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| Hearsay: |
Latin classes are making a comeback. But why study a dead language?
Who’d want to study Latin? A dead language, good only for Caesar attacking the ditch with arrows (an old Molesworth joke) or honking like a pig as you decline your pronouns (hic haec hoc; hunc hanc hoc). Well, here’s a simple, utilitarian point: because Latin is a dead language, because it is taught to be read, not spoken, because it is taught entirely through its grammatical rules not through its demotic use, as you learn it you gain an understanding of the mechanics and structure of language streets ahead of any you will gain from the study of a modern tongue. Any other language – not just Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, but German, Russian, Arabic – becomes easier for a child with a grounding in Latin. A student can use Latin to grasp the bones and sinews of any language.
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May 26th, 2009 at 8:55 am
This is just what I’ve been arguing for quite a while. Latin has its uses. It’s one of the most regular languages when it comes to grammar and syntax, making it an excellent way to fully grasp grammatical concepts. I wouldn’t have my understanding of English today, if it weren’t for my study of Latin.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Wouldn’t a child with a grounding in any second language be better able to learn others in the future? Once you’ve figured out how to learn a language – what it means to conjugate verbs and translate a new form of grammar – its much easier to approach a new one. I don’t know if the fact that Latin is only taught focusing on the written language really makes it better suited for this purpose – we still must learn the written rules of any new language.
I do approve of kids studying Latin because so much of English is based in Latin roots. Understanding how a word is formed and how that makes up its definition helps them to broaden their English skills as well as see connections within other languages.
May 27th, 2009 at 6:53 am
The difference is in the reading and writing aid it gives learners. Many students who go through French Immersion programs (as an example) are able to speak and understand French, but that doesn’t mean they know how to properly write the language or understand what they are doing with grammar. Being immersed in a langauge for speaking and comprehension is quite different from learning what makes up language. Now you can use other languages than Latin to teach grammar. You can do it with English, but the general thought seems to be that you know English because you were raised speaking it which, as I noted before, has no bearing on a person’s understanding of tenses, syntax, and the other particulars. It’s a matter of approach to the learning I guess. I like Latin for its regularity. It forces you to deal almost entirely with the written rather than spoken aspects of language and gives you an opportunity to see the roots of some of our own words as well as a bit of a history lesson.