Audio spelling
exercises guide you to proper pronunciation and spelling
PRODUCT INFORMATION
A
program that helps you build your knowledge of Latin and its
relationships to English. It's also fun
and easy to use.
This program is directed toward anyone who would like to have a better
working vocabulary in English and/or Latin. A very large
percentage of English words have their roots in Latin. If you
know Latin well, you will know English well. In fact, if you
understand Latin, it
is usually very easy to see a new word and know its meaning. We
hope
that Latin for English will help you to actually learn two languages at
once.
Latin is an extremely important part of Western culture and world
history. From ancient times and even through the Renaissance,
Latin was the international language which all scholars knew, whatever
their native language might
be. When Rome ruled the known world in ancient times, Latin was
the
language of law and commerce throughout the Empire. Even after
the
decline and fall of the Roman Empire, the Latin tradition was carried
on
by the Catholic Church, which still uses Latin today for official
documents.
Until fairly recent times, any educated person would be able to read
and
understand Latin. And Latin is still an excellent aid to learning
word
meaning.
A pronunciation guide is also included that will help you to understand
proper Latin pronunciation, both classical and ecclesiastical.
And every Latin target word is pronounced in both ecclesiastical and
classical pronunciations. (Classical pronunciation is the
pronunciation used in
ancient Rome. Ecclesiastical pronunciation is the pronunciation
that
developed over time in Western Europe under the influence of the
Catholic Church and general scholarship.) We also include some
very common Latin phrases which are used in everyday English
conversation.
The testing program contains a total of 1200 words (all with
sentences), and 400 sentences for translation. The words are
broken down into
three categories: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives/Misc. The third
category
is predominantly adjectives, but adverbs, prepositions, and pronouns
are
included. The sentences for translation are sentences taken from
the
first three word lists. Up to four hundred new words can be
added
in a category called Custom. Additionally, any or all of the
current
words can be replaced or modified. Each of the categories is
broken
up into 20 tests of 20 words each. The program offers five
separate
testing formats for drill on these words--multiple choice, matching,
type
word, spelling, and letter scramble.
You might think that learning 1200 Latin words is not very much.
Compared to the total number of words in a language, that is
true. But compared to the working vocabulary you would need to be
fairly fluent in Latin, 1200 words is a very large number. And
remember, many English words may be based upon a single Latin
word. Knowing 1200 Latin words will help you understand the
meaning of 10,000 or so English words.
Product Features
Choosing Test Number and Format
Once you decide which category of test you would like to use, a new
window will pop up in which you can choose the test number (1 through
20), and
the test format. The test formats are multiple choice, which
deals
with one word at a time; matching, which deals with five words at a
time;
type word, in which you are given an English word and you should type
the
Latin equivalent; spelling, in which the word is pronounced and you
should
type it; and word scramble, which gives you the definition for a Latin
word,
along with the word in a scrambled format for you to put in the proper
order.
In all tests except matching, the program displays derived English
words at the bottom of the test window. Generally, this will
display between 3 and 10 English words that are derived from the target
Latin word.
To choose the test format, click the radio button of the format you
want. To choose test number, click on the pull-down box arrow,
and choose a test number.
If you choose the Sentences, you cannot choose test type. Only
multiple choice is available. You can, however, choose Latin to
English,
or English to Latin.
The Word Tests
Each of the words in the program contains the Latin word, the English
equivalent, the principal parts of the word, and a Latin sentence using
the
word.
The verbs include in parentheses the number of each verb's
group. This follows standard practice in Latin dictionaries
and textbooks, and
indicates the verb's conjugation pattern, as well as its pronunciation
and
stress. Any verb with no number is an irregular verb.
The nouns also include a notation as to gender. The
adjective/miscellaneous section includes part of speech for words which
are not adjectives.
Before each word test, a screen appears showing the words in the test,
along with their definitions. This is for you to study or
print. If you do not need to review the words in a word file, you
can un-check
the "Show preview" box.
While you are in the tests, you can push Ctrl-P at any time to toggle
between ecclesiastical and classical pronunciation. You can also push
Ctrl-V at any time to change the volume of the speakers. Note
that ecclesiastical pronunciation is much closer to English
pronunciation, and that when a
Latin phrase is used in English, it is usually spoken according to
ecclesiastical pronunciation.
The Multiple Choice Test
The Multiple Choice test is very straightforward. The target word
is presented at the top of the screen. Underneath the target word
are four definitions. You must choose the number corresponding to
the
definition of the target word. The program will tell you if you
make
the right choice. If you miss a word, the program will tell you
this,
and will also indicate the number of the correct definition.
In the form title, the program notes which number and category test you
are taking. At the bottom right, the program notes the word you
are currently on.
