COMPUTER SCIENCE FOR LATIN

The COMPUTER SCIENCE FOR LATIN course falls within the "Core educational activities" of the study plan of the Master's Degree Programmes in Ancient Civilisations: Literature, History and Archaeology and in Italian Philology, Linguistics and Literature (Medieval and Renaissance program) and within the “Additional educational activities” of the Master’s Degree in Italian Philology, Linguistics and Literature (European and Contemporary program). The aim of the course is to provide sufficient user knowledge, as well as to deepen any existing user knowledge, of digital-informatics tools and databases that significantly facilitate the study, analysis and research of various aspects, features and varieties of the Latin language.

The outcome of the training activity is the acquisition by the students of detailed knowledge of computer tools or digital databases which, when applied to the analysis of a specific text corpus, can help to improve the knowledge and linguistic research of the varieties of Latin. In this way, students will acquire both the necessary user skills to use digital Latin dictionaries, digital Latin text databases and more complex database software to support Latin linguistic research, and the necessary linguistic-analytical experience to interpret texts representing different varieties of Latin. This will significantly strengthen students' awareness of digital Latin linguistics and their knowledge of texts representing the different varieties of Latin.

Students with no prior knowledge of Latin should contact the teacher; they may attend the course and will have free access to the exam. Students who have already earned 12 CFU in Latin, regardless of their previous academic background, must certify their linguistic proficiency through the following procedures:

1) Students enrolled in a Master's degree at Ca' Foscari from the 2025–2026 academic year onwards
For these students, access to the examination is conditional on passing the TEST associated with the Metrica e traduzione course (https://www.unive.it/data/insegnamento/582675 ).
As part of all advanced Latin examinations at Ca' Foscari, this preliminary test is designed to assess the minimum linguistic competence required for advanced Latin studies. The test result (on a 30-point scale) will contribute to the final assessment of the Master's degree examinations, as specified in each course syllabus.

2) Students enrolled in a Master's degree at Ca' Foscari up to the 2024–2025 academic year
For these students, certification of intermediate-level Latin competence remains compulsory and must be obtained by passing the Test di latino 2, which is linked to the Laboratorio di latino 2.
NB: for students enrolled up to the 2024–2025 academic year, the final test session under the previous arrangements will take place in January 2026. After this date, all students wishing to take the exam must follow the procedures outlined on this page.

NB: Course attendance is possible also for students who have not yet taken the test.

The test can be taken on multiple dates throughout the academic year (further information available at this https://www.unive.it/data/insegnamento/582675 ). However, it is strongly recommended that students take the test in the earliest available session in September, before the start of the didactic period.
Students who do not pass the test will have the opportunity to attend the Metrica e traduzione course (https://www.unive.it/data/insegnamento/582675 ), which replaces the previous Laboratorio di latino 2. This course is designed to support the enhancement of students' language skills and is scheduled for the first semester.

Throughout the course, students will interactively learn about the most important digital databases that support the study of Latin: at the word level, they will learn about Latin dictionary databases (e.g. ThLL, DLD etc.), at the text level, they will learn about Latin text databases (e.g. LLT, BTL, PHI LT, MQDQ etc.), and at the level of linguistic analysis, they will learn about the most important linguistic-analytical databases (e.g. LILA, LASLA OP, AGLDT etc.), with particular reference to databases supporting research on varieties of Latin (e.g. LLDB, CLaSSES etc.). Using all these digital tools in practice, students will read and interpret texts representing different varieties of Latin from different periods.

Readings in original language (Latin):
1) List of texts translated and commented during the course: Adams 2016: no. 6 (p 107ff), no. 13 (p 197ff), no. 14 (p 202ff), no. 15 (210ff), no. 16 (p 221ff), no. 19 (p 247ff), no. 20 (p 253ff), no. 21 (p 256ff), no. 22 (p 265ff), no. 24 (p 289ff), no. 25 (p 293ff), no. 26 (p 307ff), no. 28 (p 354ff), no. 32 (p 398.ff), no. 33 (p 403ff), no. 34 (p 409ff), no. 35 (p 413ff), no. 36 (p 418ff), n. 41 (p 485ss), no. 46 (p 565ff), no. 49 (598ff).
2) home readings 1: Kramer 2007: no. 1 (p 39ff), no. 2 (p 47ff), no. 4 (p 75ff), no. 5 (p 89ff), no. 6 (p 105ff), no. 7 (p 115ff), no. 8 (p 121ff), no. 9 (p 127), no. 10 (p 137).
3) home readings 2: Rohlfs 19693: no. III (p 5ff), no. IV (p 10f), no. V (p 11ff), no. XV (p 28f), no. XXIV (p 42f); Iliescu – Slusanski 1991: no. II (p 17-47), no. X (p 103ff), no. XX c. (p 174ff).

