Why Latin- Part II

As already mentioned, I consider one of the strengths of a classical education to be its emphasis on teaching students how to think. Utilization of the classical languages, namely Latin and Greek, is an important part of this, as I shall attempt to demonstrate.

Imagine 'The Declaration of Independence' without words like liberty and justice. Though we cannot touch or hold these ideas with our hands, few would argue that they are less than foundational to our entire society. Mature, fully formed language is the tool we need to conceptualize and communicate these important abstract concepts. Indeed, the more precision a language has, the better it serves in such circumstances. It helps to organize our thinking if the language itself is organized. Misunderstanding is also reduced because the language, properly used, eliminates ambiguity. If a student is interested in both wisdom and eloquence, then they must be a master of language because it is the very currency of both.

Toward such ends, Latin and Greek are the languages of Western society largely because they are not only both organized and precise but also because it was in these languages that men first expressed many of the ideas that we hold most dear. Though we do not speak them directly anymore, we must recognize them as our 'linguistic forefathers.' The basic organization of thought in English comes from these languages as does the overwhelming majority of our vocabulary. Having studied Latin for four years in High School myself, I can attest that I never really learned English until I learned Latin.

As public discourse continues to decline (consider Orwell's 'Newspeak' from 1984), we must restore training in the classic languages. To fail to do so is ultimately another step towards giving up our ability to reason and think altogether. Can theological truth be presented with terms such as "pwned" or "ROFL?" Could the U.S. Constitution be written with the same? What better way to strengthen our thinking and communication than to hone our language abilities? What better way to improve our ability to use English than to know and study it at its taproot?

Why Latin?

When I was a freshman in college, my roommate shared with a group on our dorm hall that she had taken four years of Latin in high school. I remember someone teasing her about taking a dead language. For me, the only languages offered in my high school were French and Spanish, so I too doubted the benefit of studying a language no one speaks anymore.

As a student in pharmacy school, I definitely appreciated the benefits that a knowledge of Latin would have offered me in learning medical terminology, but otherwise I still did not consider its importance.

Fast forward almost fifteen years later when I found myself making curriculum choices for my then first grader. Since beginning the adventure of homeschooling for our family, I have attempted to teach my children classically. Because of that, I was again confronted with the idea of studying Latin.

First of all, I obviously was not a student of Latin, so how could I teach it to my child? Secondly, would it be worth it?

After reading about the benefits of knowing the Latin language and studying it with my son for the past two years, I can say it has been worth it. Here are some reasons that classical languages (Latin and Greek) are beneficial:

• Increases English vocabulary. About half of the English language is derived from Latin, and another fifth from Greek. These words tend to be the difficult, multi-syllabic “SAT” words.
• Aids in the understanding of English grammar. Because of the structure of Latin where the endings of words define how the word is used in a sentence (i.e., an inflected language), it has been shown the Latin grammar teaches students more about English grammar than English does.
• Is the key to modern languages. Knowing Latin makes it easier to learn the vocabulary and grammar of Romance languages (e.g., French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Portuguese). Also, Latin and Greek help in learning other inflected languages, such as German and Russian.
• Is helpful in certain careers. As I found in pharmacy school, the knowledge of Latin (and Greek) is very beneficial in science-related fields, as well as the legal profession.

After his first day of a local science co-op this year, my son came home and told me that they would be studying about Habitats. He said that his teacher asked if anyone knew what the word habitat meant? My son responded, “Habitat sounds like the Latin word habito, which means I live in, so it must mean something about where we live.”

So, has it been worth it? Yes, absolutely!