Tips for Translating Latin Stories

Basic Latin Stories

• Latin Stories are, obviously, stories written in the Latin language 
• To translate them is challenging, but hopefully this guide will help
• I will show you what to look for and some helpful hints along the way
• The rules of English work well with translating Latin most of the time

What To Look For

• First, the title of the story may help give you an idea of the plot
• Then, as you see the first sentence, look for words you know
• If you don't know some of the words, use a Latin dictionary 
• Always be sure to ask your teacher as well

How to Coherently Translate

• Make the sentence logical
• For example, if you have a sentence like:
• Agricola equum ducet aquam
• You wouldn't translate it as:
• The horse leads the farmer to water

How to coherently translate Cont'd

• You would translate it as:
• The farmer leads the horse to water
• A lot of problems arise from improper translations
• Remember, coherence is everything when translating

Some things to Look for

• Look for obvious Latin constructions
• Who is doing the Action?
• Is it singular or plural?
• What Voice is it in?
• Are there any words to tell you it is a specific sentence?

Things to look for Continued

• If there is ut, ne, cum, or accusatives, then it is a subjunctive sentence
• Also, when is it taking place?
• Is there more than one person doing the action?
• How is it being performed: 
• Those sentences will have a specific word or phrase in them

More info

• Don't be afraid to ask questions
• Share the work equally with group members, translating is quicker that way
• Make sure every sentence is logical and coherent 
• If you can't figure it out, put what you have down on paper:
• It may come to you later