What are the benefits of learning Latin?

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wow, what are the benefits? That is a real sign of ignorance - not stupidity.

Our sons go to a school where they learn Latin and Greek from the first grade on.

The boys already see where Latin has great meaning for learning more complex English/American words. It evens helps me define new words to them by bringing up the Latin or Greek etymology of the word.

I was compelled by the Holy Spirit to start learning Ecclesial Latin about four years ago. It has helped me much in working with the boys. Now my husband is finally learning Latin.

Our sons first learn some of the phonetic Greek characters and then learn to recite 2 John Chapter 2 - word for word.

By high school they should be able to read both the Latin and Greek versions of the bible.

I have heard that if you don’t learn Latin while alive that you must master it before leaving purgatory. 👍
 
Dempsey1919 said:
I’ve been interested in learning latin for quite some time but I can’t help but wonder if it is pointless?

It’s a dead language. Nobody speaks it. All Church documents are already translated. What use is learning this language? I would only use it in a religious manner anyway.

What do you think?

I might learn Spanish instead. At least this would be useful because I could communicate with people. It may even improve my career prospects.

Latin or Spanish? I can’t decide.
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Latin… is not a dead language. It is a useful tool in understanding so much. Want to read what people in Rome thought, learn Latin. Want to red what people in Madrid / Mexico think learn Spanish. Me, I prefer Latin because i want to read what the Church Doctors said as they said it. Why should I, you, anyone lower their standards just because so many others have.

Pax Vobiscum
Don in Las Vegas
 
I am a graduate in Latin and Greek from a British college. So I am biased. Latin and Greek give you access to the writings of the people who gave the basis to western literature. Their writings were the model on which writers, particularly poets, worked in various languages until the 18th century. They help to understand that literature. They also give you a big start if you are studying sciences: most medical and scientific words are derived from them.Reductive arguments(“what’s the point of XYZ?” etc.) are based on the assumption that usefulness can only be measured in financial or visible advantage. What’s the point of skateboarding, prayer, apple pie? Most worthwhile things can’t be measured in mathematical or practical terms- for instance kindness. I am not a Catholic, I’m an Episcopalian, so I am not putting out an official viewpoint.
 
goffin said:
I am a graduate in Latin and Greek from a British college. So I am biased. Latin and Greek give you access to the writings of the people who gave the basis to western literature. Their writings were the model on which writers, particularly poets, worked in various languages until the 18th century. They help to understand that literature. They also give you a big start if you are studying sciences: most medical and scientific words are derived from them.Reductive arguments(“what’s the point of XYZ?” etc.) are based on the assumption that usefulness can only be measured in financial or visible advantage. What’s the point of skateboarding, prayer, apple pie? Most worthwhile things can’t be measured in mathematical or practical terms- for instance kindness. I am not a Catholic, I’m an Episcopalian, so I am not putting out an official viewpoint.
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We forgive you…

I agree with your view and find it so interesting. I wish I had more knowledge in Latin and even the basics in Greek to better understand the world around me and how I (we) relate to it. I muddle through.

Great post.

Don in Vegas:thumbsup:
 
Being able to read and understand the many writings of Holy Mother Church is one big reason. Another is that many of the modern languages are based on Latin and thus make it easier to learn other languages.
 
KathleenElsie said:
Being able to read and understand the many writings of Holy Mother Church is one big reason. Another is that many of the modern languages are based on Latin and thus make it easier to learn other languages.
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Bias, antithetical, metamorphosis, symbiotic, chlorophyl…may I continue? And these are the ones off the top of my head. mI have to be careful with the off the top of my head stuff…I am balding you know. 🙂

Don in Vegas
 
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strevel:
Bias, antithetical, metamorphosis, symbiotic, chlorophyl…may I continue? And these are the ones off the top of my head.
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You bring up a great point here. I was reading an article recently which pointed out, that half of English is based on Latin–and its the difficult half.
The “little” words, the ones that pretty much all of us know, come from all over the place. But the words like–🙂 as you mention here–“metamorphosis” and “antithetical” are based on Latin. Learning Latin gives you a huge advantage when it comes to English vocabulary.

