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Language Learning Resources: Classics

Language Learning Resources at Willamette University

Welcome to the Classics Page! Here you will find every antiquity your heart desires!

There are resources for every classical language offered here at Willamette University, along with enthusiastic staffers who will help you find solutions for Ancient Greek, Ancient Hebrew, and even Latin language problems. At the Digital Learning Studio (DLS), the Classics stand among the modern romance languages in every respect.

The DLS offers various software programs such as Rosetta Stone, Bibleworks and Gramma for your independent language learning.

Bring some friends and come over to the Digital Learning Studio (Ford 101) to check out our new Classics board games!

Classics Resources

Art and Architecture

  • The Beazley Archive Illustrated essays on the major styles and periods in Greek pottery and sculpture. The site includes and online dictionary of terms and offers two searchable databases. (This is the research unit of the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford).

  • Stanford Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project A project that digitally reconstructs an ancient marble map of the city of Rome

Entertainment

  • Aoidoi.org This site is dedicated to the study of ancient Greek poetry from the Epics to Anacreontics. It offers pdf-files of many ancient Greek poems with vocabulary, grammar and dialect notes for beginners.

  • Didaskalia Didaskalia is an online scholarly journal about Greek and Roman drama, dance, and music as they are performed today. Its Study Area offers wonderful resources, accessible for non-Classicists, for the study of ancient theater.

Miscellaneous

  • Andrew Wilson's Classics Page Well over 1,000 pages of news, information, games and controversy about the life, literature, art and archaeology of the ancient world of Greece and Rome.

  • Bellum Catilinae This is a privately supported, non-judgmental listing of sites relating to the Classics. It offers links to, e.g., ancient recipes, Greek and Latin palaeography, Classics lists and chat rooms, reenactors, etc.

  • Electronic Resources for Classicists: The Second Generation This is a super link to all kinds of online information of interest to Classicists

  • Pompei A Spanish-English site offering images of many famous Roman sites such as Rome, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Oplontis, Stabia, Ostia as well as images of items kept in museums.

  • Modern Latin Words Collection of numerous Latin dictionaries and their take on modern words

  • VRoma: A Virtual Community for Teaching and Learning Classics Contents include a large archive of digital, freely usable images relating to classical antiquity and a "guided tour" through ancient Rome

Internal Resources at WU

External Resources

Latin

Greek

Hebrew

LATINA 4.0

Includes drills for the four major parts of speech:

  • Nouns: 10 declension types (5 declensions with gender & i-stem variations)
  • Pronouns: personal, reflexive, interrogative, relative, intensive, demonstrative
  • Adjectives: first and second declension, third declension, irregular
  • Verbs: all forms of indicative and subjunctive moods for regular verbs and select irregular verbs (fero, sum, eo, possum, volo)

REFERENCE SECTION (grammar explanations)

  • Nouns & Pronouns
  • Case & Function
  • Gender & Number
  • Adjectives & Adverbs
  • Declensions & Conjugations
  • Verbs: An Introduction
  • Tenses: Past, Present & Future
  • Moods & Other Verb Form Types
  • Voices: Active & Passive
  • Person & Number

Paradigm charts structured in traditional format. Sample vocabulary words for drills are presented in full dictionary listing form with meaning (and chapter number for text versions).

RECORD-KEEPING

Facility allows for optional recording and printing of scores for accountability. (http://www.centaursystems.com/)

GRAMMA 4.0

Gramma is a set of handy drills for those studying the Ancient Greek language. It is pre-loaded with vocabulary from Athenaze (Oxford University Press), Reading Greek (Cambridge University Press), A New Introduction to Greek (Harvard University Press), Groton 's From Alpha to Omega (Focus), and Hansen & Quinn's Greek: An Intensive Course.

The package includes three sections. First, there is a vocabulary drill which allows the user to set several useful parameters before starting a drill: the word list range, number of items per drill, percentage of items presented in English or Greek. If drilling English to Greek, you can request that the program note missing diacriticals . When working from Greek to English, if the answer is not an exact match, the program will present the full definition and allow the user to give herself credit if she believes her answer is close enough. A running record is kept so that future drilling can concentrate on demonstrated weaknesses.

The second section drills virtually all the inflected forms of substantives ( nouns, pronouns, and adjectives ). The main option is whether to parse forms that are presented or create forms that fit a set of given, grammatical specifications. The vocabulary can be chosen either by chapter (for Athenaze users) or by checking off individual words (from the complete Athenaze list). The third section works much the same way for verbs. (http://www.centaursystems.com/)

BIBLICAL HEBREW

Biblical Hebrew brings together all of the elements necessary for self study at your own pace. It helps you to learn Hebrew while studying 26 unaltered Biblical texts of increasing length and complexity. It includes supplemental information related to the texts studied, including a general introduction to each group of verses, discussion of the history of the language, presentation of the Biblical entities cited, and a Biblical atlas.

Features Included:

  • Biblical History and Geography: provides background information about Biblical geography, history and culture; has a Biblical atlas, descriptions of leading Biblical figures, summaries of the books of the Bible, and more
  • Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary: instant translation of all words that appear in the text
  • Dictionary: Hebrew-English dictionary contains over 1000 words
  • Comprehensive Exercises: complete set of grammar and language lessons for each unit
  • Audio dictionary
  • Interactive exercises
  • Comprehensive grammar tutorial

BIBLE (TANACH) AUDIO

The Law, the Prophets and the Writings are available on 4 CDs in MP3 format, narrated by Shlomo Bertonov.

The Hebrew Bible reading tutorial CD is available as well, narrated by Uri Harel.

  • A great tool for practicing reading Hebrew
  • A wonderful narration for meditation
  • Crystal clear sound quality
  • Proper Hebrew accent narrated by an native Israeli
  • Professional diction and emphasis of words and syllables
  • 2 speed reading in one CD
  • A real taste of Biblical Hebrew
Willamette University

Willamette University Libraries

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