ENCORE: Translations of ancient Latin give unique insights into Roman culture

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If you ever sat through Latin lessons in school, you might be inclined to believe there's no such thing as an "easy way" to learn the ancient language. Recently translated ancient texts would seem to suggest that that's been the case for centuries.

Carpe diem with these Latin insults:

• Your master will hear about this if he encounters me!
• Are you insulting me, scoundrel? May you be crucified!
• Why? Because I am a free-born man, and you are a useless slave.

Eleanor Dickey is a classics professor at the University of Reading in England, and is first to translate centuries-old Latin-as-a-second-language teaching materials into English. She joined The Current's Laura Lynch to explain how the ancients learned Latin and what it reveals about Roman civilization that influences our world today.     

Dickey is the author of Learning Latin the Ancient Way: Latin Textbooks from the Ancient World. (Follow the link to download the text.)

Are you struggling to learn Latin? Share your experience.

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Listen to the full conversation at the top of this post.

This segment was produced by The Current's Julian Uzielli.