Benefits of Studying Latin
- Thread starter Akela
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Iohannes Aurum
Technicus Auxiliarius
Studying Latin improves your vocabulary: 60% of all English words derive from Latin either directly or indirectly. Studying Latin also makes learning most other Indo-European languages easier, especially the Romance languages.
Iohannes Aurum
Technicus Auxiliarius
It also allows for the discussion of controversial topics without upsetting anyone.
On my travels in Europe last summer I stopped in Rome,and climbed the steps up to the dome of St. Peter's and was able to read the golden writing in Latin and feel awe at the grandness of it all. I translated it aloud to my friend and she said the tourists had looked at me all shocked that a blonde 20 year old might know Latin,hah! That was my big Latin moment anyway. 
Vatican City has Latin as its official language,their mini-banks are in Latin too,you could use your skills for that Tongue.gif "(1) Tongue out :p")
Medical terms (especially in anatomy) may be confusing in our language,but they are often taken from Latin (and Greek),so knowing some Latin is helpful
Vatican City has Latin as its official language,their mini-banks are in Latin too,you could use your skills for that
Medical terms (especially in anatomy) may be confusing in our language,but they are often taken from Latin (and Greek),so knowing some Latin is helpful
 banana.gif "(1) Banana :banana:")
devnull5475
New Member
That seems to me to be the most important reason to learn Latin rather than some other language.MrKennedy dixit:
However, I might change classics to old texts, or something like that, so that it includes the liturgical texts, such as the old Missale Romanum and the new Editio Typica Tertia.
Because Latin rocks! 8D
On a more serious note, if one is going into medicine, botany, or practically any science career, Latin is extremely beneficial because medicines, plants, animals, etc. have Latin names.
Personally, I hope to be a writer someday, so I decided to take Latin because it is the base of so many languages and so many words in the English language. Also, if I'm ever not sure how to pronounce something, I'll often try to pronounce it in Latin as opposed to English. Hey, sometimes it works!! xD
On a more serious note, if one is going into medicine, botany, or practically any science career, Latin is extremely beneficial because medicines, plants, animals, etc. have Latin names.
Personally, I hope to be a writer someday, so I decided to take Latin because it is the base of so many languages and so many words in the English language. Also, if I'm ever not sure how to pronounce something, I'll often try to pronounce it in Latin as opposed to English. Hey, sometimes it works!! xD
Quasus
Civis Illustris
I doubt if it’s extremely beneficial. Scientific Latin is not a tongue but rather a nomenclature system based on Latin and Greek roots (sometimes ‘perverse’ at that: cf. rectum in Latin and in anatomy). In particular, physicians and Co. don’t need any grammar above the genetive case.Portia dixit:
I understand that scientific Latin is a nomenclature system rather than a language. In spite of my misuse of the Latin language, I'm not a complete idiot. I said Latin is extremely beneficial, not taking ten years of Latin is extremely beneficial. I would think that taking just a year or two of Latin would be quite beneficial for a student planning on going into the science field as you get practice in pronounciation, spelling, singular vs. plural forms, numbers, etc.Quasus dixit:
And, for the record, I do tend to exagerate a little. Perhaps to say "extremely" is a bit...extreme, but I don't see that it particularly makes much difference.
Decimus Canus
Civis Illustris
"Marginally useful" maybe.
A knowledge of Latin wasn't enough to save me in AnatomyQuasus dixit:
rectum is hardly perverse. It describes the straight section of the bowel...
1) Studying ancient languages gives one a basis for learning lots of other (Indo-European, especially) languages, because their grammatical structure is a clear pattern many other languages follow.
E.g., first-semester German. Many of my monolingual (English-only) classmates were baffled by the idea of cases (because English doesn't really use them, relying heavily on word order instead). My Classics-trained compatriots and I were able to absorb the grammar a lot faster because we already understood the concept of the grammatical framework within which we were working, so it was easier to move on to the work of actually learning the language.
2) The process of learning Latin grammar (back in middle and high school) taught me how to memorize things more efficiently.
...probably also boosted my SAT verbal score.
3) It gave me a great information bank when I took Linguistics -- I had a lot of examples at my disposal, which I could refer to when illustrating concepts. It also made things like historical reconstruction a whole lot easier.
E.g., first-semester German. Many of my monolingual (English-only) classmates were baffled by the idea of cases (because English doesn't really use them, relying heavily on word order instead). My Classics-trained compatriots and I were able to absorb the grammar a lot faster because we already understood the concept of the grammatical framework within which we were working, so it was easier to move on to the work of actually learning the language.
2) The process of learning Latin grammar (back in middle and high school) taught me how to memorize things more efficiently.
...probably also boosted my SAT verbal score.
3) It gave me a great information bank when I took Linguistics -- I had a lot of examples at my disposal, which I could refer to when illustrating concepts. It also made things like historical reconstruction a whole lot easier.
