Please send enquiries to the instructor, Patrick Owens at this email link.
This porposed course will be finalised by February 2025. By the end of March we hope to have a sufficent number of registrations to warrant holding the course. You may wish to purchase your travel only after the University has confirmed holding the course, but positions are limited, so hold your reservation now and help us meet the mininum number required as soon as possible.
Instructor
Dr Patrick Owens, PhD
Spoken Latin Summer 2025
This course is intended for those who have little or no previous knowledge of the Latin language and for teachers who would like to learn (by participating in education in action) techniques for actively teaching the fundamentals of Latin morphology, syntax, and vocabulary in Latin. Students will confront the foundational morphology, syntax and vocabulary of the Latin language through a communicative approach. Classes will be held in Latin and will proceed through Familia Romana by Hans H. Ørberg. We will also preview further aspects of syntax and vocabulary through reference to Ossa Latinitatis (link) by Reginaldus Foster and Daniel McCarthy. This is an immersive and intensive course: Latin will be the medium of instruction, and students should limit their outside responsibilities in order to allow for considerable daily preparation.
Objectives
At the end of this course the participants will have:
- learned all the morphology of the Latin language;
- read and understood a novella, short stories, and selections Latin texts from: Vulgata, Ovidius, Catullus, Regula S. Benedicti;
- developed the ability to hear, comprehend and respond to instructions in Latin;
- gained the facility to carry-on basic conversations in Latin;
- be prepared to read intermediate texts on their own.
Structure of the Course
Students will read continuous prose in order to build students’ knowledge of the language. While the ultimate objectives of this course are to gain the ability to read Latin with ease and pleasure, the class will include a significant active component to encourage students to think in Latin by responding to prompts in Latin and exercising basic Latin conversation.
Preparation
This course does not assume any prior knowledge of Latin, but it does move quickly, and the material is cumulative. It is, therefore, imperative that students keep up with class assignments and attendance. Students will review all grammar (and most vocabulary) in class. For each session, participants will prepare and submit exercises based on the reading for that day. Participants are normally to complete these assignments on their own, not working together with others, so that each student develops one’s own mastery of the language. Occasionally, there may be group or partnered assignments, especially regarding the recitation of scenes or dialogues. The instructor will review the exercises and return them for discussion during a subsequent session.
Class time will be divided between readings, discussions of readings, and exercises. In-class exercises may take the form of language-learning games, dictation practice, and oral drills. Regular attendance is necessary. There is an expectation of 3-4 hours of study and preparation outside of class daily.
Students will be invited to participate in extracurricular travel on Saturdays to monuments in and around Rome, where they can read famous texts in situ, and take advantageous of the unique opportunity of learning Latin in the city of its origin.
Exam
30% Participation, preparation, and homework. Students are expected to have read and studied the assigned text prior to class and to have reviewed the vocabulary and grammar therein. You should be prepared to answer questions about the material under consideration. Homework will be assigned daily and will be randomly collected for a grade.
40% Quizzes will be given with or without notice.
30% Final exam. The final is cumulative for the entire course.
Due to the nature of this intensive course, student attendance and participation is mandatory.Participants from other institutes who take this course for credit will receive from the Pontificium Athenaeum Sancti Anselmi de Urbe (link) ECTS credits for their study of Latin, provided they satisfactorily complete the course requirements.
Bibliography
Obligatory volumes for Spoken Latin
- Hans Ørberg, Lingua Latīna per sē Illūstrāta: Famila Rōmāna. Vivarium Novum, 2019
- Hans Ørberg, Colloquia Persōnārum. Vivarium Novum, 2019
- Hans Ørberg, Exercitia Latīna. Vivarium Novum, 2019
Recommended volumes
- Jeanne Neumann, Companion to Familia Romana. Focus, 2016
- Roberto Carfagni, Nova exercitia latina. Schola Latina, 2015
- Reginaldus Foster and Daniel McCarthy, Ossa Latinitatis. CUA, 2015
Enroll
Contact the instructor Patrick Owens at at this email link and ask him to put you into contact with the Registrar (called the Segreteria) at the Pontifical University Sant’Anselmo so that you may enroll directly with the Registrar.
The course is proposed to be offered for 11 academic credits according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), as an offering of the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, although anyone may request to enroll regardless of religion or none. You may correspond in the primary European languages. The general page with other contact information for the office of the Registrar is available here.
Location
Abbazia Primaziale Sant’Anselmo
Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, 5
00153 Roma, Italia
https://www.anselmianum.com/it
A map is available at this link.
Academic fee
Yet to be determined.
Guest accommodation
The convenience of living in the same building where you study will prove invaluable due to the intensive study for this course held during a Holy Year in such an ancient city. This course is held at Sant’Anselmo where you may request guest accommodation. We are located on the peak of the Aventine hill, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome located in the heart of the Eternal City.
Meals are provided daily with the resident monastic community. Guests are free to enjoy the restaurants in the surrounding city, although no discount is given for meals not taken.
The guest rooms are “monastic spartain”, which includes a sink and towels, with shared washroom and toilet facilities down the corridor. The guest rooms are not air conditioned and the masonry building heats up as the daily high temperature averages around 90º Fahrenheit (32º Celsius).
Participants are free to arrange their own accommodation elsewhere if they wish and here is a list of some local possibilities.
Contact the instructor Patrick Owens at this email link and ask him to put you into contact with the guest master who is fluent in English, French and Italian. Reserve your room soon.
Visa
Depending on your country of origin you may need a visa to stay in Italy for the duration of the course. If needed, typically this is arragned with the help of the authority where you reside. If you have secured guest accommodation at Sant’Anselmo, the Prior will be ready to assist you with the necessary documents. You may need to apply for a visa at an Italian embassy or at a similar authority in your country of origin. The process may take some time, so please check ahead to allow for any eventuality.
Contact the instructor Patrick Owens at this email link and ask him to put you into contact with the Prior of Sant’Anselmo, if you will reside here, and he will help you comply with the relevant laws.
Liturgy
For participants wishing a more immersive religious programme, at Sant’Anselmo we pray in Latin in sung Gregorian chant several times a day: 1) before lunch, 2) at vespers or evening prayer 3) and at compline concluding the day. Both morning prayer and the Eucharistic liturgy are celebrated in Italian. The Summer schedule may varry slightly. Guests are always welcome, but attendence at religious observances is neither necessary nor expected.
Books available
Familia Romana by Hans H. Ørberg is available by Amazon or in Italy through the link of Vivarium Novum to Amazon.it.
Ossa Latinitatis Sola is available at Sant’Anselmo from the in-house BookPoint.
It is also available by contacting Sylvia at:
Pauline multimedia
via del Mascherino, 94
00193 Roma
Tel. 06.6872354
Fax: 06.68308093
Silvia: Inglese@paoline-multimedia.it
This shop is located near the Vatican.
