The Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Birmingham is launching a new online short course introducing Latin to beginners.
Via Prima means ‘first road’. This six-week course will give you a basic grounding in Latin, the language of the ancient Romans and one of the building-blocks of modern European languages and culture.
It is intended for complete beginners. You do not need to have studied a language before, or to have any kind of academic background in classical civilisation, or really any kind of academic background at all. All we want from you is six hours a week and the willingness to give it a go.
Via Prima was developed for the University of Birmingham by Ruth Taylor-Briggs, a specialist Latin language instructor. It will take you through the opening chapters of Henry Cullen and John Taylor’s Latin to GCSE (2016), an acclaimed modern textbook that is widely used in schools (you will need a copy for your personal use).
Beginning with how Latin was written and pronounced, how its sentences communicate their meaning through ‘inflection’, and some basic terms for talking about grammar and syntax, Via Prima will get you working actively with Latin from the start. You will learn about the most common kinds of noun (‘declensions’) and verb (‘conjugations’), and start to think critically about translation choices. Every week you will watch explanatory videos that get you ready to work with Latin to GCSE yourself and submit written exercises for feedback. There will also be a regularly timetabled discussion hour with the module tutor.
On successful completion of Via Prima you will have a confident understanding of the basics of Latin language and a solid grounding to take your study further.
Find out more and apply via the website.
Note: this is a fee-paying event run by an organisation which is not affiliated to, or funded by, the Classical Association