Is it sensible to spend time and effort learning Latin today? Why? Why not? Which specialists really need it? Should this language again be in the curriculum of all (or, at least, most) schools?
I would say it would be better to learn ancient Greek which has the roots of Latin and the explanations of all scientific terms used today
Dear Michael Issigonis ,
Thank you very much for your response.
Yes, indeed, ancient Greek is very important. I agree with you. Its roots can be found in any branch of science. I remember that at the University it was optional, I didn't choose it and sometimes I regret the fact. I think people might be a little discouraged by a different alphabet.
English, fresh and grman or Spanish or portogal language used today
Dear Dr. Mohammed I. Rushdi ,
Thank you.
Certainly. So, you think, Latin should not be given much attention, if any.
It depends on your specialty. Currently I have focused on medieval studies. My latin is poor and sometimes I feel limited. More knowledge of Latin would be fine for me.
Dear Xavier Martínez ,
Thanks a lot.
Yes, I agree. No doubt about that.
Best regards.
A great part of world culture and civilization was shaped by the Latin mind, which started with the Roman Empire (Eurasia and Africa) and was followed by the Church of Rome globally. Even this sentence is written in Latin script. It is not necessary to master Latin, but it is an educational asset to understand its global impact, e.g. history of law, military organization. With respect to cultural priority, I am in line with Michael Issigonis
Dear Ademilade Aboginije ,
Thank you.
I think so too. Probably every educated person ought to know Latin.To varying degrees, of course. In any case, it enriches our general culture. For example, even in English there are hosts of words that come from Latin. And also in many other languages. It is so interesting and useful to know where a word comes from. Even the word "remote" is taken from Latin.
Best regards.
Dear Professor Stephen I. Ternyik ,
Thank you for your answer. That is exactly what I mean. Of course, to master Latin would be too time-consuming. In addition, fluency in Latin now is very rarely required. But I am sure that it would be appropriate to learn its rudiments.
And the cultural value of the ancient Greek cannot be challenged.
Best regards.
Dear Professor Carine Temegne Nono ,
Thanks a lot for your contribution.
Best regards.
Dear Dr. Charalampos Triantis Martinos ,
Thank you for your valuable contribution.
Best regards
Dear Dr. Mohammad Mehdizadeh ,
Many thanks for sharing your opinion.
Best regards.
Dear Dr. Anastas Ivanov Ivanov ,
Many thanks for your participation.
Yes, certainly. I even wrote an article about this.
Best regards.
We should understand the words we use, and many of them have their roots in latin. This helps us to be more radical (from the latin radix -root). Seeing the roots helps to understand...
Igor Boichuk Please forgive me about mentioning again cultural challenges: The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (Septaguinta) misses to translate the word 'to create' (some-thing from no-thing) as 'to make' (some-thing from some-thing).In this sense, it is very important to learn about classical languages and their impact on the human mind.
http://www.followintruth.com/the-truth-about-the-greek-septuagint-part-1
The roots of several languages are in Latin. People that study medicine, law, biology have it much easier if they know Latin.
Dear Dr. Christian Jost ,
Thank you very much for sharing your opinion. I totally agree with you. Knowledge of Latin allows us to detect and better understand shades of meaning both in our mother tongue and in the languages we study.
Best regards.
Modern scientific terminology is largely based on the Latin language. Therefore, the study of the Latin language is a necessary element of preparation for scientific activity.
It is really important. For instance, most medical terminology is based on and originated from Latin.
Dear Professor Stephen I. Ternyik ,
On the contrary, thank you very much for that. The point is subtle.
I am very much obliged to you for the link that you have kindly provided to me. All this is a matter of particular interest to me.
Best regards.
Dear Professor Mirna Leko-Šimić ,
You are absolutely right. It especially concerns the Romance languages (which are also sometimes called Neo-Latin languages). But it is true for English as well, because its vocabulary comprises up to 58% of words of Latin and French (i. e. ultimately also Latin in most cases) origin. Even in German, Russian and other non-Romance languages there are whole layers of words that came from Latin.
And,of course, for some professions, Latin is a must.
Best regards
Dear Professor Andrey Skorobogatov ,
I do believe that it is absolutely true.
Many thanks
Best regards.
Dear Professor Hassan Izzeddin Sarsak ,
Thank you very much for sharing your opinion. One cannot but agree with you.
Best regards.
My personal experience on the subject is the following: I am Italian and I studied Latin for 8 years (from 11 to 19) and ancient Greek for 5 years (from 14 to 19). Then I studied engineering. Now I think that, especially to understand and speak the Italian language correctly, it is appropriate to study Latin (at high school) to learn the etymology of many words. As for the ancient Greek, instead, I would see it better if studied in a specialized university course.
Dear Luca Antonellini ,
I am very grateful to you for such a detailed and informative post. It is especially valuable for my research as coming from a person whose mother tongue is Italian, i. e. one of the closest to Latin among modern languages. I think that only the Sardinian language is closer.
