By "Transparent Language's ""LanguageNow!"" format"

Description

Learn to read the Latin in over 1,000 proverbs: an interactive CD-Rom.
Learn:

• The wisdom of the ancients
• Latin proverbs for daily use
• The basis of the English language

High school and college students will welcome the arrival of this collection of over 1000 Latin sententiae gathered from a wide range of classical, medieval, and Renaissance sources. These aphorisms, proverbs, and mottos are designed to build vocabulary, strengthen grammar skills, and allow users to have fun with Latin.

Utilizing the highly acclaimed and proven Transparent Language software, the program provides users with a detailed, easily accessible explication of each sentence. Users can click on a word to learn its person, gender, number, meaning, role in the sentence, and English derivatives. These convenient aids allow students to focus on reading Latin, rather than on the drudgery of poring over dictionaries and grammar references.

The experience is further enhanced by a recorded pronunciation of each sentence and of each individual word. Users can also record their own pronunciation and see a graphical comparison with the expert speaker's.

In addition, word puzzles and vocabulary games allow users to practice newly acquired language skills. Users can chose from three skill levels and record their scores to track their progress over time.

Click here for examples of mottos in Latin, use them to start a class, or an example of a grammatical topic. (.pdf - 795kB)

System Requirements (both versions are included on the CD-ROM):

Windows: Windows 95, 98 or NT 4.0, 486 or higher, CD-ROM drive, 16MB RAM, 25 MB free disk space, 1 MB SVGA card or better display, standard soundcard and multimedia speakers.

Macintosh: System 7.1 (or better), 68040 or better processor, CD-ROM drive, standard built-in speakers.

Comments and Reviews

A very useful CD is Words of Wisdom from the Ancients: 1000 Latin Proverbs, a compendium of Latin sententiae, which is not only a helpful collection of Roman wisdom and a useful aid to building Latin vocabulary, but a boon to the writer and editor who may occasionally forget the phrasing or source of a Latin tag.

Dr. Thomas Fleming
copyright Chronicles, July 2002 pg. 36

Does it work? Yes.

— The Associated Press

I think it's superb. Transparent Language offers a variety of aids to help students appreciate and understand the language.

— V. Morrissette
Foreign Language Professor
Santa Catalina School (Monterey, CA)

...a supplement to [the CD version of the Artes Latinae text series], which puts the material from their companion Graded Readers (one for each level) onto CD, using the multimedia format created by Transparent Language. This allows you to have the sententiae (over 1,000 in all) read aloud, as well as receiving any or all of the support notes on grammar, syntax, and translation.

— Rob Latousek
The Classical Outlook

The best of ancient civilization teaches us not only about them, but very much about ourselves. This is a treasure: a self-teaching program of Latin, with pronunciations (audio) of each word and sentence, cross-references of roots, grammar links, and games. These proverbs taken from Latin primers are, to say the least, revealing of any highly organized civilization. From Horace: "A word once released does not know how to return." ("Scire loqui decus est; decus est et scire tacere.") means, "It is a virtue to know how to speak; it is also a virtue to know how to be silent." From Ovid: "Dum modo sit dives, barbarus ipse placet" meaning, "Provided he is rich, the Barbarian is pleasing." From Plautus: "He who does not know the way by which he may come to the sea ought to look for a stream as a companion for himself." Voice graphs show how closely we speak the Latin with the way the native speaker does. From Seneca: "An avenging god follows the haughty [closely] from the rear." The Game section enables us to use our knowledge of vocabulary and structures to build text and language skills. All along the way are complete help files. "To sleep six hours is enough for young and old." An outstanding learning tool filled with wisdom.

— The Book Reader
Spring/Summer 2001

Press Release