# Latin/How to study a language on the Internet and in your head

How do you think about languages as you study them? Typically, you will
consider every punctuation mark and letter, all the verbs and nouns,
adverbs and adjectives, and study them in order to make connections.
Ideally, you will have a teacher to point you in the right direction,
and help you make those connections. But when you have no teacher, those
connections are left for you to discover. They may be clear or hidden,
but either way you will have to make them yourself. As you explore this
Wikibook, it will require the skill of critical thinking.

You can never go wrong studying a language if you remember that exposing
yourself to a language, even if you stumble in practice, is itself
learning it. Looking things up too much can sometimes impede progress.
Stretch your memory, read slowly, and re-read. As you will soon
discover, you are about to study a language that is rich and full of
meaning, the ancestor of the Romance languages, such as Spanish, French,
Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian, and an outsized influence on many
other languages besides, including English.

## So do not assume that\...

\...Latin is like any other language. Do not assume ancient Roman
culture is entirely unlike other cultures, however. The Romans grappled
with issues that are universally dealt with.

We, the authors, endorse memorization, and after that, immersion. You
must develop Latin muscles, and a willingness to write or type things
out, or drill using software, or with a friend. Note the patterns after
you have memorized the forms, not before. Allow yourself to be
mesmerized by them. Similarly, seek out explanation only after you have
memorized forms. Memorize forms, then make sentences, then use your
knowledge to speak or to write the language.

## See also

-   How to learn a language