I believe that Latin is easier for Italians than for any other people.
Best regards.
While the common use of the Latin language is not as common as it used to be (like Sanskrit it is a respected and valuable language), we still use Latin roots and Latin derivatives in jargon in various fields including medicine, law, science, etc. Knowing the etymology and connection to Latin roots and words can help someone understand definitions of unfamiliar terms.
Dear Dr. Srini Vasan ,
I value and respect your opinion very highly.
Best regards.
Dear Dr. Igor Boichuk ,
You're probably right when you say that Latin is easier to learn for an Italian but I still remember the many hours spent studying it!
Best Regards
Dear Luca Antonellini , so you can easily imagine how difficult for a representative of non-Latin peoples is to study of Latin. I daresay it's probably a far cry from the efforts that an Italian has to make.
Best regards.
it's not necessary, but if you choose to do so, it does elevate your vocabulary and makes it easier to learn European languages.
I think it's kind of like a learning grammar of your own language, you can get by without it, but you master it certain things make much more sense.
Dear Mariam Berianidze ,
Thank very much for your contribution.
Yes, I see your point, not necessary but useful. I think it's very sound.
Best regards.
Knowledge of Latin is indispensable for scholars of historical sciences. Unfortunately, many of them do not know it, so they are not able to translate texts nor to evaluate the correctness of translations made by others. This is a major limitation to research potential. in general, knowledge of Latin can be useful in student education because A) is a very precise and 'technical' language (it is difficult, in Latin, to construct meaningless sentences, which is possible in many modern languages), B) the ancient Latin texts contain many discussions about moral and social problems: having the possibility to understand the original concepts, and to meditate about them by translating, is certainly useful for the education of a young student.
Dear Nirmala S.V.S.G ,
I also agree with Professor Anastas Ivanov Ivanov.
BRS
Dear Fabio Carminati ,
Many thanks for your post. All that you said in it is so true, at least from my point of view, that it would be very difficult to add something to it. You really give in it a concise and brilliant description of Latin and of its relevance.
Best regards.
Dear Professor P. Contreras ,
Thank you so much for your post. I also find such movies fascinating. Latin certainly creates a special atmosphere and to some extent alters the perception of the movie. I think you are right about Aramaic and Sumerian as well. But probably not only in horror and sci-fi movies. Do you remember Aramaic in The Passion of the Christ? For me, the language sounded majestic.
Latin in some movies based on Dan Brown's novels also plays a very important role, as I understand it. And, of course, The Exorcist.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to look at it from such an interesting point of view.
Best regards.
And yes, dear Professor P. Contreras , definitely Latin is a world legacy.
My best regards.
I guess the English language, you see, is a mixed language, a bilingual marriage - English and Latin ... that's why Latin must be studied.
Dear Djaafar Zemali ,
Thank you very much. Yes, you are right, English has a mixed vocabulary, basically Germanic but with a very significant Romance component. Certainly, this enhances the importance of Latin.
Best regards.
Dear Professor P. Contreras ,
My pleasure.
Yes, exactly, that is why it is called so. But "dying" it begot Romance languages which are also called Neo-Latin languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian etc . The difference between them is mainly due to various admixtures. For example, in Spanish there is a lot of words from Arabic (almost all those beginning with al-, all they date from before the Reconquista), in Romanian - from Slavic languages etc. There are words of Germanic and Celtic origin as well. Besides, as these areas were conquered by the Romans at different periods, Latin itself was somewhat different for each conquered territory.
Best regards.
Dear Professor P. Contreras ,
I can only guess. Perhaps because Latin was used by some medieval evil magicians. Jesus Christ spoke Aramaic. A lot of sacred texts are written in Aramaic. The Romans spoke Latin. How possibly could Aramaic be considered the language of evil? But certainly you know this better than me.
In addition, I don't think that Latin is universally considered the language of evil. This is probably just the point of view of some people.
Sorry if I cannot provide any satisfactory explanation.
Regards.
Dear Professor P. Contreras ,
Thank you for telling me that. And, of course, many thanks for your very interesting post. Let me tell you that your posts are becoming increasingly interesting. Although even the very first seemed to me nec plus ultra. I really appreciate the discussion with you, and I am very grateful to you for this opportunity.
I did not know such interesting details about the Sumerian language and the people that spoke this language. To tell you the truth, I did not know much about this language at all, since it somehow always remained beyond my scope. Thanks to your post, I've just read about it, but this is clearly not enough to judge how this tongue could be associated with evil. I rely on your erudition in this area (as in any other), but I cannot pass judgment on this issue. Therefore, I do not know whether Sumerian is the language of evil. I am not even sure that evil is associated with any language. I think that in fact evil can adapt itself to almost any language. But I say it again, this issue (I mean what is the language of evil) requires other competencies that I have.
