LATIN-S 101 | Latin for Sanskritists 

September 10 - November 29, 2024

ENROLLMENT OPTIONS

Course Description

If you have ever completed an introduction to Sanskrit and are interested in learning Latin, this course is for you.

Over twelve weeks, LATIN-S 101 aims to introduce you to all Latin grammar – all forms, their uses, how they are combined to form sentences – so that by the end of the course, you will be able to read Latin texts in the original. These latter two will also be open for anyone who does not have a Sanskrit background.

Simply put, LATIN-S 101 will make use of your Sanskrit knowledge to help you learn Latin. Sanskrit and Latin are related, both being Indo-European languages. But while this relationship exists also between, say, Sanskrit and English, the linguistic parallels we will be making use of are much more clearly visible between Sanskrit and Latin.

Remember the imperfect forms à€…à€­à€°à€źà„ abharam ‘I carried’, à€…à€­à€°à€ƒ abharaáž„ ‘you carried’, à€…à€­à€°à€€à„ abharat ‘he/she/it carried’? And remember that visarga at the end of a word usually represents an earlier -s? Then let us introduce you to the Latin imperfect: ferebam ‘I carried’, ferebas ‘you carried’, ferebat ‘he/she/it carried’.

Remember the Sanskrit verb having a present and a future tense and three past tenses, namely imperfect, perfect and aorist? In Latin, the original perfect and aorist that we still see in Sanskrit have become one tense, called the perfect, and we will see how the forms of this combined tense reflect original perfects and aorists. And because the Latin verb expresses something called ‘aspect’, making a difference between an ongoing and a completed (or ‘perfected’) action, we then get a tense for each aspect at each time level (past, present and future):

 

  continuous action          

completed/perfected action  

  future

future perfect

  present

(present) perfect

  imperfect

past perfect (or ‘pluperfect’)

 

So while the Sanskrit and Latin verbal systems end up looking rather different, understanding how they each developed will let us go from one to the other in just a few simple steps.

With every topic, we will begin by looking at what is identical between the two languages, and will then a) look at how the differences between them developed historically, and b) focus on those aspects where Latin is doing something we do not know from Sanskrit yet. This applies to grammar, but also vocabulary: early on, we will have a session on sound change and etymology, because knowing which Latin sounds correspond to which Sanskrit sounds will make recognising Latin words and word forms much easier. (take the example above: knowing that Latin e corresponds to Sanskrit a and Latin f to Sanskrit bh gives us fer vs. bhar ‘to carry’.)

The course will be taught flexibly: there will be complete sets of electronic flash cards for all elements you might want to memorize, but you will also receive complete overview charts (grammar) and reference lists (vocabulary) so that, should you prefer it you can complete all assignments by systematically looking things up.

Furthermore, course participants will get early access to relevant chapters of the instructor’s forthcoming book Sanskrit for Classicists (to be published with Cambridge University Press).

 

Textbook

In this course we will be utilizing Andrew Keller and Stephanie Russell's Learn to Read Latin (2015; Second Edition). Students are encouraged to find a copy of this text ahead of the course. 

Course Preview

Video Poster Image

Course Structure

  • Two 90-minute live lessons will be held per week on Zoom.

    • Tuesdays and Thursdays 10-11:30am Pacific Time
    • All live sessions will take place via Zoom and will be recorded for later viewing. 

  • Live sessions will address all student questions, go over exercises and readings together, as well as personalize the learning experience with your instructor.

  • Weekly written homework, quizzes to test yourself, as well as a mid-term and a final.

  • The grading will be such that anyone who puts a regular solid effort into the weekly homework will pass; those aiming for a B or an A will also need to perform accordingly on the two exams.

Students Will Receive: 

  • 24 Zoom live class sessions + recordings (90 min)
  • Yogic Studies Certificate upon completion (PDF)
  • Access to the private Community Forum

Dr. Antonia M. Ruppel

Lecturer in Sanskrit

Antonia Ruppel is a Classicist by training who came to Sanskrit through a series of fortunate accidents. She learnt the language as an autodidact, and one of her reasons for writing her textbook, The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit (2017), was to make the experience of studying Sanskrit easier and more pleasant for others. In 2021, she published the follow-up volume, An Introductory Sanskrit Reader: Improving Reading Fluency, designed to help students gain reading fluency in an enjoyable and straightforward way.

