by Dwane | Mar 3, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Motivation, Tip of the Week
Yesterday, I slept in. Sleeping in is a luxury I try to deny myself every day. When I sleep late, bad things happen. If I lose an hour in the morning, I will spend the rest of the day searching for it. So, why do I rise early every morning? I rise early to read....
by Dwane | Mar 3, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Paraphernalia: belongings; the stuff you need for a particular activity; equipment. From the Greek παρα (pará): beside, and φερνή (phernḗ): things in addition to a dowry. Φερνή derives from φέρω (phérō): I carry. Paraphernalia, which now means “stuff”, once upon a...
by Dwane | Mar 3, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Adequate: sufficient; equal to the requirement, okay, passable, satisfactory, mediocre. Though it not longer carries this meaning in English, adequate once meant to equalize. The old meaning is closer to its Latin roots. In Latin the preposition ad means, to or...
by Dwane | Mar 2, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Abeyance: a temporary halt, a temporary suspension. A temporary period of disuse. Abeyance shows up in English for the first time in 1528. Initially, it has a legal meaning. This makes sense. After all, the word comes from the old French word abeiance. The French...
by Dwane | Mar 2, 2015 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
I received this inquiry: “I really enjoy your videos in your web site and YouTube. I am confused as for example nouns Nom, Gen, Dat, Acc, Abl in every other source I use it is in a different order for example www.nationalarchives.gov.uk uses Nom, (Voc),Acc,...
by Dwane | Feb 28, 2015 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
Oh, the questions kids ask these days. I received this inquiry: “Also, I had a few questions about the chapter. In line 110, it says nec vallum ascendere. I get the point that the Germans aren’t climbing the walls because the Romans are throwing spears...
by Dwane | Feb 28, 2015 | Tip of the Week, Uncategorized
Yesterday, I announced all of the upcoming classes I will be teaching this Fall. Naturally, this announcement generated some questions. I was surprised by the theme. People wanted to know, “Is this class only for students? As an adult, may I also join the...
by Dwane | Feb 28, 2015 | English, Vocabulary
Instead of a word today, some negative inspiration. Pay attention to the words you use. People notice. “A couple of years ago, I was in a meeting trying to persuade some people of the merits of a business idea. The presentation seemed to be going well: the three...
by Dwane | Feb 28, 2015 | Education, Motivation, Tip of the Week
Yesterday, I announced all of the upcoming classes I will be teaching this Fall. Naturally, this announcement generated some questions. I was surprised by the theme. People wanted to know, “Is this class only for students? As an adult, may I also join the...
by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, German, Latin, Visual Latin
I received this inquiry: “If we strive for passing the NLE Level 2, which I am hope translates to a level 2 language equivalent in French, Spanish, etc (?), what additional materials may be necessary, if any, once a student has completed your Lesson 60? I have...
by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Uncategorized
I am working on the live online classes today! If you stop by, you will notice changes hourly. Trying to work out all of the issues. Feel free to contact me if you spot any problems!
by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Greek, Visual Latin, Vocabulary
Metaphor: a short similitude; a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object. For example: The soldier was a lion in combat. From Greek μεταφερω (to transfer), which further derives from μετα (over) and φερω (carry). Mixed metaphors are fun. ...
by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Abate: To decrease, or become less in strength or violence; as pain abates; a storm abates. Once upon a time, this word meant, ”to put an end to, or to destroy” Over time, abate came to represent something diminishing in power, or diminishing in strength. Abate passed...
by Dwane | Feb 26, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Acrophobia: fear of heights. There is nothing to fear, but fear itself. And heights. And public speaking. And spiders… especially spiders. Acrophobia comes from Greek ἄκρον (height, summit, peak), and and φοβία (fear).
by Dwane | Feb 26, 2015 | Ebook, English, Latin, Vocabulary
When Latin went out of business, many Latin prepositions got jobs as prefixes in English. For instance, the Latin preposition “ad” meaning, “to, toward” became the English prefixes ac-, ad-, af-, ag-, al-, an-, ap-, ar-, as-, at-. This process...
by Dwane | Feb 26, 2015 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
I received this inquiry: I previewed your Visual Latin program. I really like what I see. We are in Classical Conversations and will be doing Henle starting in the Fall. What is your recommendation to help us as we go through Henle with Challenge A? Getting Visual...
by Dwane | Feb 25, 2015 | Latin, Visual Latin
I received this email: Dear Dwane, “My son has fallen behind in your online Lingua Latina class. I didn’t realize how far he’d fallen behind until late last week. He’s working hard to catch up, though. I’m going to have him continue...
by Dwane | Feb 25, 2015 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Agony – extreme physical or mental suffering. Or… A one armed man, with an itch, hanging from a cliff. Or… a waiting room with one tv looping old episodes of the Knight Rider. Or… Learning Latin from most textbooks. From Greek ἀγωνία...
by Dwane | Feb 25, 2015 | English, Latin, Vocabulary
Adult: a person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle. From Latin adultus (mature, ripe, fully grown).
by Dwane | Feb 24, 2015 | Latin
I received this inquiry: Hello Dwane, “Your class is awesome and my 8th grade daughter is still with it! We are close to completing your first 30 lessons and are considering the NLE to gauge how we’re doing. My hope is that she will complete at least...
by Dwane | Feb 24, 2015 | Education, Greek, Latin, Vocabulary
Learn Latin, Greek, or English vocabulary derived from Latin and Greek. That is a mouthful. Online class enrollment begins this Friday! Just like HealthCare.gov, enrollment will remain open for a while. UnlikeHealthCare.gov, I will not force you to join a class...
by Dwane | Feb 24, 2015 | English, Latin, Vocabulary
Acuity: sharpness of thought, vision, or hearing. The ability to think accurately and clearly. Penetrating intelligence. Acuity is insight, perception, sagacity, or astuteness. Pronunciation: Acuity We often use this word in the phrase “mental acuity.” In idiomatic...
by Dwane | Feb 24, 2015 | English, Greek
Pedagogue: A teacher of children; one whose occupation is to instruct young children; a schoolmaster. These days a pedagogue carries a negative connotation. A pedagogue is a strict teacher, or a pedant. Dolores Umbridge. Pedagogue comes from the Greek παιδαγωγός...
by Dwane | Feb 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
by Dwane | Feb 23, 2015 | Education, Motivation, The Future
My16 year old linked this article to me this morning. I found it helpful. Thought you all might enjoy it as well. Incidentally, I sometimes hear from readers that I ought to stick to Latin and Greek. I disagree, and I will let author Robert Heinlein help me with...
