Introduction
So, you've studied your Latin grammar constructions for months on end, learnt your set text down to the punctuation but you go to open your first practice paper and you freeze! How on earth do you put all your knowledge together to translate this bunch of nonsense? Don't worry, we can help you with 7 simple tips.
We've taken this passage from the 2018 OCR Latin language paper. Passage 3:
Against all the odds, Horatius single-handedly achieves victory for the Romans and returns to Rome as a hero.
Horatius, quamquam sciebat se cum omnibus Albanis simul pugnare non posse, de vita sua numquam desperabat. cum vidisset tres hostes vulnera dira passos esse, statim intellexit quid facere deberet. ‘si quam celerrime fugiam,’ sibi dixit, ‘spero Albanos me sequi conaturos esse. tum eos singillatim occidere potero, quod vulneribus confecti vires non iam habent.’ mox duo Albani ab Horatio oppugnati in terra mortui iacebant. interea Horatius oculos vertit in unum, qui vivebat. ‘tu quoque gladio meo morieris!’ exclamavit saeve ridens. hostibus ita victis, Tullus ceterique Romani Horatium Romam nunc regressum laudaverunt. nam unus vir consilio audacissimo urbem Romam servare potuerat.
Names
Horatius, Horatii (m) Horatius
Albani, Albanorum (m pl) the Albans (a tribe who lived south of Rome)
Tullus, Tulli (m) Tullus
Vocabulary
despero, desperare, desperavi, desperatus I despair
singillatim one by one, individually
vires, virium (f pl) strength
oculus, oculi (m) eye
1. READ THE ENGLISH AT THE TOP
In this passage, this would be the sentence "Against all the odds, Horatius single-handedly achieves victory for the Romans and returns to Rome as a hero". Not only is this a simple thing to do, since it is in English and requires no translation, but it can often help to reveal certain spoilers in the storyline which tell you if your translation is going completely wrong. For example, Horatius is said to achieve victory here, so if you then translated that he lost his mission, then this would be wrong. Reading this short sentence is the biggest help the exam is going to give you, so take advantage of it!
2. READ THE LATIN (ALOUD)
If you are in an exam hall, admittedly this may have be to more of an under-the-breath mutter, but reading the Latin allows you to get a gist of the passage and start thinking about the words you don't know in the back of your mind. This may sound silly, but this is one of the key things that helps with translation.
3. FIND THE VERB IN EACH SENTENCE AND UNDERLINE IT
In each sentence, analyse the verb straight away in the sentence- this will force you to analyse that main clause, the sub-clauses and the cases. Take the verb in a sentence and PARS it (find the:
1. The principal parts.
2. Whether it is transitive or intransitive. (meaning does it take an object)
3. The voice. (active or passive)
4. The mode.
5. The tense.
6. The person.
7. The number.
8. The subject with which it agrees.)
eg. in the sentence 'cum vidisset tres hostes vulnera dira passos esse, statim intellexit quid facere deberet'.
the verbs are 'vidisset', 'passos esse', 'intellexit', 'facere' and 'deberet'
We can see that the only indicative verb is 'intellexit' and so the main sentence is 'statim intellexit quid' (He immediately understood) whereas 'vidisset' and 'deberet' are in the subjunctive, so they are in sub-clauses and 'facere' is in the indicative.
4. ANALYSE THE CASES
Analyse the case of every noun to avoid any mistake and to ensure you fully encapsulate the meaning of the passage and avoid any silly mistakes.
5. CROSS OUT EVERY WORD
This tip is VITAL! When you are finished your passage and are checking through it, cross off every word (with a pencil) as you translate it to make sure that you do not lose any marks from missing out words.
6. AESTHETIC OF WRITING
Make sure you are writing your work out neatly, and on alternate lines. Taking pride in your work will not only give the examiner and easier time marking it, and put them in a better frame of mind and will also verify that you pay more attention to your work.
7. DON'T BE STUPID
Even if you don't know a word, or can't analyse a certain verb, use derivations to try to deduce a meaning or take an educated guess using your own knowledge or the context of the story. If you are extremely hung up on one word and cannot move past it, use a substitute word that makes sense, and continue until you are finished then come back to it.
And now, some Latin memes
Good luck to all of next years students and until next time,
Viola and Zoe