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- Thank you creators of Duoling…
Thank you creators of Duolingo Latin!
I would like to thank the creators of Duolingo Latin. I have already started working my way through, and it is so nice to see that my past two years of learning Latin are paying off!
Please join me in thanking them for their hard work.
37 Comments
I was a Latin teacher for several years, and I love Latin. I am excited to see this course available on Duolingo and wish it had been when I was teaching Latin. So far... it has been very frustrating and there are a lot of things missing but I am confident that the same hard work that brought it to life will keep improving it. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed!
1193
Indeed thank you ! I'm a bit tired of the criticism about the pronunciation, some posts are just disrespectful ! Enjoy what you have or find something better somewhere else ...
Yes, thank you guys so much! In some of the forum comments your level of expertise has been unveiled and the English language doesn't have words worthy of expressing the good fortune we've had that people with your qualifications are volunteering their time to bring us this course. And thank you, too -- to the users who are stepping forward and offering their help when it comes to ironing out certain points or reporting problems.
The course is so great! Latin is wonderful and I'm having so much fun learning it. Thanks you guys!
I'm thrilled that Latin is finally available on Duolingo. Thank you! I've been waiting for it for many years. I enjoy myself immensely when I do the lessons.
Although I appreciate the hard work, I MUST mention the pronunciation issues regarding the female reader. I value her input, BUT she speaks Latin in a very thick USA accent.
The problem is that many of us don't have English as a primary language (I'm one of those), therefore it's hard for us to realise if the woman is pronouncing the word the way she does because it's the way it's supposed to sound in classic Latin OR if it's how SHE, as an American, says it. Can you understand the dilemma?
The male narrator has a cleaner, easier to understand speech. He even pronounces the ''double R's''.
If I may be bold to offer a suggestion, take her narration down until she can practice it more and re-record it, if she so desires. Leave just the man's sentences for the time being.
I'm still on the ''Greetings'' sections and sometimes I just can't make out what she says, because her deep American accent gets in the way. Again, I thank her for doing it, but, as a non-English native speaker, I can tell you that her accent can be a bit confusing.
Thanks to team once again!
1193
I must be the only one who doesn't hear this American accent !! (or a German one as mentioned somewhere else) I'm a French speaker and what I can hear is a lot of rrrr and the intonation on some parts of the words that is uncommon in my native language, so for me it's good ! ;) I can only agree with the bad quality of the sound. The Latin pronunciation in this course actually reminds me the one in the Esperanto course, in DL or the one in Memrise; it's the same kind of pronunciation to me .
Are you from Brazil ? So a native Portuguese speaker ? It would be interesting to know the native languages of the people who complain about her american accent . I really can't hear it, it's weird .
Yes. Brazilian: born and raised here, so Portuguese is my mother tongue.
It's interesting that you don't hear the thick American accent by the lady. I don't mean to bash her. I'm thankful for the effort. HOWEVER sometimes it's really hard to make out what she says. The guy, on the other hand, speaks Latin very clearly. The difference between the two is huge.
The impression I get is that he has studied it before, therefore knows the correct pronunciation. She, on the other hand, seems like a beginner to me. Or maybe she doesn't know a bit of Latin and is just pronouncing the words as she's told. She tends to roll her 'R's' at every sentence, even when the words don't need it. A pity. That said, I'm LOVING the course. I've been waiting for it for a long time.
1193
Perhaps I need to wash my ears ;) I was listening to a german dialogue on another website and the american character had a strong american accent, this time it was really obvious to me. Maybe I'm too influenced by the rolling rrr indeed !
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I love the Latin course, but I fully agree with your comment, CesarRioBrasil. I read other comments about the heavy american accent, but cannot find them anymore.
The American accent reminded me of the Doris Day song...: "Kay Say Rah, Say Rah....."
One day, (after studying Latin and Greek for six years, learning many European languages like French, Spanish, German, teaching British English in a Dutch school) I read the lyrics, and noticed ....."Que sera, sera" And I suddenly realized: "Oh my, I NEVER understood this was supposed to be Italian, Spanish or French...."
That is the same feeling I get when I listen to this Latin course. It helps to switch off the sound and focus on the written text ;-) Sorry Team, I know you spent many, many hours on this, and it is great that you created this —apart from the American accent— wonderful course!