13275 - Latin Language (1) (R-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

Water metamorphoses (Galatea, Polyphemus and Acis, Glaucus and Scylla): Ovid, Metamorphoses, XIII 719-968; XIV 1-74. 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.

 

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.

 

SEMINARS

First semester

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

Second semester

- Online classes on Cornelius Nepos De viris illustribus (Praefatio and Vita Attici): further information and timetable will be communicated before the start of the course.

- Online classes on Basic Latin Syntax: further information and timetable will be communicated before the start of the course.

 

Readings/Bibliography

I. SPECIAL FOCUS COURSE

Texts:

• Ovidio, Metamorfosi, volume VI (libri XIII-XIV), a cura di Ph. Hardie, testo critico basato sull'edizione oxoniense di R. Tarrant, traduzione di G. Chiarini, Milano, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla - Mondadori, 2015.
• 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:

• L. Aresi, Vicende (e intrecci) del mito in terra d’Italia: Scilla, Glauco e Circe nelle Metamorfosi di Ovidio, «Prometheus» 39, 2013, pp. 137-164.
  
• S. Briguglio, Nec sum adeo informis. Il Polifemo di Ovidio tra epica ed elegia, in Crisi. Immagini, interpretazioni e reazioni nel mondo greco, latino e bizantino, Atti del convegno internazionale dottorandi e giovani ricercatori, Torino 21-23 ottobre 2013, Alessandria 2015, pp. 281-290.
• J. Farrell, Dialogue of genres in Ovid’s “lovesong of Polyphemus” (Metamorphoses 13.719-897), «American Journal of Philology» 113, 1992, pp. 235-268.
• G. Maselli, Fra mitopoiesi e narrazione: Galatea, Polifemo e Acis (Ov. met. 13, 737-897), «Invigilata Lucernis» 41, 2019, pp. 161-172.
• 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.
• E.J. Kenney, Ovid's Language and Style, in B. Weiden Boyd (ed.), Brill's Companion to Ovid, Leiden-Boston 2002, pp. 27-89.
  

 

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 validity of the test is 6 months. The test is passed with 18/30.

- 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.

- The exam cannot be divided into parts.

 

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.

 

Teaching tools

1. Online teaching materials (e.g. slides, available online).

2. 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.

3. Video-lessons of Latin: https://virtuale.unibo.it/course/view.php?id=34645

Office hours

See the website of Tommaso Ricchieri