Language pedagogy is at the heart of her life. She has been teaching Sanskrit for almost 20 years at universities such as Cornell, Oxford and the LMU in Munich, Germany, as well as offering courses in variety of formats online.

Listen to our interview with Dr. Ruppel on the Yogic Studies Podcast.

"Dr. Ruppel is without a doubt one of the finest teachers I've ever encountered, in any subject. SKT 101 was superbly organized and I'm immensely grateful for the ease of use and especially the recordings which allowed me to attend classes I otherwise could not have done."

— Jeffrey Kahane, Professor of Keyboard Studies, University of Southern California, PhD Student Classics, USC

"This is an exceptionally well written and presented course. Dr. Ruppel has an infectious enthusiasm for the material, and firm command of the subject. Not only will you learn a lot about Sanskrit, but you will also learn a lot about language in general, and will think about your own mother tongue in new ways. She is good at integrating students with various levels of experience in languages, including beginners. I spent a lot of time each week on the course, but I was happy when I worked out each exercise, like a puzzle. If you have ever thought about learning Sanskrit, grab this opportunity."

— Michael Essex, M.D., Vista, CA

"This course was much more than I expected it to be. I was so happy that the content was rich and in-depth. The textbook is packed with information, and there is a ton of resource material to support learning. Dr. Antonia Ruppel is without a doubt one of the best teachers I've ever had. Her passion for Sanskrit is electrifying and contagious. Her support is encouraging. Her ability to convey concepts clearly and precisely is superb. I don't believe that I would have learned so much from this course if it had been taught by anyone other than Dr. Ruppel. And I surely know that I would not have had such an enjoyable learning experience!"

— Kevin Sharpe, Educational Consultant Georgia, USA

"Antonia Ruppel knows how to teach! All the challenges are met with encouragement and positivity. No one is more surprised than me that I am reading, writing and understanding Sanskrit after just 12 weeks! I am grateful for Antonia’s interest and commitment to my success."

— Previous SKT 101 Student

"This course is an excellent and very accessible introduction to Sanskrit. The material is made very 'digestible' by 'bite-sized' chapters with many resources to appeal to varied learning styles - a recorded video for each chapter, community forum, digital flashcards, live class twice a week and a variety of practice exercises. Antonia is amazingly knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, very patient with questions, thoughtful and receptive to requests about the course. I'm thrilled with how much I've learned. I highly recommend this course."

— Audrey Harpe, Yoga practitioner and instructor Hemlock, NY USA

"It is an incredible course! Antonia is one of the most helpful and considerate teachers I have ever had the chance to learn from. Her method and sequencing of materials (in her book) is quite unique and every subject makes more sense each passing week."

— Gülnihal Özdener, Translator / Yoga Instructor, Istanbul Turkey

"Antonia is a professional with a capital P! She is a great linguist. She has patience and a very rare gift of explaining complex things in a digestible way. I learnt a lot and cannot wait to start SKT 102!"

— MaƂgorzata SzczypiƄska, PhD, WrocƂaw, Poland

"Looking back it is amazing to see how much ground we covered in just 12 weeks! Antonia is a great teacher who is always willing to help and explains things very clearly. Her textbook is a marvelous resource. Overall it has been a fun and fulfilling experience."

— Aram Tavitian, Nicosia, Cyprus

"My expectations were exceeded on this 12 week course. Dr. Ruppel is a considerate and mindful teacher, presenting sometimes difficult subject matter in an accessible manner. Looking forward to further Sanskrit courses."

— Lauren, Yoga Teacher, Hawai’i USA

"I expected to drop out after the first or second week but I was inspired by an excellent teacher in Dr. Antonia Ruppel. Each week I had my doubts as we began a new chapter but somehow Dr. Ruppel made challenging concepts understandable and I was able to learn a great deal in this course. If you want to learn Sanskrit, this is the course to take!"

— Sandy Kobayashi, Honolulu, HI

Enrollment is now closed. 

Regular Tuition

$375

One-Time Payment

  • Lifetime access to LATIN-S 101

Regular Tuition

$125 x 3

Three Monthly Payments

  • Lifetime access to LATIN-S 101