I would like to ask you to develop this topic further, if possible, as it really seems to me very interesting .
Best regards.
Dear Professor Shrikaant Kulkarni ,
Many thanks for your participation.
Yes, I agree with you. But it certainly depends on the profession, does it not? There are such professions where they just cannot do without Latin. For the time being, at least. Medical students, for example.
Best regards
Definitely, not necessary, however, do it if you have a chance.
Dear Professor P. Contreras ,
Thank YOU. There is no doubt whatsoever. They certainly are.
My very best regards.
Dear Professor Elhadi Ibrahim Dekam ,
Many thanks for your kind contribution.
Certainly a very sound approach as far as I can judge.
Very best regards.
Dear Professor P. Contreras ,
Ultimately for our good. Don't you agree?
My very best regards.
Dear Professor Farhad Soleimanian Gharehchopogh ,
Thank you very much.
As far as I can gather "unfortunately yes".
Regards
I found Latin to be invaluable in understanding English grammar and syntax.
Dear Professor Djaafar Zemali ,
Many thanks.
I think you are absolutely right.
Regards.
The study of Latin is considered a kind of gymnastics for the brain even though it is practically not necessary.
If you plan to do European history or archaeology to any extent, then Latin is either a very good idea or essential.
Dear Jennifer Skerritt ,
Thank your very much for sharing your opinion. I cannot but agree with you on this point.
Best regards.
Dear Jennifer,
I studied Latin hen I was 11-13 years old. I have understood the relevence and the need of it after fifty year, when I had the possibility to attend to the universty. Many terms in the European languages are brought from Latin, when it is necessary to specify a concept instead of a "practical/mechanical" activity, specially: Labour (Labor) vs. work, e.g., like Italian is used for Music (opera, allegro, adagio, and so on.
Latin, as Greek for Philosophy, Science and Religion, remain and will remain an "adhesive" in a true culture, I guess.
Latin is necessary for anyone wishing to read source material for the history of the Ancient World in Europe and the Mediterranean area, for a knowledge of Classical Latin literature, for the history of Medieval and early Modern Europe, that of the Roman Catholic Church, and possibly for the history of Spanish and Portuguese possessions in central and south America, Africa, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. It is also an excellent linguistic discipline and very useful as a basic grounding for anyone wishing to learn a Romance Language, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French or Romanian.
Latin and Greek are invaluable tools for improve our skills to learn almost everything! I wrote a little about this at Article Otra vez con el griego y el latín
(Spanish). Bene valeas!
Great Literature: Latin enables students to enjoy some of the most influential literature the world—in the original language. Learning Latin well enough to read original Latin works is an attainable skill and imparts great satisfaction and enjoyment.
nothing is necessary, but Latin is useful for History scholars. I appreciate Latin writers and poets too, and I believe that Vergil is the best of the bests; of course, you can read a poet only in his own language
Dear Dr. Nicholas Savvas Coureas ,
Thank you for your valuable contribution.
Regards.
Dear Prof. Viviana Hack ,
Thank you for your contribution and the link you provide.
Regards.
Dear Dr. Lamia Al-Naama ,
Thank you very much for your response. I do appreciate your participation.
Best regards.
Latin is a dead language that never died . Latin has not died because it was reborn and renamed as French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian . About 90 percent of the vocabulary of these languages comes from Latin .
Dear Shiva Darvishha ,
Thank you so much for your very constructive feedback.
One cannot but agree with you.
Best regards.
For people interested in education and intellect pursuits Latin is important.
Dear Djaafar Zemali ,
Thank you very much for your response.
Best regards.
Dear Professor Ali mohamed rashed
,Thank you very much indeed for such a detailed and informative response.
Best regards.
Dear Dr. Balqees Al-Musawi
,Thank you very much. Quite so.
Kind regards.
Dear Shiva Darvishha, I fully agree with your nice answer. However, I would like to add that Latin is the official language of the Vatican City State (Vatican), in Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanæ, therefore, perhaps it is not entirely accurate to say that it is a dead language. The Vatican is the smallest state in the world, its territory is only 0.44 km2 and is within the city of Rome.
dear Leonardo Cannizzaro, if you try to speak Latin in Vatican, you may be sure that nobody, neither the priests orr Pope Francesco himself, will understand you the o
Dear Giovanni, the fact remains and it is undeniable that the official language of the Vatican is Latin. On the other hand, in many parts of the world most of the people do not usually speak the official language. Moreover, please do not underestimate the priests and their schools let alone the Pope.
Dear Leonardo Cannizzaro ,
I am very grateful to you for your response. Strictly speaking, you are right. But it seems to me that the Pope speaks (mostly?) Italian. However, maybe official documents are still published in Latin.
Dear Giovanni della Mora ,
With all due respect to your opinion, I am certain that the Pope and the cardinals are fluent in Latin.
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