To hear the word pronounced, shift-click on the target word. To
see the word in a sentence, click on the target word.
To go to the next word, click on Next. To exit from the test,
click the Exit button.
The Matching Test
The Matching Test is just as simple as the Multiple Choice Test.
On the left side of the screen are five target words, with the letters
A through E next to them. On the right side of the screen are the
translations, with boxes next to them. You must match up the correct
word
with the translation. To do this, use the drag-and-drop
method.
(Click and hold the left mouse button down on the letter, then, still
holding
the button down, "drag" the letter to the box on the right.)
If you want to change a letter, then you can "undo" the dropped letter
by double-clicking on it. Of course, each letter can only be
placed with one word at a time.
In order to see the sentence associated with a word, click on the
word. To hear a word pronounced, shift-click on the word.
When you are through entering your choices, click on the OK button at
the bottom right of the screen. At that point the program will
display a happy face for each word you got right and a "not-happy" face
for each
word wrong. If you want to skip a set of words, you can click the
Next
button.
After the program displays which words are right and wrong, the "Next"
button changes to "PUSH ME!". Click that button to go to the next
set of words. If you want to end the test, use the Exit button. T
Type Word
In the Type word test, a box comes up with an English word at the
top. You need to type the Latin equivalent word in the text box.
The words which are correct will go into the box on the left, and the
incorrect words will be listed in the box on the right.
Sentences and pronunciation for words are not available during this
test.
Spelling
The spelling test will help you to learn proper Latin spelling and also
to understand the spoken word in Latin. In this test, a word is
pronounced, and you are asked to spell the word. After you spell the
word, push Enter and the program will tell you if you are correct or
not. To hear
the word re-pronounced, click on the ear icon in the bottom left part
of
the window.
Letter Scramble
The letter scramble is a sort of "game" test. The English
equivalent of a Latin word is given at the top. In the boxes
below, a Latin
word appears with the letters scrambled. You need to drag and
drop
the letters into the bottom set of boxes to properly spell the word.
To check the letters you have done for a word, you can push the check
button. The check button will remove any letters that are
incorrect, but leave correct letters. If you cannot solve the
scramble, you can push the Solve button.
The program does not keep statistics for correct and incorrect answers
for this test.
Phrases
The Latin for English program contains about 100 hundred Latin phrases
that are either common in English or are famous Latin phrases.
These are pronounced according to ecclesiastical pronunciation because
that is their common English pronunciation.
You should note that some of these phrases are pronounced according to
a strict English pronunciation. This is because some of these
phrases are so common in English that they are no longer considered
Latin. This is true, for example, of "vice versa." This is
pronounced as
a simple English phrase, rather than in Latin pronunciation.
There
are several examples like this in the phrases, and they are marked by
an
asterisk.
Pronounce
This is the pronunciation guide for Latin. It covers the
differences between ecclesiastical and classical pronunciation and
gives examples. Any letters or sounds not listing in the guide
are pronounced as they are in English.
Stats
Pushing the Stats button on the main menu screen will bring up a
sophisticated graphing package which helps you to see your progress in
learning words.
The graphing package will show you many different types of
graphs. The graph loaded when the function first comes up shows
you the percentage of right and wrong answers on all tests. Other
graphs, shown in the pick list under "Available Graphs", show you the
percentage of right and wrong in each category, or the number right and
wrong for individual tests in a category. Also, the program will
show you how much you have worked with each category of words, as well
as which tests you have used, and how many words you have
attempted. These last two graphs are good for
making sure that you have done all the tests.
Below the Available Graphs pick list is a "Graph Types" pick list, in
which you can choose from several different types of graphs, including
bar graphs and pie graphs. Which graph types are available
depends on what
figures are being graphed.
The last pick box on the left is the "Graph Background" box, which
changes the background, as well as the foreground, colors of the graph.
You can change users while in the graphing function by pushing the User
button in the bottom right hand corner. You can also erase the
figures the program uses to generate graphs by using the Reset function
from the User window.
Graphs generated by the program can be printed to a printer, or copied
to the clipboard. If you are printing the graph, it can be output
in either color or black and white. If you are copying to the
clipboard, the graph is copied in color, in Windows metafile
format. Since metafiles can be stretched or shrunk to any size,
they are very convenient if you
want to include a graph in another application.
The graphs generated by the program can help to show you the areas in
which you are weak and need to concentrate more. This means that
your study can be much more effective and
systematic.
System Requirements
- Windows 3.1/3.11/95/98/Me
- 486 DX2 or greater processor
- 12MB of RAM
- Video display of 256 colors or greater
- Minimum display resolution of 640x480 at 256 colors
- 2xCD-ROM drive16-bit sound card
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