Latin: It’s A Dead Language…Really?

Who would take Latin as a foreign language? What is the point? It’s a language that isn’t even spoken anymore, unless you’re part of the Church. But, did you know that most of the languages that you and I know are rooted in Latin? English, Spanish, French, all of these are derived from Latin. Not only will taking Latin give me another language to study, but it will also help me improve my English. How? When you study another language, you learn the basics, what’s a noun, adjective, verb. These basic lessons, the lessons that all others will be based off of, not only help you learn the new language, but they also help reinforce your native language. You are better able to structure your sentences, and you remember all of those little grammar rules that you overlook or forget.

Latin was the second class of my first day of classes, and I was terrified. All that was running through my mind was that, if I couldn’t grasp Spanish after two years, how am I ever going to succeed in Latin, a language that isn’t even spoken anymore? But, I went to class, and I found out that it isn’t as hard as it looks. When I look at my vocabulary words, I can tell what most of them are, without looking at their definition. This is because the words are so similar to the English or Spanish words that grew from Latin. For example, audit means that he/she/it hears. Audit – Audio. Do you understand? I’m not naïve enough to think that I will understand Latin in three weeks, but with diligent studying, I think I will begin to grasp the language.

Latin: Not As Dead As It Seems.