Memorization and Rap Music

Mnemonics

     My students are currentlly memorizing the endings to the first three declensions. The sine qua non for memorization, as they have figured out over the past two weeks, is repetition. Writing the paradigms out (or reciting them aloud), ad nauseum, until they stick can be boring and frustrating, but it can hardly help being effective.
    "But I've tried those methods, and neither of them worked for me!" If you find the the usual methods of constant repetition insufficient, then you need the extra support of mnemonic devices - anything you associate with the material you're trying to memorize in order to make it easier. An example will help:

     Some of my students were having a hard time remembering the names of the six cases in order: Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Ablative, Vocative. One student, however, figured out a way to remember their order: he took the first letter of each case and made a sentence out of words that start with the same letters: "Never Go Down An Active Volcano." Now, when he needs to remember the order of the cases, he thinks of that otherwise-silly sentence, and he can remember - for example - that the third case is the one that starts with "D," i.e. Dative. [Note that this particular mnemonic will not help you remember whether Accusative or Ablative comes first, since both start with A.] As a rule, the sillier and stranger the mnemonic device, the better.

     Among the various types of mnemonics, the most popular is music. For example, many people learn to memorize the alphabet by singing it to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." (I bet that tune will be stuck in your head now.) Setting the Latin declensions to music is a very popular way to memorize them.

     For example, see this YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jzkhf-Vl6w

     Or, if you prefer more contemporary music, watch this "First Declension Rap Video":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRgSMHNdvXI

 

Extra Credit Assignment

The Assignment: Make a mnemonic song to remember any of the declension endings we have learned in class so far. (Watch the two YouTube videos mentioned above to get some idea of what I expect from you.) Your song will be shown to both Latin I classes.

The Rules:
1. You may make up your own music, or you may set the words to an already-existing song. (If you borrow some already-existing music, you must give credit to the original artist.)
2. Your song must cover at least one full declension (it may cover more than one, if you like).
3. Your song must be appropriate for class. (If you're not sure whether or not something is appropriate, odds are, it's not.)
For Example: If you wanted to set the First Declension Endings to Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" (and at least one student has already expressed interest in doing so), you should mention her name and the name of her song somwhere in your video; you should not re-enact her original music video.

How to Submit your Assignment: There are three options for submitting this assignment.
1. (Preferred) Make a YouTube video of your song. Comment on this post with the link to your video.
2. If you are uncomfortable posting a video of yourself online, that's no problem. Make a video of your song, save it to a flash-drive, and bring it in. I will then play your song in class directly from the flash-drive.
3. If you are unable to make a video, then you will be asked to perform your song in front of your classmates. I do not recommend this option.

Value of the Assignment:
This extra-credit assignment will count as TWO QUIZ GRADES of 100% each. (I recognize that this is higher than I originally said in class.) This is a great opportunity not only to boost your quiz average but also to help your classmates remember some important material forever. I encourage every one of you to give it a try.
 

 

 

Translating across Cultures

"How can that one word mean those two, totally different things?"

 

     This question was asked by several of my students recently. The Latin word in question, ignavus, can be translated as "cowardly" or as "lazy." To the mind of a modern English-speaker, this is troubling: laziness and cowardliness are two very different ideas. How could the Romans use the same word for both?

     To the ancient Roman mind, laziness and cowardliness were essentially the same thing: unwillingness to perform some labor. What difference does it make if one is unwilling for fear of exertion or harm? (We should not be surprised at this attitude from a culture whose word vir means both "man" and "hero.")
     Let's look at an example in the other direction to illuminate this point. Look at the following four perfectly ordinary sentences: "I love my wife." "I love my brother." "I love my dog." "I love Flyers Specials." We use one word, "love," to describe all four of those (hopefully) very different relationships. If we could reverse time and make the Romans learn English, they would tear their hair out trying to understand how we could possibly use the same word for all of those, instead of differentiating between diligere, amare, and caritas - different kinds of "love."

