Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Salve, Amice. I'm almost ready with the ebook.

I have finished the first pass of the LGR ebooklet. The title and intro so far:


The Latin Grammar Rite
Examination Questions and Answers for Students of Classical Latin
To be asked and answered orally, exactly as written here.

Introduction

Intentions
The goals of this program are not small. Not only do I wish that you master basic Latin grammar more quickly and surely, but also that you increase the capacity of your memory, lengthen and sharpen your attention, and enrich your society.

This program is intended to supplement your standard Latin reading and writing program.

Mechanics
There are, at my last count, 735 questions in 84 sections or levels. The program is self-paced, but one to two years to reach teacher status for all levels is a reasonable goal, a year longer if you work toward examiner status or use this device on small children.

You should study alone, with a friend, and with a teacher to prepare for your oral examinations, which are given publicly before your group by an examiner. As a student, you must answer the questions exactly in order to pass and become a teacher of that level. Likewise, a teacher must know both the questions and the answers exactly before becoming an examiner of that level. This procedure ensures all material is reviewed frequently by everyone and not forgotten.

You may use whatever other mnemonic devices you choose to supplement your studies. I especially recommend my daily Latin chants to first and second year students.

Benefits
In this learning approach you are provided ample time for study. The linear, Q&A, oral format is suited for practice during your daily routine whilst away from your books, walking, exercising, performing your ablutions, or sitting idly, alone or with others.

There is also the peace of mind you will receive because of the efficiency of the questions and answers. I have endeavored to select, organize, and compress all the essential rules of Latin for the easiest understanding and absorption. The questions and answers are concise and easily memorized and, because of their direct and simplistic nature, more easily recalled during your subsequent Latin studies. Having mastered these rules, you will spend less time flipping through grammar books and more time reading and writing Latin. Knowing that you are familiar with all of the basics of Latin grammar, you can confidently proceed in the language.

This rite provides a reason to gather for study and fellowship, as well as acting as an organizing principle. To your memory will be added not only the increased knowledge of Latin but the comforting recollections of the fraternity you experienced during your study and examination periods.

Finally, the gentle peer pressure exerted by public examination offers a healthy emotional stimulus to concentration and memory. 

(Sorry I write like that; reading Henry James and epic Latin poetry will do that to you. You should've seen it before I edited it.)

Formatting the ebook is difficult. Fonts are limited to basically two: Times New Roman or Arial. Tables are not allowed and tabs confuse the encoders. Discrepancies which in Word are practially invisible, such as irregular bolding and italicization of periods, commas, and question marks, glow brightly in ebook readers. Every encoder and ebook reader is different and I do not know which reader most people will use. One encoder creates a nice table of contents but puts in too many page separations, another does the opposite. Some readers, such as Ibis, display macrons properly, and some, such as Adobe, don't. I'm going for the least common denominator. If I can find it.

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