Latin

LOTE Faculty

Course Description

Please note: If choosing a language in yr 9 that was not studied in yr 8, students will be required to complete a bridging course in negotiation with the class teacher before beginning the course.

Since 753 BCE Latin has been in continuous use: it was the language of a small region of Italy as it grew to encompass the entire Mediterranean basin and beyond. One of the largest empires the world has ever seen, the Roman Empire, ran on this orderly language which became the Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish…) and heavily influenced English (around 60% of English words come from Latin). It went on to be the language of the Renaissance and the international language of European culture until around 1800. Latin is entwined in everything else you study: the sciences, mathematics, literature, the arts, music… Learn Latin, it’s a classic!

Enjoyment: Playing language games and Roman sports, acting out role-plays, making short films/animations, singing songs, visiting museums, undertaking cultural craft and computer activities, celebrating major festivals, cooking, writing to Latin students in other countries.

Challenge: Learning any language is hard but amazingly rewarding. It is like learning a whole new way to think. FMRI studies show that it exercises the whole brain more than any other kind of learning. In Latin, we learn language on a very deep level with a focus on how language works and how vocabulary is built. Learn to think like an ancient Roman!

Achievement: Latin will unlock English on a nuts-and-bolts level, help understand and write it at a sophisticated level, and greatly accelerate later learning of other languages (particularly the Romance languages). Completion of both Year 9 and Year 10 of Latin will allow students to proceed to Stage 6 and the HSC courses Latin Continuers and Extension.

What will students learn about?

Although some speaking, listening and writing of Latin will be used to enliven our classes, play games and activate more brainpower, learning Latin is primarily about learning to read it, and read it at a high literary level. In the process students will gain extraordinary insight into the workings of languages in general and of English in particular.

Latin is about Roman culture and history too. Topics (over two years) will include: Pompeii, Roman Britain, daily life, love and marriage, slavery, the economy, theatre, dining, gladiators, bathing and exercise, oratory, religion, mythology, art, philosophy, science, medicine, law, history, the military, and their empire. Students will develop intercultural understanding by comparing modern life with a complex and historically influential culture which is the parent of our own.

What will students learn to do?

Students will gain skills in linguistic analysis: understanding the components of language, phonology (a language’s system of sounds), word formation, syntax and vocabulary. They will understand how language functions as a system by comparing Latin with other languages, primarily with English. Students will begin to understand how languages change over time and are interrelated.

By studying a culture from long ago, but which has heavily influenced many later civilisations including our own, students will learn dispassionate analysis of society and improve their critical thinking.

Students in the Latin Elective will be eligible for future trips to Greece and Italy.

Cost

$30 (Including International Latin Exam)

RoSA Information

This course will appear on your RoSA as Latin.

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