13275 - Latin Language (1) (S-Z)

Learning outcomes

Knowledge to be obtained by the end of the course 1) the student knows elements of phonetics of the Latin language 2) he knows morphology, syntax and basic vocabulary of the Latin language 3) he knows some basic elements of the history of the Latin language aimed to provide a full understanding of the main morphological structures. Skills to be obtained by the end of the course: 1) the student can pronounce the Latin language correctly 2) he can recognize and describe the main morphosyntatic structures 3) he can decline nouns, pronouns, adjectives and conjugate verbs correctly 4) he can translate and analyze previously seen texts.

Course contents

 I. SPECIAL FOCUS COURSE

Divine loves and metamorphoses: Apollo and Daphne, Jupiter and Io. Ovid, Metamorphoses, I 450-750. The incipit of the poem (Met. I 1-4) will also be read.

 

II. CORE COURSE

Latin Language: phonetics, morphology, vocabulary, syntax.

 

III. AUTHORS

Reading of Cornelius Nepos, De viris illustribus (Praefatio and Vita Attici).

 

IV. CRITICAL ESSAYS

See Bibliography.

 

THE COURSE STARTS ON MONDAY 10 FEBRUARY

 

IMPORTANT:

• Non-attending students are required to study M. Fruyt, Word-Formation in Classical Latin, in A companion to the Latin language, edited by James Clackson, Maiden (MA)-Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, pp. 157-175 (available on Virtuale, among the teaching materials).
  

• Students who choose the course as a single exam or outside the choices in the course syllabus are required to contact the teacher BEFORE making their choice final.

• Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities are invited to get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the teacher in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

 

SEMINARS

First semester

• Basic-level seminars (mandatory for OFA students).

Second semester 

• Online classes on Basic Latin Syntax by dr Chiara Valenzano, on Tuesday 1-2:30 pm (first lesson 18 February).

• Online classes on Cornelius Nepos De viris illustribus (Praefatio and Vita Attici) by dr Michele Castaldo, on Thursday, 5-6:30 pm (first lesson 20 February).

Virtual room for both classes here

 

Readings/Bibliography

I. SPECIAL FOCUS COURSE

Texts:

• Ovidio, Metamorfosi, volume I (libri I-II), a cura di A. Barchiesi, testo critico basato sull'edizione oxoniense di R. Tarrant, traduzione di L. Koch, Milano, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla - Mondadori, 2005.
• A. Barchiesi - G. Rosati (ed.), A Commentary on Ovid's Metamorphoses, Volume I: General Introduction and Books 1-6, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2024.
• English editions may be used only for the translation.
  

 

II. CORE COURSE

• I. Dionigi – E. Riganti – L. Morisi, Il latino, Bari, Laterza 2011, or Verba et res. Morfosintassi e lessico del latino, 2 voll., Bari, Laterza, 1999.
• A. Traina – G. Bernardi Perini, Propedeutica al latino universitario, Bologna, Pàtron, 1995, chapters I-VI (on peculiar aspects of phonetics, morphology and syntax).
• As an alternative for English students, Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar, Ginn & Company, Boston-NY-Chicago, 1903 (both for syntax and morphology).
  

 

III. AUTHORS

• Cornelius Nepos, De viris illustribus: as for Praefatio and Vita Attici are concerned, a translation into Italian, with commentary on grammar will be available among the teaching material.

 

IV. CRITICAL ESSAYS

Students are required to read one critical essay chosen from the following:

• A. Barchiesi, Per una lettura delle Metamorfosi di Ovidio, in F. Citti - L. Pasetti - D. Pellacani (a cura di), Metamorfosi tra scienza e letteratura, Firenze 2014, pp. 123-135.
• A. Chahoud, I vizi di Ovidio: variabili morfosintattiche ed effetti stilistici, in L. Nicolini - A. Bonandini (edd.), Omnia mutantur. Nuove letture sul lessico e lo stile di Ovidio, Genova 2019, pp. 17-34.
• J. Farrell, The Ovidian corpus: poetic body and poetic text, in Ph. Hardie - A. Barchiesi - S. Hinds (ed.), Ovidian Transformations. Essays on Ovid's Metamorphoses and its Reception, Cambridge 1991, pp. 127-141.
• E.J. Kenney, Ovid's Language and Style, in B. Weiden Boyd (ed.), Brill's Companion to Ovid, Leiden-Boston 2002, pp. 27-89.
• G. Rosati, Gli amori degli dei nelle Metamorfosi, in M. C. Alvarez - R. M. Iglesias, Y el mito se hizo poesía, Madrid 2012, pp. 197-209.
• G. Rosati, Il desiderio mimetico, o amare come un dio, in Id., Ovidio e il teatro del piacere. Il corpo, lo sguardo, il desiderio, Roma 2022, pp. 93-117.
• C. Segal, L'arte narrativa delle Metamorfosi, in Id., Ovidio e la poesia del mito. Saggi sulle Metamorfosi, tr. it. Venezia 1991, pp. 38-49.

Teaching methods

For the special focus course, lectures by the teacher with reading, morphological and syntactical analysis and commentary on the text. For seminars, interactive lessons with exercising and tests for the students.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of two parts:

• A written multiple choice Latin test, performed on the computer, concerning morphology and elements of syntax. IMPORTANT: The written test is mandatory and must be passed before the oral exam of Lingua Latina. A negative mark prevents from accessing to the viva voce examination. The text consists of 25 questions in 30 minutes. The test is passed with a minimum mark of 15/25. The validity of the test is 6 months.
• A viva voce examination: the students will be tested in Latin phonetics, morphology and syntax through the reading and translation of the Latin texts dealt with in class and listed in the programme.
• It is possible to divide the oral examination into two parts ('istituzionale' and 'monografico'), which can be taken on separate dates. Once you have passed the institutional part, you can take the monographic part within the next two calls (e.g. you pass the institutional part in September, and you can take the monographic part in the October or November calls). Important: If the validity of the written test expires after you have passed the institutional, you do not need to re-sit the test to take the monograph.

Assessment guidelines:

- failing grades: lack of basic linguistic knowledge (phonetics, morphology, basic syntax) and inability to produce a correct translation and a correct interpretation of the texts.

- passing grades: proficiency in the basic linguistic skills; translation and interpretation of texts mostly correct, but inaccurate and lacking in autonomy.

- positive grades: language proficiency at an intermediate level; translation and interpretation of the texts fully correct, but not always accurate and autonomous.

- excellent grades: language proficiency at an upper-mid level; translation and interpretation of the texts not only correct but performed with autonomy and precision.

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the teacher, who will assess their appropriateness in relation to the teaching objectives.

 

Teaching tools

• Teaching materials (e.g. slides, pdfs, available on Virtuale).
• Online seminars (see course content) introducing to the bases of the Latin language (phonetics, morphology and syntax) and to the texts that are part of the programme.
• Video-lessons of Latin available here

Office hours

See the website of Tommaso Ricchieri