Should Latin be Studied?

Mathematics provide a strong foundation from which all scientific knowledge evolves. The equations we learn in math provide a systemic know-how from which everything from gravity to biological evolution to chemical reactions can be modeled. In other words: without math there can be no science, and by extension, no technology.

Latin plays a similar role for western languages. The words, phrases, and grammatical structure of English, Spanish, French and Italian derive from Latin. These languages evolved from Latin over the course of several centuries. To not learn Latin is to not learn the history of the language we speak, and more importantly, the language in which we think.

Why do we study history, whether US history or world history? The most common reason is to learn from where we collectively came. This, in turn, provides a roadmap for where we need to go. Latin works the same. Language, the building block for any kind of communication, plays an enormous role in determining the societies we come from. For instance, if there are a lot of words of a religious nature in a language, it may be safe to conclude that, at some point in history, many of the speakers of that language had a religious frame of mind.

Latin does wonders for your vocabulary. Even if you don’t know the meaning of a word, breaking it down to its Latin roots can help you decipher it. You probably know more Latin than you realize. It is time to be more aware of it and learn it in a more formal manner. As a subject, it provides an excellent complement to many subjects that we already take such as English, History or other foreign languages such as French. Latin is the language of scholars.