''Wheelock's Latin'' (originally titled ''Latin'' and later ''Latin: An Introductory Course Based on Ancient Authors'') is a comprehensive beginning

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

. Chapters introduce related grammatical topics and assume little or no prior knowledge of Latin

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes doma ...

or language. Each chapter has a collection of translation exercises created specifically for the book, most drawn directly from ancient sources. Those from Roman authors (''Sententiae Antiquae''—lit., "ancient sentences" or "ancient thoughts") and the reading passages that follow may be either direct

quotation A quotation is the repetition of a sentence, phrase, or passage from speech or text that someone has said or written. In oral speech, it is the representation of an utterance (i.e. of something that a speaker actually said) that is introduced by ...

s or adapted

paraphrase A paraphrase () is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin ', . The act of paraphrasing is also called ''paraphrasis''. History Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral tra ...

s of the originals. Interspersed in the text are introductory remarks on

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

culture. At the end of each chapter is a section called "Latina Est Gaudium — Et Utilis!", which means "Latin Is Fun — And Useful!" This section introduces phrases that can be used in conversation (such as "Quid agis hodie?", meaning "How are you today?"), and in particular comments on English words and their relation to Latin. Originally published in 1956 in the Barnes & Noble College Outline Series, the textbook is currently in its seventh edition. The 6th edition has been translated into Korean (2005), with a Korean translation of the 7th edition pending; the 7th edition has been translated into Chinese (2017). The most recent edition includes a foreword, preface, comments on the revised edition, maps, and numerous black and white photographs. It also provides help with pronunciation and information about the Roman authors presented in the chapter readings.

Publication history

*Wheelock F. M. - ''Latin''. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1956. xxxiii & 301 p. College Outline Series #104. $1.95. Prof. Wheelock (1902-1987) was Professor of Humanities at Cazenovia Junior College at the time of publication. *Wheelock F. M. - ''Latin: An introductory course based on ancient authors''. 2nd ed. New York : Barnes & Noble, 1960. xxxiii & 377 p. *Wheelock F. M. - ''Latin: An introductory course based on ancient authors''. 3rd ed. New York : Barnes & Noble, 1963. xxxiii & 457 p. The Barnes & Noble Outline Series #104. Prof. Wheelock was Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of Toledo at the time of publication. *Wheelock F. M. - ''Wheelock's Latin Grammar''. 4th ed., revised. New York : HarperCollins, 1992. xxvi & 418 p. *Wheelock F. M. and R. A. LaFleur. ''Wheelock's Latin 5th Edition.'' New York: HarperCollins, 1995. xli & 498 p. *Wheelock F. M. and R. A. LaFleur. ''Wheelock's Latin 6th Edition.'' New York: HarperCollins, 2000. l & 510 p. *Wheelock F. M. and R. A. LaFleur. ''Wheelock's Latin 6th Edition, Revised.'' New York: HarperCollins, 2005. xlviii & 512 p. *Wheelock F. M. and R. A. LaFleur. ''Wheelock's Latin 7th Edition (The Wheelock's Latin Series).'' New York: HarperCollins, 2011. xliv + 564 p. {{ISBN, 978-0061997228.

References

External links

Official Websitearchive.org page
Latin textbooks 20th-century Latin books