Bibliography:
Adams, J. N. An Anthology of Informal Latin, 200 BC – AD 900. Cambridge 2016.
Alvoni, G., Scienze dell’antichità per via informatica. Banche dati, Internet e risorse elettroniche nello studio dell’antichità classica. Bologna 2002.
Iliescu, M. – Slusanski, D., Du latin aux langues romanes. Choix de textes traduits et commentés (du II2 siècle avant J.C. jusqu’au Xe siècle après J.C.). Wilhelmsfeld 1991.
Kramer, J., Vulgärlateinische Alltagsdokumente auf Papyri, Ostraka, Täfelchen und Inschriften. Berlin 2007.
McGillivray, B., Methods in Latin Computational Linguistics. Brill, Leiden – Boston 2014.
Monella, P., Metodi digitali per l’insegnamento classico e umanistico. Milano 2020.
Rohlfs, G., Sermo Vulgaris Latinus. Vulgärlateinisches Lesebuch. Tübingen 1969.

Databases:
AGLDT = The Ancient Greek and Latin Dependency Treebank (http://perseusdl.github.io/treebank_data/ )
BTL = Bibliotheca Teubneriana Latina Online (https://www.degruyter.com/database/btl/html ),
CLaSSES = Corpus for Latin Sociolinguistic Studies on Epigraphic textS (https://classes-latin-linguistics.fileli.unipi.it/en )
DLD = Database of Latin Dictionaries (https://about.brepolis.net/database-of-latin-dictionaries-2/ )
LASLA OP = Laboratoire d’Analyse Statistique des Langues Anciennes Opera Latina (https://lasladb.uliege.be/OperaLatina/ )
LILA = LiLa: Linking Latin, Building a Knowledge Base of Linguistic Resources for Latin (https://lila-erc.eu/
LLDB = Computerized Historical Linguistic Database of the Latin Inscriptions of the Imperial Age (https://lldb.elte.hu/ )
LLT = Library of Latin Texts (https://about.brepolis.net/library-of-latin-texts/ )
MQDQ = Musisque Deoque A digital archive of Latin poetry (https://www.mqdq.it/public/ )
PHI CLT = Packard Humanities Institute Classical Latin Texts (https://latin.packhum.org/ )
ThLL = Thesaurus linguae Latinae (https://tll.degruyter.com/ )

The assessment of learning is done through a written test in which students must demonstrate their knowledge of digital databases for the study and research of Latin and their ability to use them to analyse specific Latin texts. They will also have to demonstrate, in the test, their ability to translate (into English or Italian) and provide linguistic commentary (in English or Italian) on one or more of the original Latin texts listed in the previous section.

written

If the Computer Science of Latin exam is the first master's-level exam taken by the students, for those who are completing the required CFU for teaching qualification the final evaluation will take into account the result of the master's-level Latin test (when required), graded on a 30-point scale, which must be passed prior to the exam session. Otherwise, the result will considered only the Computer Science of Latin examination, as follows.
In the written test, 10 points are awarded for the test part (5 questions) and a total of 20 points for the translation (10 points) and linguistic commentary (10 points) of the selected passages, giving a total of 30 points. The minimum score (18/30) is obtained by answering at least half of the questions correctly and obtaining a total of 6 points, while at the same time obtaining at least 6 points for at least two thirds of the passages translated correctly and at least 6 points for at least two thirds of the passages commented on linguistically. A good score (24/30) is obtained by answering at least three quarters of the questions correctly for a total of 8 points, by translating at least three quarters of the passages correctly for a total of 8 points, and by commenting at least three quarters of the passages linguistically correctly for a total of 8 points. The maximum score (30/30) is obtained by correctly answering each of the test questions and scoring a total of 10 points, while at the same time translating the passages completely correctly and commenting on the passages linguistically completely correctly, also scoring 10 points.

A traditional class based mainly on the presentation and use of selected databases, with an introduction to the related research tools and methods, in relation to the linguistic analysis of selected Latin texts. During the lessons, students will learn to use the databases in an interactive way, linked to the linguistic analysis of specific Latin texts.