearly defined sex roles, and sometimes what would be brutal behavior by today's standards. Yet I've been drawn into the story and find myself rooting for the runaway slave, feeling sorry for the pugnacious son whose teacher seems to be right out of a Pink Floyd song, and sympathizing with the mom and dad as they deal with things any parent or spouse will understand. It's a little hokey, yes, but that's just the level I can follow and appreciate! I also purchased the companion book, which is in English, and I recommend this especially if you have no Latin experience. Familia Romana is the Latin text i wish is had in high school, but it's also an effective way to learn or increase your Latin skills. The constant use of the vocabulary in conversational, narrative structure has proven effective for me, and I find my ability to recognize and understand bits of Latin in classical or renaissance text is growing as I go through the book. I certainly recommend it.

Excelente Para aprendizaje dinámico

40 years ago, when I was at high school, my class enjoyed one term of Latin lessons. Unfortunately, when it came time to choose our elective subjects, I was the only student who chose Latin, so the school naturally declined to run the subject. I have wanted to learn Latin ever since. I’ve never managed to find a class to attend and made a few false starts over the years in trying to teach myself from dusty old textbooks I’ve come across. I am so happy to have finally found this book! I’m only up to Chapter 8 so far, but it is so enjoyable and achievable! I’d highly recommend it for anyone trying to work their own way through Latin lessons. Instead of front loading and drilling on dry grammar and vocab, which some other texts do, the emphasis here is on reading Latin, with the supporting grammar introduced gradually and in context. I’m just starting out, but already I find myself working in Latin as opposed to just translating Latin. The publisher (Hackett Publishing) has an interactive website. For a small fee you can sign up for the online courseware which includes flash cards and recordings of Lingua Latina Familia Romana, both in classical Latin pronunciation and also in ecclesiastical pronunciation. You can stream the sound files and/or download them as mp3 files. The online resources also include Orberg’s Latine Disco (student manual) and Grammatica Latina, so there is no need to buy these books. Incidentally, both the student manual and the Latin grammar are also included in the companion volume “Lingua Latina: A companion to Familia Romana” by Jeanne Marie Neumann, and this is well worth purchasing too. A word of warning though… the online courseware also gives you interactive access to all of the supplemental grammatical exercises which are published separately in the book “Lingua Latina: Exercitia Latina 1”. You can answer the questions and get a score online. Initially I thought this would suffice and I decided not to purchase the Exercitia Latina booklet, which in any case has no answer key. However, after a few weeks of working that way, I decided that having a hard copy of all the exercises together in a booklet would be easier, so I purchased the Exercitia Latina 1 book, and also the “Lingua Latina: Teacher’s Materials and Answer Keys” so that I could mark my own work. Here’s what I discovered… the Exercitia booklet offers lots of helpful clues in the margins which are absent from the online courseware. Accordingly, I’d recommend teach yourself students buy that booklet too!

La méthode Ørberg est une méthode alternative pour l’étude de la langue latine entièrement rédigée en latin, ce qui en fait une méthode universelle. En effet, bien que cette magnifique édition en papier glacé soit anglaise, cela importe peu car à l’intérieur tout est en latin. La méthode est pratique pour un démarrage rapide de l’étude de la langue, car contrairement aux méthodes conventionnelles, surtout en France, on ne commence pas directement par l’apprentissage de la première et de la deuxième déclinaison. En effet, le livre s’organise autour d’une petite histoire d’une famille romaine sous l’empire, enchaînant des chapitres thématiques avec une série de phrases qui se répètent en se complexifiant, tant sur le plan lexical que syntaxique. Des exercices sont proposés à l’issue de chaque chapitre. Je vous recommande d’acheter également le Grammatica latina, qui vous permettra de retrouver davantage d’explications grammaticales sur les concepts étudiés. Enfin, une mise en garde : si vous êtes étudiant en spé LCA au lycée, en khâgne ou en fac de lettres, sachez que cette méthode ne vous préparera pas vraiment aux épreuves auxquelles vous serez confrontés.