Reading Latin and the need for empirical research: A psycholinguistic approach to reading comprehension in Latin

Abstract The idea of reading Latin has been addressed by different teaching methods and theoretical approaches, but it has not been until recently that the reading process in Latin has become an object of empirical investigation. While qualitative research methods can examine the strategies consciously used by learners, experimental studies provide insight into the mental processes during reading. In psycholinguistics, the study of sentence processing forms an important strand of research which is also concerned with non-native processing. The present article discusses how psycholinguistic methodology can be used to investigate how Latin sentences are processed by learners.