Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Welcome to My Modest Latin Word List Page

This is my initial Latin word list. I am composing and putting together word lists of related ideas for Conversational Modern Latin. My inspiration comes from the many vocabulary books I have in popular Western languages published under both the Harrap's and Barron's names. I asked myself, why can't there be one similar in Latin? The most recent good word lists I have seen are in John Traupman's Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency, How to Speak Latin by Stephen W. Wilby and Guide to Latin Conversation by Fr.Michel Lanusse.

If you must have a good starting vocabulary book, may I suggest the one recommended at Latinum , The Latin Vocabulary by Rev. David Williams. It's great as 19th century customs go, but much of it is no longer applicable to our lives as it once was. However, I invite you to peruse the book anyhow. I also recommend Whittaker's words because it's an electronic database, not for its accuracy, of which I make no guarantee, but because it's easy to use.

I initially will divide up the vocabularies by categories and see how that goes. If you all want it different, I'll try to accommodate you. Remember, this is just a blog and quick reference. If this were really important or scholarly rigorous I'd have put up a web page. I make no guarantee about the accuracy of the information here, but I earnestly strive to make it the best information as I possibly can.

The initial concept for this site was to help me organize my Latin vocabulary and glossary notes. I decided that why should I be the only one to enjoy the fruits of my labors. I truly desire that this site be not only a quick reference for people but a point of departure for the further development of Modern Latin terminology. You, yourselves, could collect and organize the same information as I have here, but why reinvent the wheel? All I ask is that you make things easier for the people who follow you -- i.e. I challenge you to BE trailblazers or pioneers. Please remember to always 'pay it forward', so it can come back to you thirty, sixty or an hundred fold, or even more.

Please leave constructive, mutually edifying comments and suggestions. I do not consider flaming, carping, or whining to be acceptable forms of comments. This blog is to benefit you, me, and others. So, please treat others as you would want to be treated, and help me make it work better and better for you.