And, when it comes time to learn a modern language, most of the European languages are way, way more Latin-based than English. Two-thirdths, even three-quarters and more, of Spanish, French, Italian, and others, are Latin.
This is, of course, perfectly natural, since all those languages pretty much were Latin to start with. They developed from Latin.
I sometimes think of the old saying (among Latin students) that “It isn’t even necessary to remember Latin to use it; it is usually god enough to have forgotten it”. It really does work that way: You look at, say, a quotation in Spanish, & you know the sense, if not the absolute translation of it. I had a dear friend (may she rest in peace) who was born & raised in Puerto Rico. When her father visited her & her family one summer, I spent a delightful summer afternnoon in her backyard with him. He knew almost no English, & my Spanish was limited to a single year in HS, 40 years before. But with my Latin, and the aid of both our Bibles(to look up words we couldn’t manage), we were able to carry on a:thumbsup: pretty fair conversation…all over a batch of his homemade herb beer. (😃 Very sweet, next to no alcohol, greatly refreshing on a hot day).
 
Strevel said:
Bias, antithetical, metamorphosis, symbiotic, chlorophyl…may I continue? And these are the ones off the top of my head. mI have to be careful with the off the top of my head stuff.
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Indeed. Did you have a point in listing a handful of Greek derivatives, or were you just trying to hook someone like [user]Zooey[/user]?

tee
 
Just a thought, true, Latin hasn’t been practical in recent times. Its use has declined greatly in the Church over the last forty years. But you know what? Maybe this decline is just temporary. We’ve had Latin since Saint Jerome’s time and it lasted for 1500 years; the forty years of decline seems like it’s a long time, but that short time span is nothing in terms of our Church. So, it’s quite possible that it’ll be returned to importance soon. The recent allowance for the universal use of the Tridentine Mass could be a pathway for it. Heck, you yourself might be a pioneer in bringing it back!

I’ve been studying Latin too. It’s a tough language to learn if you’re an Anglophone (nouns alone have 80 possible endings). I’ve been at it, on-and-off, for four years now and I still need the help of grammar sheets to help me translate; I can’t just do it straight off.

It’s a nice skill to have when you watch things with the Pope and prayer is done in Latin; aside from that, most people wouldn’t find it practical. I’ve read that it’s an emerging problem even among Cardinals when they gather now since they’re not all that proficient. I guess the only people you will communicate with are saints who wrote in the language. I use the Vatican website a lot when in trying to acquaint myself with Latin; I don’t have anyone else to converse with in Latin. Even priests here don’t know it.

Latin was a language that the Church had consecrated. It made it holy. I read that exorcists say that the devil is happy that Latin is in decline because he’s afraid of it. When he tempts you, tell him: “Te odeo. Interfice te cochleare.” (“I hate you. Kill yourself with a fork.”)
 
tee_eff_em said:
Indeed. Did you have a point in listing a handful of Greek derivatives, or were you just trying to hook someone like [user]Zooey[/user]?

tee
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I had indigestion and my Tums had not kicked in 🙂 Life is short. Rib someone when you are alive still! 🙂

Don in Las Vegas 👍
 
Just a thought, true, Latin hasn’t been practical in recent times. Its use has declined greatly in the Church over the last forty years. But you know what? Maybe this decline is just temporary. We’ve had Latin since Saint Jerome’s time and it lasted for 1500 years; the forty years of decline seems like it’s a long time, but that short time span is nothing in terms of our Church. So, it’s quite possible that it’ll be returned to importance soon. The recent allowance for the universal use of the Tridentine Mass could be a pathway for it. Heck, you yourself might be a pioneer in bringing it back!
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You’re right. Forty years is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I can see Latin making a big come back, in part because of the increased celebration of the Tridentine Mass, but also because more people are beginning to see the benefits of a classical education. Benedict XVI will also play a massive role.
 
I was watching www.ewtn.com , a Catholic network. it was showing the Youth Day in Australia. I felt great when I saw the use lf Latin and the YOUTH using it and keeping up!! WOW!! I felt like i had just touched a live wire.

…then the blow dryer stopped, smoke was in the air and the youth were still going in Latin! I felt great!! 🙂

Don in vegas
 
I was watching www.ewtn.com , a Catholic network. it was showing the Youth Day in Australia. I felt great when I saw the use lf Latin and the YOUTH using it and keeping up!! WOW!! I felt like i had just touched a live wire.
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What were they saying? Were they speaking latin during the Mass, or were they praying the Litany of the Saints?
 
