Should Latin Continue to be Studied?
“Veni, Vidi, Vici” Can you translate this? If not, you’ve probably never stepped foot into a Latin classroom before …
I’ve taken Latin throughout the past four years of high school. After spending my entire high school career focused on one language, I reflect and wonder if I made the right decision in my classical career. To say deciding to take Latin was difficult, would be lying. To be completely honest, I chose to take the course because I didn’t want to buy new textbooks. At the time, my sister and I were attending the same school and because she had taken Latin, I figured I would have all the resources on hand to get through the class.
At dinners or cocktail parties, family friends would ask what language I was studying and to that, I would say Latin. It usually followed with a look of confusion, but the question “Can you speak it?” came shortly after. This is where it starts to get complicated. Yes, you can speak Latin, but it’s a dead language confined to the classroom. Now here’s where my question comes in, should you study and learn a dead language?
To that, I say no.
Why do I still study it you ask? Well, I made a binding contract on my freshman year schedule to stick with the same language for my four years of high school, an unwritten rule if you will. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed the class, my teachers, and the work completed, but I don’t think the language will serve me in any way throughout the rest of my life.
“About 80 percent of the entries in any English dictionary are borrowed, mainly from Latin. Over 60 percent of all English words have Greek or Latin roots” (Dictionary). In different terms, more than half the words in the English language are derived from Latin. Maybe once in a blue moon I will see a word in English that I don’t know, and consider using my Latin knowledge to pick apart the word and find meaning, but with a dictionary in my pocket, that doesn’t seem necessary.
Reflecting on my Latin career, I would have benefited from taking another language class that I could use to interact and better communicate with others. With Latin there is a small population of people you can interact with and taking it is merely a fun fact.
A research study conducted by the University of Illinois stated, “The study of Latin also provides training in logical thinking and boosting cognitive processes” (Classics, Illinois). In contrast, how does that differ from the cognitive skills you learn in any other class? Truth be told, they are all quite similar, and challenging yourself to interact with others in a different language that is spoken seems much more rewarding than just translating inscriptions.
From my time spent in the Latin classroom, I’ve learned more about the history of ancient Rome than the language itself. You may be wondering about all the inscriptions written in Latin or worried about the history that would be lost, but in the modern world, all of those have been translated and can be taught in history classes. Taking Latin is almost like taking another history course, and the use of the language extends only to the classroom.
Latin paved the way for many romance languages that are taught and spoken today: Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. As a result, the classical use of the language fell out and the use of it as a first language declined while the other languages were rapidly evolving. Although the history and culture that comes from the Roman world and the Latin language should not be forgotten, the language itself doesn’t need to continue to be learned. At a point in time, it was important to have the language skills to translate texts, but with new technology, we have all the skills to read the inscriptions, and most, if not all, have been translated. Unless you plan on pursuing a career in linguistics, studying the language is no longer useful.
As much as I enjoy translating texts and stories, I long for the opportunity to verbally communicate with another person in a different language. In the classroom, although together, it feels disconnected because of the barrier of not speaking the language itself. Classrooms are designed to collaborate and share knowledge, and it doesn’t seem right to take a language course and not be able to speak it.
As I am now graduating with four years of Latin under my belt, I cannot directly connect to another culture with my knowledge because it only exists within the sculptures and plaques from Roman times. By not taking a spoken language, I’ve missed out on an important life skill of being able to interact with new people through a different language, and I cannot expect the world to accommodate my monolingualism. Language is the most direct connection to other cultures and without sufficient knowledge of another language, I’ve created a barrier and have closed myself off from so many potential human interactions and expansion of my worldview.
Works Cited
“Foreign Language in High School Statistics for the US, UK and EU.” Newsdle, 7 Nov. 2022, www.newsdle.com/blog/foreign-language-statistics.
Gill, N.S. “Who Said ‘Veni, Vidi, Vici’ and What Did He Mean?” ThoughtCo., 16 Feb. 2021, www.thoughtco.com/latin-saying-veni-vidi-vici-121441.
Lyons, Dylan. “Fact Vs. Fiction: Is Latin A Dead Language?” Babbel, 23 June 2018, www.babbel.com/en/magazine/fact-vs-fiction-is-latin-a-dead-language.
Perrin, Christopher. “10 Reasons to Study Latin First.” Classical Academic Press, 12 Nov. 2019, classicalacademicpress.com/blogs/classical-insights/10-reasons-to-study-latin.
Sarikas, Christine. “Which Foreign Language Should You Take in High School?” Prep Scholar, 4 Nov. 2018, blog.prepscholar.com/which-foreign-language-should-you-take-in-high-school.
“What Percent Of English Words Are Derived From Latin?” Dictionary, 7 Oct. 2015, www.dictionary.com/e/word-origins/.
“Why Study Latin.” Classics, Illinois, classics.illinois.edu/admissions/why-study-latin.
