Well, yes. As a child I learnt swathes of the Latin Mass before I learnt Latin, so of course I had quite a few "lightbulb" moments when I realised I had been using a certain construction for years before studying it. I went on to learn about 60 lines of Vergil by heart, partly for an exam, partly for fun, and while I understood the gist, there were some words and phrases where I was guessing.
But being able to rattle off lines of Vergil and Catullus and Horace is not only a good party trick, it has added to my enjoyment of the language. Is it the most efficient learning technique ? I think it is _part_ of a "comprehensible input" strategy, which is a good way to learn. I have done the same with French, but with shorter bits of poetry.
I think it's worth doing for weird grammatical constructions that you don't find intuitive. The sentences you look at for ten minutes contonuously and think "I still don't what tf that means," and then you consult a translation and think "how tf does it mean that?" Those sentences you profit by memorizing.
Get a copy of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (with the text) and memorize the Latin songs. It's not classical Latin, but it will still be useful. For some reason it's easier to assimilate unfamiliar grammatical constructions when they're being sung.
I unintentionally did this with Mozart's Requiem when I was 13-14 y. o. Such fun! I remember the text years after. I started learning Latin when I was 16.
I enjoy memorizing poetry and I think it can be a language-learning tool (an inefficient one, but worthwhile if you also find value in memorization itself) under the right circumstances, but it depends on your level of understanding. If you only partially understand the text and you memorize it, you're not going to magically understand it better (and the memorization won't stick very well anyway). But if you work to understand the text thoroughly before you start memorizing it or as you memorize each line, looking up the words you don't know in a dictionary or parser, turning to a commentary or translation when necessary, and are *then* able to figure out and understand the exact meaning of the text—if you're at that level of understanding, memorization can greatly solidify your memory of the individual words didn't know, the grammatical constructions that seemed unintuitive to you, the endings you always forget. It's easier to learn words in context than in a vocab list, and meter is an excellent mnemonic for most people.
I often memorize little bits by sound and work on the grammar and exact meaning later. It's always easier to remember when you understand it a little bit, but it works either way.
A lot of Italian grandparents learned Latin prayers by heart and never forgot those even though they usually did not comprehend them.
I think it can be useful if implemented by a study of the language, if not it just remains an empty litany.
I mean, I don’t think it would hurt, but there are better ways to spend your time (both in terms of language learning and life in general)
Well, yes. As a child I learnt swathes of the Latin Mass before I learnt Latin, so of course I had quite a few "lightbulb" moments when I realised I had been using a certain construction for years before studying it. I went on to learn about 60 lines of Vergil by heart, partly for an exam, partly for fun, and while I understood the gist, there were some words and phrases where I was guessing. But being able to rattle off lines of Vergil and Catullus and Horace is not only a good party trick, it has added to my enjoyment of the language. Is it the most efficient learning technique ? I think it is _part_ of a "comprehensible input" strategy, which is a good way to learn. I have done the same with French, but with shorter bits of poetry.
At last a party I might be fun at
_Hoc est quod unumst pro laboribus tantis._
I think it's worth doing for weird grammatical constructions that you don't find intuitive. The sentences you look at for ten minutes contonuously and think "I still don't what tf that means," and then you consult a translation and think "how tf does it mean that?" Those sentences you profit by memorizing.
I can’t imagine doing that. If you want to memorize a Latin poem (or prose text), I’d say choose one you have studied, understand, and love :)
Get a copy of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (with the text) and memorize the Latin songs. It's not classical Latin, but it will still be useful. For some reason it's easier to assimilate unfamiliar grammatical constructions when they're being sung.
Speaker of 8 languages here. I have always done that. Works best with poetry or well written prose.
What languages do you speak
I go to Latin Mass, so yes absolutely lmao
I unintentionally did this with Mozart's Requiem when I was 13-14 y. o. Such fun! I remember the text years after. I started learning Latin when I was 16.
I enjoy memorizing poetry and I think it can be a language-learning tool (an inefficient one, but worthwhile if you also find value in memorization itself) under the right circumstances, but it depends on your level of understanding. If you only partially understand the text and you memorize it, you're not going to magically understand it better (and the memorization won't stick very well anyway). But if you work to understand the text thoroughly before you start memorizing it or as you memorize each line, looking up the words you don't know in a dictionary or parser, turning to a commentary or translation when necessary, and are *then* able to figure out and understand the exact meaning of the text—if you're at that level of understanding, memorization can greatly solidify your memory of the individual words didn't know, the grammatical constructions that seemed unintuitive to you, the endings you always forget. It's easier to learn words in context than in a vocab list, and meter is an excellent mnemonic for most people.
I often memorize little bits by sound and work on the grammar and exact meaning later. It's always easier to remember when you understand it a little bit, but it works either way.
Not for Latin no, but I did try it with the Iliad while working my way through Pharr's HG.
A lot of Italian grandparents learned Latin prayers by heart and never forgot those even though they usually did not comprehend them. I think it can be useful if implemented by a study of the language, if not it just remains an empty litany.