     This is a good opportunity to stop and reflect upon the nature of translating an ancient language into a modern one. When you translate from Latin into English, you aren't just translating from one language into another: you are translating from one culture into another, across thousands of miles and years and changes in the world.
     This is part of why translating accurately can be so difficult: how do you communicate the intention of one author from one cultural worldview to an audience in a completely different cultural worldview - without losing his meaning?

On Derivatives and Etymology

     We talked at length in class about using derivatives to figure out the meanings of unfamiliar Latin words. If you see a Latin word and have no idea what it means, try to think of an English word you know that looks similar to it. (Specifically, the similarity should be the same spelling of the root of the words.)
     An example from class: the Latin word ignis has not yet appeared in your textbooks, but many of you figured out that it translates "fire" by looking at its English derivatves "ignite" and "igneous."
     In class, we talked about using English words to figure out Latin vocabulary. As we accumulate Latin words, you will be able to do the same mental process in reverse - use Latin vocabulary you know to illuminate the meanings of unfamiliar English words. (This is what most people have in mind when they say that studying Latin prepares you for the SAT.)
     As promised, the eargerly-awaited link to the Online Etymology Dictionary is below. Here is how I recommend you use this powerful tool: Whenever you are reading (in English) and you see a word you do not recognize, instead of (or in addition to) looking it up in an ordinary dictionary, look it up in this online dictionary. This way, you will not only learn a new English word, but also expand your Latin vocabulary simultaneously.

Online Etymology Dictionary:

http://www.etymonline.com/

 

     Note that most of the words you look up, if they be of Latin descent, will first give you the French origin, and only afterwards the Latin. Do not fret: you know not only that the entire French language is derived from Latin, but also - as a Latin scholar - that the most emphatic place in any given entry is the last place.

Upcoming Exam

Information

     The next Latin I Exam will be on Thursday, Oct. 10, Day B (regular schedule). It will directly cover Chapters 3 and 4 from the textbook; however, keep in mind that the material from previous chapters will show up, simply because language can't help but be cumulative.
     The format for this test will be the same as that of the last test: you will be given sentences and asked to give specific information about them. Please remember that this exam, while in the same format, will be substantially longer and more challenging than the last one.

Advice

     1. Study specifically for this test. You know exactly how the test will be formatted, and - since you've already taken a test formatted exactly this way - you know your strengths and weaknesses when you're up against this format. You know the kinds of questions the test will ask you. Therefore, when you study, study by asking yourself exactly those kinds of questions.

     2. Study regularly. Studying a lot the night before the test may be important, but it is not sufficient. Studying every day for a brief period - say, 15-20 minutes - every day, at the same time, in the same place, will maximize your ability to memorize.

     3. Study together. While you can't take the exam together, you can pool your knowledge beforehand to maximize the value of your study time. Is there a concept you don't understand, or a vocabulary word you can't seem to remember? Some of your classmates will know exactly what to do, and you will be able to help them with some of their struggles as well. Most importantly, you gain the most thorough understanding of a difficult concept when you try to explain it to someone else.


Good luck, gentlemen.

My Summer Reading

Book Recommendation

 

     The question most frequently asked by my students is this: "Mr. Hollwedel, we're so excited to learn more about Latin, and you give us so little homework on the weekends... Could you recommend us some outside reading?"

     Enter Nicholas Ostler's book, Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin. I admit that it wasn't the most gripping text I read this summer, but I hastily add that it was probably the most informative. This book will give you a context for thinking about the great language we study: where does Latin come from? Why do we call the language "Latin," even though we call its original speakers "Romans"? How did the medieval Catholic Church shape the development of Latin? How does Latin evolve (or devolve, depending whom you ask) into the various Romans languages still spoken today?

 

 

     All these and other interesting questions are explained with a surprising combination of academic thoroughness and comprehensibility, even to high school students.

     Remembering the words of Sir Francis Bacon - "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested" - I place this text in that first category: pick it up, read whatever section jumps out at you, and feel free either to set it aside or take another bite.

    

     First student to ask me about it can borrow my copy for the rest of the trimester! The rest of you can purchase a copy on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ad-Infinitum-A-Biography-Latin/dp/0802716792