Blog
Resolution
People either love New Year's resolutions, or they make fun of them. I don't know which person you are, but I fall into the first category. I love New Year's resolutions. Resolutions are fresh beginnings. And, I love fresh beginnings. I love the morning, the fresh...
The Problem With Problems
By Seth Godin We have limits. There are challenges, limited resources, people or organizations working against you. Your knee hurts, the boss is a jerk, the systems are down. We have opportunities. There are opportunities, new sources of leverage and ideas just...
Help?
I fell of the wagon this year. In October, my wife and I had an argument. We argue from time to time. It's no fun. This one, however, was, for me, demotivating. The fallout spilled over. For a while, I stopped blogging. I stopped posting the "word of the day". I...
Eliminate this word in 2015
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." - C.S. Lewis This is one of my favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis. I started late. I graduated from high school late. I was nearly 20. I had failed English so many times in middle school I had to...
Online Vocabulary Class?
I am thinking of offering a new class in the spring. There are so many English words that come from Latin and Greek roots. Really. Once you start digging, it is astonishing what you find. Growing up, I had no idea how influenced our language was by Classical...
The two types of people…
"There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded." - Mark Twain
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
What would you do with one year off?
How One Simple Christmas Gift Helped Harper Lee Write One of the Most Profitable Books of All Time By Brian Warner Merry Christmas. Hopefully you didn't ask for the standard iPad, PlayStation, Beats by Dre, smartphone etc. and instead you decided to think a little...
Visual Latin: How to learn the words
I received this question recently: My son is doing your visual Latin course and he is on lesson 13. When he translates the sentences and paragraphs there seems to be a lot of words that he has not learned yet. Should we look these up or are missing where they are...
Lingua Latina. Read it again.
I received this question: Is there a particular grammar book for Latin that you would recommend reading and re-reading? Here is my reply: Yes. There is. Short answer: Lingua Latina by Hans Orberg. Long answer: I looked for an answer to this question for years....
Habere plus the Accusative
A few weeks ago, I received this email: Hi! I am enjoying learning Latin along with my daughters age 16,12, and 11. Chapter XII test. Problem 40. The woman has wisdom. The answer key shows the answer to be sapientiam. This led to a spirited conversation of whether...
Distractions and Attractions.
My family and I are in East Tennessee this weekend. For the last fifteen years or so, we have spent at least some of our Christmas vacation out here. Teaching can be a tough way to make a living, but, there are some perks to the job. Teachers get much more time...
Good reminder.
"Sadly my favorite activity -- spending time with my kids -- is now denied me. Alex and Stephen are 24 and 21, busy with their own lives, and too old to hang out with mom and dad; Stephen is away at school in Pittsburgh. When they were young and the kids wanted to be...
Affluenza
A few days ago, I blogged about the word influenza. The annual malady continues to wreak havoc on my sad household. This morning, though, reading an article from Early to Rise, I discovered what could be a worse malady. This one has wreaked havoc on many households...
Extra chocolate
Need extra chocolate this Christmas? This video will help: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10203692003648109&set=vb.1457985215&type=2&theater
The Flu
Influenza: an epidemic catarrh. Naturally, you know what a catarrh is. Neither did I. A catarrh is an inflammation of the nose and throat. It is from the Greek κατάρροος, which is basically a “head cold”. Kατάρροος means, “I flow down.” Just use your imagination....
Visual Latin and non-Christians
I received this comment recently: "I just discovered your site and plan to use it to augment your VL course that my daughter and I are taking (home school)..and enjoy. I also purchased your "Word Up!" which she really enjoyed. My daughter is a writer. She loves...
Visual Latin or Henle Latin?
This week, I received this inquiry: "We currently own years 1 & 2 of Visual Latin. My daughter is enrolled in Classical Conversations where we use Henle. She is struggling and I am now wondering if we should hold off the Henle and complete years 1 & 2 of...
Amphoric Sound
Amphoric sound - a sound made by blowing across the mouth of a bottle or jug. In medical terminology, amphoric sound is an abnormal, resonant, hollow, blowing sound heard with a stethoscope over the thorax. It indicates a cavity opening into a bronchus or a...
Adage
Adage - a wise saying. For example: Eagles soar, but weasels do not get sucked into jet engines. From Latin ad (to, toward) and agere (to do, to drive). Here are a few more of my favorite adages: Experience is a comb which nature gives us when we are bald. You...
Butterfly is a strange word…
I was wondering this morning... Why in the world is a butterfly called a butterfly? Found out more than I ever wanted to know. Personally, I like the German theory. These insects are actually milk-stealing undercover witches. In Middle English, Butterfly was...
Amphora
Amphora: Among the ancients, a two-handled vessel, tapering at the bottom, used for holding wine, or oil. Sometimes amphorae, filled with oil, were awarded to victorious athletes in the games… which is why, even today, trophies take on an amphoral shape. Amphora...
December
December: the twelfth month of the year. December follows November, and precedes January. In the ancient Roman calendar, December was the tenth month of the year. Naturally, the ancient Romans wanted a creative name for the month, so, they named the month December…...
The way history went down.
One of the historic advantages of Western Europe was that it was conquered by the Romans in ancient times -- a traumatic experience in itself, but one which left Western European languages with written versions, using letters created by the Romans. Eastern European...
The state is a straight-jacket.
The fall of the Roman empire fascinates me. I have read more about it than a normal person should. I only wish evernote had existed back when I first started studying the subject. Just started reading another book about history's most famous collapse. Charles Norris...
