Why Latin?

I teach Latin. It’s an ancient language spoken by the Romans…maybe you’ve heard of it? 

Not all of my students are equally prepared to answer this question …and it is one that they, as well as I, will inevitably be asked by their aunts and uncles, grandparents and neighbors. “So…why Latin? And why Latin in Wenatchee? Isn’t Spanish more useful? Isn’t any spoken language more useful?” 

Fair point. Spanish is useful. But then, so is English. So is Arabic. So is Japanese. 

The fact remains that when one learns Spanish, one simply learns Spanish.  But when one learns Latin, one knows  a foundational language system necessary to master not only Spanish, but also English, Arabic, Russian, French, German - and yes, Japanese.  For this reason, teaching Latin is considered a hallmark of Classical education, which equips children not simply with facts but with tools they can use to learn any subject meaningful to their life. 

I won’t bore you with more generalizations. Here are the main reasons we teach Latin at TRA and find it meaningful: 

1.) Latin is the direct ancestor of Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian, and the indirect ancestor of English. Over 50% of English words come directly from Latin. 

2.) Over 80% of multisyllabic words in English come from Latin, especially those technical terms common to the legal, medical, and scientific professions. 

3.) Unlike English, but like German, Arabic, Russian, etc. Latin is a case-based language.. Memorizing this system and understanding how it works gives students “the keys to drive” those other languages, even those with radically different vocabularies and alphabets.

4.) Because of these word endings, translating any Latin sentence is like putting together a puzzle. A sentence can’t simply be read left to right to understand it. This whole process develops mental discipline and critical-thinking strategies on a grand scale - skills that are useful for any other pursuit in life.

5.) Learning Latin is like gaining a superpower.  It literally grows your brain. 

6.) Latin is just hard. It takes grit, patience, courage, and willingness to try thinking in a wholly different way. 

To me personally, this is the most important reason I teach Latin. 

 There are several other good reasons to learn Latin, many of which are unpacked further here in this great (short) video made by Classical Conversations.

If you’ve had the patience to read this - thank you. And if you’d like to have further conversation, please stop by my classroom and drop any of the following codewords: vice versa, bona fide, pro and con, status quo, caveat, exit, et cetera,…you get the idea.  I would be very glad to meet you. 

Valete (be well),

Ashley Newby