Many consider Latin to be a dead language. Rather than tell you what to think, I want you to cast your mind back to 117 C.E., the height of Roman civilization.
The Roman Empire extended across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, controlling a quarter of the world’s population at the time. Conversational (or “vulgar”) Latin was spoken widely, most prevalent in countries you and I would typically associate with having their own languages.
For many classicists and historians, studying Latin is not just about learning an antiquated, useless language; it is “the study of a different world.” It is a flashback to the past, piecing together a civilization.
High school Latin study is divided into three distinct sections: translation, parsing, and context; classical culture; and authentic literature. Each of these sections allows us to decipher and understand a different world.
Starting with translation and parsing (analyzing a sentence into its parts and describing their syntactic roles), students learn the principles of Latin study, vocabulary, and grammar. These skills enable a Latin reader to construct a comprehensible translation—a key to understanding the Latin language when looking at an inscription, letter, or literary work.
With a solid understanding of translation and parsing, much of Latin becomes a tool to open up the Roman world. This tool is not only vital for an accurate translation but also fosters analytical skills in other languages.
The actual language of Latin acts as an indispensable tool to uncover this past society, allowing us to not only read and comprehend it, but to immerse ourselves in a culture that feels alien to us, with events we can only imagine.
Beyond the mechanics of the language and transforming a Latin text into good English, understanding and learning the context is a central part of Latin study. It is vital to understand that Latin paved the way for the communication of this ancient civilization, giving context to a culture different from our own.
To truly understand Latin is to recognize that Romans did not live like modern people, simply speaking a distinct language—they were in a world with its own traditions, values, and complexities. Deciphering Latin texts helps us picture and discover how people in 117 C.E. thought, acted, and lived.
Every time you sit down and watch a Roman, Greek, or similar historical movie, you are seeing dramatizations of events that were very real: the rebellion of Spartacus, Rome’s depiction of Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon, and the terrifying eruption of Mount Vesuvius at Pompeii. All of these wars and events were deduced, discovered, and decoded from evidence hidden within the Roman Empire.
The actual language of Latin acts as an indispensable tool to uncover this past society, allowing us to not only read and comprehend it, but to immerse ourselves in a culture that feels alien to us, with events we can only imagine.
Finally, the last main element in Latin study is classical literature; the 200,000-line works of poetry and prose by authors such as Virgil, Cicero, Homer, and Ovid allow us to experience the thoughts, emotions, and artistry of the Romans themselves. We are swept up by the legendary epics depicting Greek and Trojan heroes battling against the whims of the gods, moved by eloquent and powerful speeches defending Roman politics, and enraptured by the love poetry.
By reading these Latin texts in their original form, we can connect directly with the voices, gaining insights into the history that other languages struggle to convey.
Latin teacher Dr. Andrew Fenton takes a similar view on connecting foreign texts in their original form.
“I think reading about the ancient world, and the Hispanic cultures or Chinese cultures in English translation, will only get you so far,” Dr. Fenton said. “I think to really understand it, you have to know the language. And so the reason to study Spanish or Mandarin is becoming much more like the reason to study Latin; it’s something that helps you get a better understanding of other cultures, get a better understanding of yourself, and help you grow as an intellectual.”
Walk into any professional workplace today, and you will see Latin phrases such as et cetera (abbreviated as etc.), curriculum vitae, versus, or circa in their documents and speech. This “Latin DNA” embedded in the English language illustrates the power it holds over other languages.
Deriving from this idea of getting a “better understanding of other cultures” in the twenty-first century, simply learning active languages for practical use is growing obsolete. This argument for practicality, when talking to a native person, Dr. Fenton argues, gets thrown out the window.
Using an example of the new Apple Airpods 4 with the new Live Translate feature with Spanish, Fenton claims, “If all you want is to be able to communicate with somebody to order at a restaurant or even have a business meeting, you’ve got technology that’ll do it for you. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take Spanish. But the reason why you should take Spanish is that you’re fascinated by the culture. And that’s what Latin has already been doing for almost 2000 years in the modern world.”
Increasingly, as we move away from this practicality argument, Latin is a “dead” language with everlasting ties to all aspects of society, from work life to language. Walk into any professional workplace today, and you will see Latin phrases such as et cetera (abbreviated as etc.), curriculum vitae, versus, or circa in their documents and speech. This “Latin DNA” embedded in the English language illustrates the power it holds over other languages, influencing the very way we converse.
I see Latin’s contemporary influence having a major impact on our country, with the U.S. celebrating its 250th anniversary next year. Thomas E. Ricks’ acclaimed book, First Principles: What America’s Founders Learned from the Greeks and the Romans, delves into how the founding fathers weren’t just making up the Constitution but developing it via philosophical and democratic frameworks lent by Roman and Greek texts.
Ricks emphasized that these great and powerful men, like Jefferson, Madison, and Washington, all came from varying backgrounds, but kept Greek and Roman art in their homes, recognizing the importance of the “Colonial Classicism culture” in the founding of America.
Studying Latin culture, Ricks remarks, “shaped [the founding fathers] view of the world in a way that most Americans now are not taught and so don’t see.”
Some students ask, “Why study a dead language?”
It is not about just resurrecting the past, but discovering the foundations of our present. When we translate Virgil’s epic poetry or parse a philosophical text, we are developing the tools for deep cultural understanding, historical empathy, and critical thinking. These skills prepare students and current leaders of today’s world to look back on the fundamental questions that the Romans and Greeks faced: How should we govern ourselves? How should we establish equality? How do we control the rising tensions in our global community?
In this sense, perhaps the language and culture of Latin is more relevant today in our current climate than ever before.
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