Sunday, September 27, 2009

Latin

For Latin I've been using Ecce Romani.

It's a pretty fancy looking book in heaps of volumes and judging by the groups on facebook, it's used in many schools in the US. I'd like to critcise it but I won't. I just haven't worked through enough of it. And I think I'm just annoyed by the fact that there's no translation of the reading passage which might be to do with the fact that it's meant to be used in schools. Though I am surprised that with such a popular book, no one's posted translations of the reading passages on the net.

I'm also a bit perplexed about the sentence:

Ego sum laetus quod Rōmam īre volō.

I am happy because I want to go to Rome.

If my translation is correct then to me it seems to be a bit of a non sequitur. And I find that sort of thing really annoying in grammar books. It would be ok if the phrase were translated in the book, but if you have to work it out yourself, you translate it, then think: hmmm, that can't be right, it doesn't really make sense...

Perhaps my understanding of the Latin is wrong? Perhaps the sentence makes sense in context? I just wish I'd picked a different text to use.