The Purple Group

The Purple group is coordinated by Meredith Dixon.

For the Purple Group's schedule click here.

WH2007 assignments are due at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, every Tuesday night. Eastern Time is GMT -5 from October to March and GMT -4 from March to October. They should be sent to dixonm@pobox.com, not posted to the list.

Be sure to follow the formatting instructions. This is very important, as the script won't run properly if your assignment is misformatted. I'll post a template for each assignment, and you'll just need to fill in the blanks.

If you miss the deadline, send your collation in anyhow, and if I haven't yet started collating, I'll include your assignment.

In November and December, we'll be slowing down considerably for the holiday season. Also, the weeks of Easter, Memorial Day (the last Monday in May), Independence Day (July 4th) and Labor Day (first Monday in September) are holidays. No assignments will be due on the Tuesdays closest to these dates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Wheelock's 2007 Purple, and why is it purple?

The Purple Group is a collaborative self-study program. It's the Purple Group because many other Latin self-study groups at all levels share space on the LatinStudy list. "Purple" is our group's keyword. If you join us, you'll be teaching yourself Latin over a period of two to three years.

Teaching myself? Does that mean there isn't a teacher?

Sort of. I'll be there to answer your questions, and so will many other experienced Latinists on the LatinStudy list. But I won't be grading your homework. That'll be your job.

How will this work, then?

Each week, you'll send me your assignment. I'll run it through a very useful collation script written by Kirk Lougheed and post everyone's answers to question 1, then everyone's answers to question 2, and so on.

Now, here's the important part of the LatinStudy method. Doing your assignment each week is only half of your work. When you get the collation, you'll need to look at everyone's answers to each question. Almost always, the majority will be right. If the majority or a substantial minority have gone astray, I'll add a note to the collation to point that out.

If your answer is different from the majority's answer, it still could be right, especially since Wheelock's sentences have no surrounding context. Look at it carefully and see if there's any reason it couldn't be right.

If your answer is the same as the majority's, don't rest on your laurels. Look at other people's maverick answers. Are they right, too? If not, why not?

If you're not sure whether an answer is right or not, e-mail me and ask me. I'll do my best to answer all questions promptly, but you may get a faster answer if you post to the LatinStudy list.

But that's ridiculous! Nobody could learn a language that way!

People have, for over a decade now. Many of the group leaders on LatinStudy learned their Latin on LatinStudy. (Disclaimer: I didn't. I have a B.A. in Latin.)

The LatinStudy way isn't right for everyone. Many people feel more at ease having a teacher who grades their work. But it has worked for many other people, and it can work for you.

So how much does it cost?

There's no charge to participate in the group. We aren't into copyright infringement, though, so you'll need to buy your textbook. Our textbook is Wheelock's Latin, 6th edition. You can use either the revised 6th edition or the unrevised 6th edition; revisions were very minor. Brand-new copies of the revised edition are currently selling on Amazon for under $15.00. Used copies can be had for less than $5, but make sure that you're buying a 6th edition. Earlier editions are too different from the 6th.

Can my child participate?

Although the course is intended for adults, teens are welcome. Several teenagers have successfully learned Latin on LatinStudy.

If your child is 12 or under, well, childhood is a wonderful time to learn Latin, but this particular textbook is simply not a good choice for children. Wheelock's was originally written as a college textbook for GI's returning from World War II. Few of its reading selections are of interest to children and some are mildly risque. It has few pictures and small print, and it is likely to bore your youngster to tears.

Can I get academic credit for this?

If you can talk a school or community college into granting you credit for it as an independent-study project, go right ahead. I'll be glad to provide details of your participation in the course to the relevant authorities. LatinStudy itself, however, is completely unaccredited.

Okay, how do I sign up?

LatinStudy hosts over a dozen study groups at all levels, including several beginners' groups, so you'll then need to join the Purple group. That's handled manually. Adults and teens may join simply by sending in their first assignment to me at dixonm@pobox.com.

Children 12 and under may only participate under an adult's active supervision. Ideally, the adult should also be a participant in the group. If that is not possible, then the adult must agree to help the child check his or her work each week. The child's parent or guardian should e-mail me before the child submits his/her first assignment to let me know what supervisory arrangements have been made.

Each group has its own keyword, so if the traffic is too much for you, just concentrate on messages with "Purple" in the subject line. And if you post a message to the list, include the word "Purple" in the subject line so your groupmates will be sure to read it.