What is the point of Latin?
Here is why everyone should learn Latin!
Have you ever found yourself thinking:
“Why on earth should I learn Latin? It's a dead language, right?”
Well, I really like to think of it more as taking a long nap. Maybe someday it will come back. Or that’s what I like to believe anyway.
But for some people it can seem a bit silly. Why do we bother to learn a language that no one speaks? Today I'm going to convince you of some great reasons why you should learn Latin, even in the 21st century.
I've got three main reasons why Latin is amazing to learn, and I would like to share them with you today.
1. Latin Gives You Perspective
Latin gives you a really good view of the world through a different set of eyes. The Roman Empire didn't just span a huge amount of the land around the Mediterranean, it also lasted for a thousand years. The Romans have come across so many problems that you can face today, and have plenty of advice or warnings to learn from. And sometimes it's just really nice to hear about it from other people.
As well as this, in this modern world, it's really easy to get bogged down by our own point of view. So Latin, I always find, helps people to develop empathy. You might think, “well I already have empathy, so I don’t need more”. But the thing with Latin is that you get to remove all current social and political tensions that go on in our world.
You just get to learn about a completely separate society. Places that thought things that were completely wild. Things that are really unusual and foreign to us. And you get to learn it from their point of view. And I think that is absolutely amazing. And it's one of the most important skills that we have in this multicultural society.
We should be able to empathise with people who have a different point of view to us.
2. Latin Improves Your Vocabulary
My second point is probably the one people roll out most when they're being ambassadors for learning Latin, and that is vocabulary. Plain and simple, learning Latin expands your vocabulary.
Not just in all of the Romance languages that it has spawned, like French and Spanish and Portuguese and Romanian and Italian and so many others.
But also English vocabulary. My English vocabulary is so good she says using the word good which all English teachers hate. And most of the time it's because I've learnt how to translate really rogue Latin words.
Words like contradistinction, avaricious, and effluent are fantastic English words, and I learnt them because I was fortunate enough to study Latin. When I was at school, I would use words in my essays that other teachers had to look up, because my Latin teacher had taught me really unusual English words so that I could translate Latin more fluently.
I have had many conversations with students who did not believe me when I taught them unusual words that exist in English, because they are so close to the Latin.
Your vocabulary will become far better than it is now.
3. Latin Changes Your Mindset
Latin is basically a puzzle. You learn a bunch of rules. Sometimes they make sense, sometimes they don't.
But once you have all the rules, you just take the bits you know and slot the rules into place. It's basically a jigsaw puzzle, or a code. And that's why you might have heard people say that Latin is really good for people with mathematical brains.
I think that's really true. If you have a linguistic brain, you're going to be fine because it is a language. But equally, if you have a mathematical brain and you can solve problems, Latin is the one language that you definitely should learn, because it will play straight to your strengths.
The Latin we have written down is very formulaic. It follows patterns. It doesn't necessarily do what a modern language does, which is continually change. We have it. It's a finite thing. It does change throughout its history, but we know the rules for that as well. So if you have a problem solving mind, Latin is something that you should definitely try. It will also improve those skills if you don't have a mathematical mind, so don't worry.
So Why Should You Learn Latin?
They're my three basic reasons to learn Latin.
Perspective: empathy with other people and places.
Vocabulary: expand the words that you know to impress people.
Mindset: improve your problem solving skills.
I think all of those three things are fantastic transferable skills.
A Secret Fourth Reason
My secret fourth reason is that very few people learn Latin, so why don't you make yourself interesting and do something that no one else does? That's why I did it anyway. People genuinely find it interesting when I say I studied and now teach Latin. Who doesn’t love the Romans!
So be an interesting person, and learn Latin!
Why do you want to learn Latin?
Let me know in the comments! I am always interested to hear people’s motivations!
Need Help Learning Latin?
If you need help with any level of Latin, from complete beginners through to after A-Level, I can help. With online Latin tuition, you can improve faster than you thought possible, and get friendly guidance and 1-on-1 support.
Let me help you to achieve your Latin goals.
Latin Vocabulary Tester
In the meantime, why not try out the Daily Latin Vocab Tester from bambasbat - it’s a 10 question quiz you can take each day to practise your Latin vocabulary. Having a solid understanding of Latin vocabulary is crucial for improving your Latin translation skills. We've compiled a list of over 350 different words that are frequently used in Latin translations and catch students out.
Thanks for joining me today, and I'll see you next time on bambasbat.