Dempsey1919 said:
Do you think a knowledge of latin would help me when learning other European languages, such as Spanish?

Also, I’ve never really understand why latin was part of the traditional curriculum of many schools? In the past, the intellectual classes of society were all well versed in latin. Why was it deemed deemed necessary? And more importantly, why did they stop teaching latin in modern schools?
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Yes, Latin will help you with other Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian, etc.).

I was in high school when I studied Latin (three years of the language), and a friend of mine was taking French. We were sitting on the bus together on the way to school & she had a French novel that she had to read for her class, and I was looking through it. Without ever having studied French, I could read 75% of the text.

I’m not really sure why Latin is no longer so widely taught. I suppose it’s a reflection of the “instant gratification” culture, since it’s harder to see the immediate benefits of the language. But it still remains true that a study of Latin will help the student improve his vocabulary, grasp of English grammar, and make learning the other Romance languages a cinch (just look at how easy it is to see the relationship between these words: “mater,” “madre,” and “mère”).
 
Dempsey1919 said:
What were they saying? Were they speaking latin during the Mass, or were they praying the Litany of the Saints?
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They were praying the Lords Prayer. It really made me, not just happy, but efulgent to see youth praying and not mumbeling in Latin.

Latin is the root(s) of the Church. The writtings of the leaders were / are in Latin. If you want to know Juslis Ceasar, Pompi, or read the plans for buildings and society from history… ya gotta be familiar with Latin. They wrote in it, the thought in it, they built in it…👍

WOW! It was…cool!
Don in Las Vegas! :cool: :
 
I was in high school when I studied Latin (three years of the language), and a friend of mine was taking French. We were sitting on the bus together on the way to school & she had a French novel that she had to read for her class, and I was looking through it. Without ever having studied French, I could read 75% of the text.
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It’s amazing how much Latin has influenced all of the romance languages. The benefit you described above is enough reason for anyone to learn Latin. I’m going to learn Spanish in a few years and I hope that my (future) knowledge of Latin will be as useful to me as it was to you.
 
ethelzguy said:
This begs again, a question that I have asked and yet to have answered.

I keep reading here that “Latin doesn’t translate well”. So, if that is the case, what good are the missals that we are constantly exhorted to use here on this forum? If it can be translated well enough for use in a missal in the pews, why is translation to the Sacrementary “flawed”?

Why use a language that can’t be translated properly? Doesn’t that relegate those of us in the pews to robots reciting and listening to words that we really don’t understand because they cant’ be “properly translated?”
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I’m only here for a few minutes, so forgive me if I don’t reply to your reply.

Let us say that you spoke Japanese, and not English. If I were to translate Shakespeare for you, certainly you could get the literal meaning of it from the translation, and some translations would be better, some worse. I could tell you what the metaphorical meanings were. Nevertheless, Shakespeare isn’t quite Shakespeare unless you hear it and understand it in English. If you were to come to the States and learn to speak English, if you were to learn the rhythms and idiosyncracies of English, you would appreciate Shakespeare as a non-speaker of English could not.

Likewise, people learn Russian so they can read Tolstoy and the rest in the original. People learn Greek and Hebrew so they can read the Bible in the original. Italian operas were meant to be sung in Italian. If you try to translate English to fit the melody, it just doesn’t work. If you were to write an opera in French or German, the melodies would change accordingly, to fit the rhythms and vowel patterns of those languages.

On this account, I’m not sure I understand “why use a language that can’t be translated properly?” That there is power in one language that does not exist in a second language doesn’t make the first language the inferior language. Besides, the whole world does not speak English. The history of the Church wasn’t written in English. The official language of the Holy See is Latin. Our liturgy is, in its original, still in Latin. All early science and medicine were done in Latin. That’s why gold has the chemical symbol Au (aurem), your doctor will refer to your kneecap as your patella and your heart functions as being “cardiac”, and your local nursery actually markets plants under names like Viburnum davidii.

Now, if the Church were to go back to generating her liturgies in Greek in their original, I might sing a little bit different tune, but since there was still such a long period of Church and European history in which all science and educated discourse was written in Latin, the language is not going to lose its importance for speakers of English and the romance languages.
 
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