Children learn their mother-tongues through continuous, daily exposure to spoken language. Through regular speech, nursery rhymes, and sweet lullabies the structure of a child’s first language is assimilated naturally during a period of intense brain growth. To some extent that natural learning curve can be mimicked when studying a second language. Listening to the spoken language, memorizing songs and poems and studying under an experienced teacher who speaks fluently all assist in the acquisition of a new language.
When studying Latin – a ‘dead’ language – filling these audio memory banks is much more difficult. Traditionally taught through a highly formal study of Latin grammar (declensions, cases, etc.), the language can seem rather abstract and even meaningless without rich verbal use providing a rich backdrop for understanding. Cheryl Lowe’s Christian Latin translation course Lingua Angelica remedies some of the difficulties inherent to learning a language which is no longer spoken.
Written as a supplement to a traditional Latin grammar course (specifically Lowe’s elementary grade Latina Christiana, used widely by homeschoolers and private schools alike), Lingua Angelica is a treasure for any parent longing to equip their children with an intuitive understanding of the language. Consisting of 24 Latin songs – mainly hymns -- found in the Lingua Angelica Song Book along with brief histories noting the significance of each selection, and four Latin prayers, even pre-schoolers will benefit from internalizing the structures of Latin through memorization of the classical performances found on the Lingua Angelica CD.
Once a formal introduction to Latin grammar has taken place and some familiarity with cases and declensions is gained, students can venture into the course workbooks where they will tackle translation, parsing, and vocabulary drills to the extent that their skill levels permit. Split into two levels, Lingua Angelica provides six years of supplementary Latin translation exercises, of which Lingua Angelica I covers the first three.
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