Because I just can’t let it go….
Found this note in an old email from a student. "Also, for the girls (I doubt boys'll be interested) who've watched Frozen in your Latin class(es), this is an awesome video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guZxkqIBbp4. Someone translated and sang the most popular song...
Prepositions + adjectives = boring post
Recently, I received this question: When an adjective governs case and is followed by a prepositional phrase, where is it placed in the sentence? Here is my reply: As for adjectives, watch the nouns and the prepositions closely. If there is no preposition, the noun...
Here’s a pile of tests and quizzes.
I received this question this week: "I am hoping to find a midterm and a final exam for this curriculum to use for a high schooler. Any recommendations?" Here is my reply: Hi, I need to create those two tests. This is actually on my list of things to do. Thanks for...
How to get others to listen to you:
http://youtu.be/eIho2S0ZahI
Lingua Latina recordings
For those of you in the Lingua Latina online class... you know I have had issues with the recordings lately. There is a fall-back plan. Spend some time on this website: http://llpsi.blogspot.com/ As stated in the heading, this is an "unofficial" blog site for the...
Made me happy…
Received this comment in my inbox this week. Have to admit. It made me happy. "If you want your child to make a good start in Latin we recommend this curriculum. Dwane is a fantastic teacher, with a great sense of humor, my son enjoys the Visual Latin lessons and...
I can’t wait.
A few weeks ago, venturebeat.com ran the following article: My prediction is that in fewer than 15 years, we will be debating whether human beings should be allowed to drive on highways. After all, we are prone to road rage; rush headlong into traffic jams; break...
Read it all.
If you are using Visual Latin with another program, I recommend you skip Visual Latin, section C. This saves you a little time. Besides, the other program you are using will provide plenty of extra reading. At least one Visual Latin user, however, disagrees with me:...
How to find the gender of a Latin noun.
I received this inquiry from a student: "I think one question I have is how do I know if a word is Masculine, feminine or neuter when they are not in root form? For instance, on togarum I matched it with the neuter endings for nominative, accusative, an masculine...
Hang out with your kids. They are leaving soon.
"Sadly my favorite activity -- spending time with my kids -- is now denied me. Alex and Stephen are 24 and 21, busy with their own lives, and too old to hang out with mom and dad; Stephen is away at school in Pittsburgh. When they were young and the kids wanted to be...
Ditch that expensive, old car!
It's about time! Those of you who know me well, know that I consider cars an awful, expensive, depreciating, yet necessary evil. This email from Peter Diamandis made me feel better: Elon Musk's announcement of a semi-autonomous Tesla Model D this past week is one of...
How do I start learning Spanish?
I received this email today: We purchased Visual Latin and we are really enjoying it and learning a lot. I had a question for Dwayne Thomas: we are appreciating his approach to learning a language. Does he have any recommendations on a Spanish curriculum? I know there...
Where can I find a copy of the Vulgate?
I received this email today: We are homeschoolers studying Latin. We enjoy your program very much! My daughter would like to have a Latin Vulgate bible. We would like minimal commentary in the bible. Can you recommend one? Thank you! Here is my reply: Glad to hear you...
Phantasm
Phantasm: something imagined; an illusion, or apparition; something that seems to exist, but, in fact, does not. The Latin word for ghost is phantasma. It comes from the Greek φάντασμα (a phantasm), which derives from φαντάζω (I make visible). The English word ghost...
Learn the Demonstrative Pronouns
http://youtu.be/IKgWoRS8vVI
Why not speak like a Roman?
Here's a Latin question I get once a week... “Why are there two ways to pronounce the same language?” It is often followed by this question: “Why not pronounce Latin the way the ancient Romans pronounced Latin?” Well... There’s the trouble. No one knows for certain...
Latin Third person pronouns
Struggling to memorize the Latin endings? Here is the latest installment in the free series. http://youtu.be/2WRABTr2wss
Latin personal pronouns (First Person).
Trying to memorize the Latin personal pronouns? Start here! http://youtu.be/gvCQ6IE43lU
Fourth Declension Neuter Nouns.
http://youtu.be/DjRtrGiqfdk
Fourth Declension Nouns
For those who are memorizing the Latin nouns endings... here are the Fourth Declension Endings. http://youtu.be/tzNBitCFApc
Third Declension I-Stem Nouns
Third Declension I-Stem Nouns have a frightening reputation. It isn't necessary. They really are not so scary. Find out why: http://youtu.be/aDVCLySMvU8
Third Declension Neuter Nouns
Third declension, and third declension neuter endings confused me when I was learning Latin. In time, I realized they weren't so scary. If you, however, are still confused, this will help: http://youtu.be/uqfw_WtKTQw
Yee-Haw!
Reintarnation - to come back in another life as a hillbilly. From Latin re (back), in (in; on) and tarnation (the favorite phrase of Yosemite Sam).
Acantha
Acantha: In botany, a prickle; in zoology, a spine or prickly fin. Acantha, in Greek mythology, was a beautiful nymph. Apollo fell in love with her. She resisted his advances. While pushing him away, she scratched his face. In anger, he turned her into a prickly...
Acupuncture
Acupuncture: a jab well done; a form of medicine that pricks the skin with needles to alleviate pain. I find Noah Webster’s old definition interesting. “Among the Chinese, a surgical operation, performed by pricking the part affected with a needle.” From Latin Latin...