CATHOLIC CENTRAL COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE Latin 1
DEPARTMENT Foreign Languages
LENGTH 1 year CREDIT VALUE 1
1. Prerequisites: By selection only
2. Text Books:
2.1
Primary: Latin Via Ovid, Goldman and Nyenhuis, Wayne State University
Press, Detroit, 1977.
2.2
Secondary: Materials provided by the instructor.
3. Course Goals and Objectives: To familiarize the student with the rich cultural and
linguistic heritage bestowed upon 20th century man by the ancient Romans. The course is
designed to improve the student’s skills in English vocabulary and grammar as well as to
give the student the grammatical background for serious literature and to foster an
enjoyment for mythology.
4. Course Description: The main purpose of this course is to teach the student to read Latin
with ease and enjoyment. The course focuses on abridged versions of Ovid’s
Metamorphoses for the readings, both for their value as background in mythology and for
their charming narrative style, which should impel the student to continue his pursuit of a
foreign language. Each chapter is divided into sections of Latin dialogue, reading,
vocabulary, structure, grammatical exercises, and etymology.
4.1
General Overview: Generally, the course
consists of selections in Latin taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses which have
been adapted to meet the student’s abilities at this level. These selections will
assist the student in his pleasurable acquisition of skills in reading Latin.
4.1.a. First Quarter:
English Grammar Review
The Latin Alphabet
Pronunciation of Classical Latin
Biography of Publius Ovidius (Ovid) Naso
Introduction to the Metamorphoses
Grammar: Latin Word Order (omission of articles and pronoun
subjects), function of Latin inflections (endings), introduction to “cases”
(nominative, genitive, accusative, ablative), 1st and 2nd declension nouns,
Latin interrogatives, words in apposition, adjectives (gender, number, and
case), imperatives, infinitives, indirect objects (dative case), vocative case,
present tense of the 1st and 2nd conjugations
Readings: “Charta Geographica”, “Europa and the Bull”, “Minerva
and Arachne I, II”
History and Culture: Roman gods, Roman History Overview,
4.1.b. Second Quarter:
Grammar: imperfect tense of the 1st and 2nd conjugations, verb “to
be”, numerals, ablative of means, vocatives of 2nd declension nouns, future
tense of the 1st and 2nd conjugations, future tense of “to be”
Readings: “Minerva and Arachne III” and “Latona and Niobe I,
II”, “Pan and Syrinx”,“Callisto I, II”
History and Culture: Trojan War, Founding of Rome (Romulus
and Remus, Sabines)
4.1.c. Third Quarter:
Grammar: perfect tense, dative case with adjectives, basic
conditionals, higher cardinal numbers, perfect tense of “to be”, third
declension nouns (regular and i-stem), the numbers 2 and 1000, ordinal
numbers, negative commands, basic indirect statement, 3rd conjugation
verbs, pluperfect tense, pluperfect tense of “to be”
Readings: “Baucis and Philemon I, II”, “Echo and Narcissus”,
“Phoebus and Daphne”, "Pyramus and Thisbe I”
History and Culture: Early Roman Heroes, Roman Houses
4.1.d. Fourth Quarter:
Grammar: superlative adjectives, reflexive pronouns, verb “to be
able”, future perfect tense, 3rd conjugation verbs, 3rd conjugation (io)
verbs, 4th conjugation verbs, personal pronouns, verb synopses,
demonstrative pronouns, imperatives (all conjugations), passive verbs
(present, imperfect, future tenses), passive infinitives, ablative of agent,
relative pronoun, 4th declension nouns
Readings:“Pyramus and Thisbe II”, “Atalanta and Hippomenes I”,
"Atalanta and Hippomones II"
History and Culture: Founding of the Republic
5. Assessments: This course will mostly be assessment based. What that means is that
students will be assigned homework (translations, vocabulary, etc) which may or may
not be checked for points. Then soon after they will be quizzed or tested on the
material. Most of the students grade will consist of these quiz and test grades. There will
be at least one quiz per chapter and more on the chapters that have more information. The
final grade for the course will be made up of: 33% first semester, 33% second semester,
and 33% final exam.
N.B. Latin requires the students to memorize a lot of information. I recommend that the
students find a method that works best for them early on (e.g. flashcards).